Life in the Argentine Republic in the Days of the Tyrants (Hafner Library of Classics) [Paperback]

B.F. Sarmiento (Author)

Book Description

Series: Hafner Library of Classics | Publication Date: January 1, 1970

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Spanish --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (January 1, 1970)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0028516508
• ISBN-13: 978-0028516509
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,874,961 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An ahead-of-its-time (1830s) analysis of oppression., September 10, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Life in the Argentine Republic in the Days of the Tyrants (Hafner Library of Classics) (Paperback)

Sarmiento analizes in this book the oppressive political regime that Juan Manuel de Rosas impossed over the Province of Buenos Aires during the first years of the independent-from-Spanish-rule Argentine Republic (then Confederation). He writes this book in his Chilean exile and publishes it by means of short articles in a prestigous Chilean newspaper during the 1830s and 1840s.

In this book, a classic of early Latin American History and Literature, Sarmiento *deconstructs*, to abuse of modern terminology, the life and works of Facundo Quiroga, a tyrant of the inland provinces of Argentina, so that we can better understand the true extent, the true abomination being carried out by the other despot, Rosas, in a Buenos Aires proud of its European heritage.

Sarmiento describes the way of life -highly influenced by late Spanish colonial tradition- and the almost unreal landscape of the Argentine Pampas (plains). In that landscape and traditions is born Quiroga, the wild gaucho who is to terrify its own people when he becomes an adult. Sarmiento analizes the society's pathologies that make possible for Quiroga to become the head of a tyrannical regime.

His method to approach Rosas via Quiroga is, I believe, very effective. Now it is easier to understand how Rosas regime can become a reality on New World soil just a decade after Independence. Rosas, born in a rich family of *hacendados* with strong Spanish tradition and with landholdings close to Buenos Aires of the 1820s, shares with Quiroga an explosive combination of hate for anything that reminds him of his incivility with an appeal that the isolated people of the Pampas can not resist, the appeal of a man who is the best horse-rider, the best knife-fighter and the best friend of the gaucho. Nothing reminds Rosas more of his rudeness than nearby booming Buenos Aires.

The rest of the book lists the atrocities, offensive to any civilized person, commited by Rosas once he gains by mean of terrorist practice the *sum of power* over the city; Sarmiento also discusses what freedom means for a society and for the individuals.

Summarizing, this book, which paved the way to a more democratic Argentina, is an example of the power of words to fight oppression, and a *manual* to detect before-it-is-too-late the dangers that keep assaulting democratic life in any society at any time.

5.0 out of 5 stars Gauchos Rule, (not) OK !, July 6, 2010

By 

Robert S. Newman "Bob Newman" (Marblehead, Massachusetts USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Life in the Argentine Republic in the Days of the Tyrants (Hafner Library of Classics) (Paperback)

Originally called "Facundo", this work describes the life of Facundo Quiroga, an archtypical caudillo of brutal renown in Argentina's early history, as well as explaining, in extremely romantic terms, the origins and reasons for the rise of such men. Readers should know that between 1810, when Argentina declared independence, and say, 1870, there was hardly a nation called "Argentina". There was instead a long struggle between the port city, Buenos Aires, and the many interior provinces, most of whom fell under the rule of men on horseback for considerable periods. Facundo was such a one; Rosas, a long-lasting dictator in he gaucho/caudillo mould, who emerged from the provinces to rule over the whole nation, was another. The book describes several other brutal rulers who knew the knife and the horse, but not the book and the law. These gaucho or caudillo rulers fought among themselves as well as fighting the more European-minded leaders in Buenos Aires. For a long period, they reigned supreme in the figure of Rosas.
Sarmiento, born in 1811, grew up to be his country's foremost intellectual, a giant of erudition and pillar of democracy. Unfortunately for him, it seems his country was not ready for such a man, and he spent much of his life in exile, in Chile, Europe and the USA. His term as President, some years after this book was written, was not overly successful but he remains a key figure in Argentina's past. He passionately believed in liberal democracy, in the need for Argentina to accept European immigrants, and that the Spanish-Indian heritage had created much that was simply `barbarous'. Sarmiento exalted a political figure named Rivadavia as an example of "civilization", thus creating, in his classic Argentine work, two poles---of civilization and of barbarity. He also contrasts the deep Catholic conservatism, inherited from Spain, of an inland city like Cordoba, with the revolutionary fervor of Buenos Aires.

If readers have little familiarity with Argentina's early history, they will find this work rather confusing because the author jumps back and forth with no guide to the actual procession of events. Dates are either vague or non-existent. However, academic accuracy and impartial research are not much in evidence here. Rather, Sarmiento relies on intuition, on emotion, and colorful statement. His flowery, poetic, and imaginative language produce a history very far from the more prosaic wordings of today's style. I would say there is absolutely no feeling of relativity, a more 20th century idea, and he is cocksure of European superiority, consigning all others to `barbarism'. Statements such as "It is ever the most civilized nation that imposes its fashions on the rest of the world." ring hollow in this new century. Rather than use the word `history', one might say that Sarmiento made an impassioned argument for a certain direction for Argentina's future, a direction that, willy-nilly, the country finally took. Garcia-Marquez' "The Autumn of the Patriarch", as an unquestioned novel, is perhaps more effective in portraying the caudillo as brutal dictator. Sarmiento's classic study stands as a monument to the terrible times of the Argentine civil wars, life under a tyrannical regime, and to his love for order, justice, and reason.