In 1620 a step of extreme importance was taken. The office of Adelantado, or Governor, was abolished, and the River Plate country was formed into two separate provinces. Thus we get a rough beginning of Argentina, which now consisted of Buenos Aires, Santa Fé, Entre Rios, Corrientes, and the tract now called Uruguay. This last, however, was still uninhabited. Buenos Aires became the seat of a bishop. But the whole of the settlements remained under the Viceroyalty of Peru.

More important than any measure of partition was the personality of Hernan Darias de Saavedra, the ruler at that time. Of pure Spanish blood, he was born in South America in 1561, early distinguished himself in wars with the Indians, and took as his model the able Garay. In 1602 he was appointed to act as Governor of Buenos Aires, and during his term of authority, which did not really end when a new Spanish Governor was placed over his head, he distinguished himself at once by his severity to refractory Indians and his energetic measures to protect those who followed peaceful pursuits. In 1615 he became substantive Governor, and it was by his advice that the division of 1620 was made.

His whole heart was in the peaceful development of the country; he encouraged the Jesuits to teach industries to the natives and to settle virgin tracts, and at the same time he set his face against all forms of slavery. Few Spanish Americans have exercised more beneficent rule, and he was the founder of Argentine prosperity—a tradition which the country never wholly lost in the worst days, and which in recent times it has renewed in a wonderful manner. Not long after the partition this noble-minded statesman died, full, as the historian says, of glory and virtues. Funes[25] remarks: "From tender years he performed military service, earning fame for valour. His valour was rendered the more illustrious by that consummate prudence which in war gives glory to warriors. He distinguished himself by his ability both in the arts of peace and war. He was a staunch protector of the Indians and, in fine, being one of the heroes to whom the New World has given birth, he deserved to have his portrait placed in the Chamber of Commerce in Cadiz. We regret that time has destroyed the records which might have enabled us to draw a more accurate likeness."

With his death it may be said that the history of Argentina as a Spanish colony has fairly begun. It is true that the Governorship of Buenos Aires was both smaller and larger than the present Argentine Republic—larger as comprising Uruguay, and considerably smaller in the absence of Patagonia and much other territory. In fact, there were three Governorships—Buenos Aires, Paraguay, and Tucuman—and these were looked upon as a single colony, although each one was an administrative entity, dependent upon the Crown and independent of its neighbours. Our narrative will necessarily ignore the interesting history of Paraguay and embrace the other two provinces. The above narrative has few of the exciting episodes which marked the history of the conquest of Mexico or Peru, but the history, though less dazzling, is less sullied by crimes, and the two figures of Garay and Hernan Darias afford examples of disinterested toil for the common welfare which in that age was rare indeed except among a small proportion of the clergy. And as the earlier years of Argentina were less turbulent, so have the latter years been more blessed with prosperity than has been the case with other South American States.

The colonisation of South America proceeded upon lines very different from those pursued in the northern continent. The latter was the objective of men who belonged, for the most part, to the Anglo-Saxon race, and who came not for adventure or any kind of gain, but to escape from uncongenial institutions and live their own life. As far as possible they avoided contact with the natives, and neither desired, nor, in fact, maintained, intimate relations with the mother country. But in spite of the circumstances of their exile, they carried with them most of the institutions of their own land, and continued to develop on the lines of their brothers on the other side of the Atlantic. The Spaniards did not, indeed, treat the natives in South America with humanity; on the contrary, in the mining regions their cruelty was notorious, and they were frequently at war with the old inhabitants. But in Argentina and many other places they showed no disinclination to intermarry; they made, as we have seen, systematic settlements of Indians, which assumed that the conquered race was an integral part of their own body politic, and in some respects their policy was statesmanlike and even humane according to the standards of the time. The result was a fusion of races, and the various nations which sprang up were as much Indian as Spanish. How the Argentine nation was evolved it will be the business of the succeeding historical chapters to show, as it will be that of the remainder of this volume to display the country and the people as they actually are after four centuries of growth.

CHAPTER IV
THE SPANISH DOMINION

The subsequent history of Argentina during the Spanish dominion does not present much incident, and indeed it is not an uncommon practice for historians of Latin-American countries to make a single leap from the Conquest to the Revolution. But to the real student of history there is much that is of interest in the record of the attempt of Spain to govern a mighty empire and the rapid decay of her power. In the next chapter the Spanish colonial system will be examined; in the present it will be observed in operation. Much will be said about the illiberal restrictions which here receive only incidental notice, but however short-sighted they may have been, at least they could not prevent Argentina from thriving. A considerable trade sprang up between Cordoba and the Andine territories now known as Chile and Bolivia; nor was it only in material well-being that progress was made. At Cordoba, also, a university was founded in 1613, and the town became a seat of learning and a centre of Jesuit influence. For some years peace reigned, but in the second quarter of the seventeenth century it received two serious disturbances. The first was a dangerous Indian war with the powerful nation of the Calchaquies.

