From Persia to Latin America: A Historical Analysis of Spanish Humanitarian Action in the Province of Azerbaijan during World War I and the Subsequent Migration of Armenians and Assyrians to Argentina

Abstract The present article aims to assess the relationship between the mass exodus of Iranian Christians and the Hispanic world, widening the analytical lens on early 20th-century Iranian migrations. Specifically, the study draws parallels between the humanitarian efforts of the Spanish diplomats during the Turkish occupation of northwestern Persia in 1918 and the subsequent arrival and settlement of Assyrians and Armenians in Argentina in the early decades of the twentieth century. Although numerous publications address the early Iranian diaspora and Iran during the World War I, little scholarly work examines Spain’s humanitarian role in this context or the history of the Iranian diaspora in Latin America. This finding underscores the notion that, in addition to the prominent international actors that have historically been the focus of scholarly inquiry—namely, the United States, France, Great Britain, Germany, and Russia—smaller countries also played a significant role in the events that transpired in Iran during those years. Furthermore, this study highlights the Iranian diaspora’s expansion to distant regions, such as Argentina, which has not been extensively researched in the context of Iranian studies. This comprehensive approach serves to broaden our understanding of the global history of Iran in the early twentieth century.