The Southern Grasslands and the Expropriation of Indigenous Territories

This chapter explores the encounter between indigenous peoples and Iberian intrusion, as well as their subsequent dominance over the Southern Grasslands during the Colonial and Imperial eras. The region was historically inhabited by indigenous groups, including the Pampean, Jê, and Guarani, each composed of different ethnicities or “nations.” This territory witnessed a complex history of conflicts, alliances, and wars, with the Guenoa-Minuano, Yaro, Bohane, Guarani, and Charrua peoples playing prominent roles. The native populations residing in the Mirim Lagoon basin had already developed sophisticated wildlife management techniques using corrals for animals such as deer, rhea, and capybara. However, in the seventeenth century, their traditional way of life began to change due to the establishment of Jesuit reductions and the introduction of livestock, including cattle, horses, and mules. Alongside the cultivation of yerba mate, the estates of the reductions implemented a herding system, which coexisted with the Pampean peoples’ management of native animals. Eventually, the Pampeans also began organizing their herds using European species. By the eighteenth century, colonial appropriation had expanded over indigenous lands and livestock holdings. This process was facilitated through the use of frontier treaties and military conflicts. Tragically, the gradual extermination of indigenous populations in Rio Grande do Sul led to the disappearance of the last large settlements of the Minuano and Charrua peoples from the region’s cartography by the mid-nineteenth century. However, small settlements of nuclear Pampean families persisted, contributing to the formation of the Southern gentile through intermixing and cultural exchange.