Frontier: Argentine Pampas
•  Pampas & gauchos of Argentina
•  Frontier
–  Definition
–  Comparison with U.S.
•  Frontier & environment
–  And national character
–  Competing interpretations
Who were “gauchos” and what are the
Pampas?
According to the authors we have read,
how have gauchos and the Pampas been
important in determining the nature of
Argentina?
Don’t forget to include your name.
The Pampas
Overview -plains
ranching
plains
cowboys
plains
Frontier - definition
Geographic zone of interaction between
distinct environments and cultures
often “newcomers” moving into new
environments
claim resources
19C
Argentine Gauchos of the 19th Century
Early20C
19C
gauchos
Gauchos as lazy bums
Darwin; Voyage of the Beagle
Gauchos as lazy bums
Sarmiento: comparison with U.S.
“…the territories of the northern and
central Mississippi [river valley] were
suitable for agriculture and easily
accessible from the populated centers,
whereas the territories of the valley of the
Amazon consisting of tropical forests could
not be converted into arable land and
access to them from the region of the
Andes was most difficult.”
Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas
Darwin; Voyage of the Beagle
Domingo Faustino Sarmiento
Political implications
“Many philosophers have also thought that
plains prepare the way for despotism, just
as mountains furnish strongholds for the
struggles of liberty. The bound less plain
which permits the unobstructed passage
of large and weighty wagons … which
extend from Buenos Aires and thence to
Mendoza, constitutes one of the most
notable features of the internal
conformation of the Republic…”
Argentine Gauchos of the 19th Century
19C
ranching
Modern painting