In the early decades of the nineteenth century, Buenos Aires underwent rapid economic growth. Previous studies have focused on the economy as a whole, or on a particular segment of the population; and most have disregarded how resources were intentionally organized to enable growth. This book focuses on the economic organizations that led the growth process—the estancias. Economic growth and increased freedom were not inevitable on the pampas, but rather the consequences of human actions in the search for profit. Why freedom, not privilege, prevailed is the key question underlying this study.