Guerra y desigualdad

The paper analyzes the evolution of wages in the Auxiliary Army of Perú throughout the revolutionary war in the Río de la Plata. Based on the existence of a wide salary gap within this army, an exam on the pay received across the various ranks of troops and officers corps is performed, where it is possible to bring on the fact of a growing inequality, which was itself closely tied to increasing shortage of military funds. The article also contrasts these wages with local basket of goods (both individual and family) in Tucumán, where the army’s operations took part, in order to assess its men’s welfare ratio near the theater of war. Results offer insight into the development of war and revolution, and the different strategies adopted by the troops to cope, respond and resist scarcity.