POPULATION AND SETTLEMENT
Before the Europeans arrived, the population of Argentina was around 300,000. Native people in the Chaco, the Tehuelche of Patagonia, and the Querandí and Puelche of the Pampas, were nomadic hunters and fishers. The people in the Diaguita of the Northwest established sedentary agriculture. The region was first reached by Europeans in the voyage of Amerigo Vespucci in 1502. In 1516, Juan Díaz de Solís reached the Río de la Plata on his search for a Southwest Passage to Asia and the East. However, the expedition was unfortunate as Solís and his followers were ambushed and killed by Indians.
The Río de la Plata was explored in 1526 by Sebastian Cabot, who discovered the Paraná and Paraguay rivers. Cabot also established the fort of Sancti Spíritus, the Plata basin’s first Spanish settlement. In 1536, the first settlement of Buenos Aires was founded by Pedro de Mendoza. However, lack of food and native attacks caused Mendoza to abandon the settlement. In 1580, Juan de Garay reestablished Buenos Aires with Asunción settlers. Settlers from Spanish colonies of Chile, Peru, and Paraguay (Asunción) overflowed into Northern Argentina and Buenos Aires. Direct migration from Spain was uncommon due to the lack of attractions, such as mines, accessibility, and direct trade within the area. Spanish colonization was slow in this region throughout the 1600s and 1700s. As the Europeans settled by the ocean, the indigenous people who lived by the coasts were forced to move inland. Argentina’s population consists of people of European descent. Since the arrival of Europeans, the native population have gradually declined. The early communities consisted of a simple society based on Indian labor, corn and potatoes, and the imported horses, cattle, and sheep from the Spaniards. The vast lands were ideal for farming and ranching. Corn and wheat planting originated in the northern Pampas. In the southern Pampas of Buenos Aires and La Pampa provinces, wheat is the main crop. In the north, wheat and corn are the main crops. These crops also act as livestock feed. Before Spanish colonization, the Indians practiced irrigation and terraced-farming. Cities in the Northwest supported agriculture, livestock raising, and trade silver mines. The indigenous people of the Gran Chaco practiced limited agriculture due to the severe physical conditions of the region. At the beginning of the 20th century in the eastern Chaco, European settlers started growing cotton. Indians inhabiting the Pampas region were hunters and fishers. This map shows the location of the Pampas region and Patagonia. The light brown region represent Pampas and Patagonia. This region consists of Santa Cruz and Neuquén. The Indians inhabiting the Pampas region were fishers because they had access to water sources.
Greene, K., & Greene, D. (2005, December 1). [Map of Patagonia]. Retrieved February 01, 2017, from http://www.questconnect.org/images/map-pat.jpg |
This map shows the distribution of native people in Argentina. The Mapuches have the largest population in the south. In the northwest, the Kollas and Wichís have the largest population.
N. (2008, August 25). Distribution of the Indigenous Peoples in Argentina [Digital image]. Retrieved January 28, from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/AborigenesDistribucion.jpg |