In this paper we analyze the ideological perspective that is articulated in "Paginas de mi diario durante tres anos de viaje 1853-1854-1855" by Benjamin Vicuna Mackenna, mainly in relation to the role of agriculture and European migration in the construction of a national project that develops through his travel experiences. For this purpose, we examine how Vicuna Mackenna constructs this national project by drawing from various sources of modern and colonial sociopolitical thought that were developing in both Spanish America and Europe.