This people had lived from time immemorial in the valleys of Rioja and Catamarca, and had been under the suzerainty of the Incas. As the Spaniards around the River Plate became more powerful they made aggressions upon the Calchaquies, and by the end of the sixteenth century had partly subdued them. Many of these Indians were sold into slavery, and many more were forced to settle about Santa Fé and Rosario, but the spirit of the remainder was still unsubdued, and they awaited an opportunity of recovering their independence. It was about the middle of the century that they made their expiring effort. A leader named Bohorquez came forward and claimed to be the descendant and heir of the Inca kings. He is said to have been a mere impostor of humble Andalusian origin, but it is seldom easy to find out the exact truth about pretenders. Funes doubts whether he was in his right mind. "But the light of reason appeared when he took his first steps in deceit, an art to which he was naturally inclined."[26] He and his wife were greeted with the honours due to the Inca kings, the revolt spread, and he caused the Spaniards endless trouble. The Calchaquies, whom he claimed to represent, were a hardy race, and down to modern times have shown good fighting qualities, and they were inflamed by resentment against the intruding Spaniards, who had undoubtedly oppressed them. Bohorquez first came forward in 1656, and though he appears to have possessed nothing better than the showy qualities of a bold charlatan, he brought about a dangerous war. Don Alonso Mercado, who had been appointed Governor of Tucuman the year before, was obstinate and overbearing, and, strangely enough, began by patronising and encouraging the impostor. The Jesuits, who were always anxious to redress Indian grievances, also supported him, and the revolt assumed such serious proportions that the Governor soon had to abandon his former attitude and took up arms against him. The Indians, who, with simple credulity, accepted all the claims of Bohorquez, made a long and heroic resistance, but the Spanish power was too great. The pretender was defeated, and the Spaniards, aware that there could be no safety for the northern provinces as long as Bohorquez was alive, spared no effort to track him down, and were eventually successful. Bohorquez was taken to Lima and put to death, and the Calchaquies were placed under a military Deputy-Governor, who was subordinate to Tucuman. Their martial spirit, however, did not die out, and in the nineteenth century they proved themselves one of the most spirited of the warlike races of South America.

The other trouble of the seventeenth century was more serious and involved more bloodshed. We have seen that there was considerable jealousy between the Spanish and Portuguese in South America. In 1580 Portugal had been united to Spain, but this change did not make the relations any more harmonious, for there was a standing cause of quarrel between the two nations. The Portuguese had founded in the temperate Brazilian uplands the city of São Paulo, and the inhabitants known as Paulistas, were a turbulent people and had an intense hatred of the Jesuits. The Jesuits, supported by the Spanish Government, protected the Indians and devoted themselves to their general welfare, but the chief business of the Paulistas was to capture Indians and sell them into slavery. They looked with covetous eyes upon the Reductions, as the Jesuit settlements were called, for here was the raw material of their industry in the shape of hundreds of thousands of submissive Indians. Accordingly, in 1629 they picked a quarrel with the Jesuits and attacked the Reduction of San Antonio, where they committed great ravages, killing and capturing multitudes of the helpless Indians. The Jesuits, who were not loved by the Governor of Paraguay, were compelled to evacuate Guayra and the scope of their benevolent labours was largely curtailed. This cruel and devastating war continued for many years and caused widespread ruin and loss of life until, in 1638, the Jesuits appealed to the Court of Spain, requesting that their wrongs might be redressed and that they might arm their helpless converts against the oppressor. The appeal was successful. "The King," says Southey,[27] "confirmed all the former laws in favour of the Indians: he declared the conduct of the Paulistas, who had carried away more than thirty thousand slaves from Guayra, and had begun the same work of devastation in the Tapé and on the Uruguay, to be contrary to all laws, human and divine, and cognisable by the Holy Office. The enslaved Indians were ordered to be set at liberty, and directions given to punish those who should commit these crimes in future, as guilty of high treason. A more important edict, because more easily carried into effect, provided that all Indians converted by the Jesuits in the province of Guayra, Tapé, Parana, and Uruguay, should be considered as immediate vassals of the Crown, and not on any pretext consigned to any person for personal service. Their tribute was fixed, but not to commence till the year 1649, by which time, it was presumed, they might be capable of discharging it. And the King not only granted permission to the Jesuits to arm their converts, but sent out positive orders to the Governors of Paraguay and the Plata to exert themselves for the protection of the Reductions." But in 1640 Portugal regained her independence and the marauding Paulistas left a lasting mark on the map of South America. Undoubtedly but for their incursions the whole valley of the Parana would have been Spanish instead of Portuguese, but, as it was, the Spaniards had to retire behind the river Iguazu.