Pampas and Llanos: Grasslands of South America

History With RCS: In North America there are prairies and plains. In South America there are pampas and llanos. 

 

                There are lots of stories that come from all the American grasslands, but here is offered a taste of history.

                In the south of south America one often hears the the word pampas or la pampa. In the north of that continent, one more often hears the word llanos. These wide grasslands have their history and their prehistory.

                Only 10,000 years ago people were eating doedicurus not far from the present location of the great Argentinian capital of Buenos Aires near the edge of the pampa. In case you are not well acquainted with the doedicurus, they are a kind of glyptodont. You could call those doing that eating, American Indians.

                In the late 1500s, Spanish Americans began to settle in the pampa. By 1833 there were about 40 million head of 'wild' cattle on the Argentinian grasslands. These cattle were offspring of those brought and 'lost' by the earlier explorers and settlers. That sounds reminiscent of happenings in North America to me. During the increase in these herds on the Pampa there was a decrease in the numbers of Native Americans there. Between that increase and decrease one might imagine an interesting story or two, perhaps with mention of a gaucho or two.

                Heading to the North of the continent we could learn about the llaneros, the men and women of the llanos. Llaneros formed much of Bolivars cavalry. That cavalry di much  to overthrow Spanish rule over the continent in the 1920s. Descendants of those llaneros can still be found in the llanos of Colombia and Venezuela. A few of them now resist the dominion of "Yankee capital and imperialism." The attitude might be "Over my horse, only me, over me only my hat."

                Among the early noted horsemen to explore the llanos were German "conquistadors" were men like Nicolas Federman, Nikolaus Federmann, who's patrons had loaned vast sums of money to Spanish royalty in the early 1500s. Makes me wonder what Spanish nobility did with the wealth they gained from there "new world" colonies. Start a European Rebirth? The sponsors of the three German groups sent to South America gained little wealth from their ventures. Still, Spaniards were able to pay debts and Germans profited a bit from the starting and running the first commercial airline in South America.

                About 270 years after the first Germans were allowed to explore the llanos, the Spanish allowed another prominent foreigner into their South American llanos. That person was baron Alexander von Humboldt. I believe at the time he was not yet baron, but does deserve the title. Every educated American and European knows that name; there may be exceptions. The baron was a Prussian naturalist and much more. He became the father of modern geography and --except for Napoleon-- the best known European of his time.

                I believe that Humboldt told this story of his time in the llanos: At one camp his host was so disturbed early one night, that the baron to felt the disturbance. Unknown to either of them, in the dry packed earth directly below the hosts hamaca, a very large alligator-like animal was hibernating through the dry season. Just as his host was composed for sleep, something disturbed the crocodilian. To the surprise of all, it erupted noisily from the earth. However it soon left, with an evident air of disgust, to find a more peaceful resting place. The camp too was soon resting peacefully.

                Thank you for reading.

                                                                            RCS