The indigenous people of the Gran Chaco, in general, maintained their sovereignty until the late 19th century. The conquest of the territory and the subjugation of their people during the Conquest of the Gran Chaco decimated the population. In the second half of the 20th century, when the Qom stopped working as agrarian labor, a massive expulsion of indigenous people from the area resulted. The first conquest over the territories began in 1884 and is remembered as the Conquest of the Gran Chaco. One of the principal protagonists of this campaign was General Victorica. During this mission that began in 1911, General Victoria led his men into the Chaco region, ultimately ending a revolt led by the Qom in 1916. Afterwards, the Qom remained marginalized in the poorest areas and as a result of the reduction in the size of their territories, survival became even harder. In 1924, when the government led by Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear wanted to increase farming areas by giving land to foreigners and Creoles while concentrating the Qom on reservations, the Qom fought their last military resistance in the Indigenous Colony of Napalpí in the province of Chaco. This battle resulted in the death of 200 Qom, an event that is known as the Massacre of Napalpí. Many Qom were forced to work on cotton plantations or in manufacturing plants. On July 19, 1924, during the presidency of Marcelo T. de Alvear, 200 ingenious people from the Qom and Mocaví communities died at the hands of the Chaco police and estancia owners. More the 700 people were injured, including women, children and the elderly. Those who were not killed by police gunfire had their throats’ slit with machetes and axes on behalf of troops from the National Police, sent by Alvear.