La empresa rural en el largo plazo: Cambios en la explotación de una gran estancia rioplatense entre el orden colonial y el nacimiento del capitalismo, 1780-1870

this article aims to analyze the secular way of a great river plate cattle ranch, between late colonial period and the beginnings of the 1870's, trying to understand management changes, their motivations and rationality, as well as the different factors which narrowed or enlarged investment options. results show a rationally-oriented and managed company; which, anyway, faced strong challenges to enhance his competitiveness during a complex rural capitalism construction process.