A study conducted by Sofía Haller, a researcher at the Patagonian Institute of Social and Human Sciences at Conicet, analyzes how commercial travel to Patagonia and the Malvinas Islands since the 18th century has altered the landscapes and ecosystems of the south. Sailors from all over the world settled in different enclaves to hunt whales, wolves, elephants and other marine animals from which they extracted the oils used to light North America and Europe. Additionally, they collected bird droppings to use as a natural fertilizer. Thus, the boats caused great slaughter and introduced species of all kinds that modified the native biodiversity. Although southern Argentina is associated with the natural, human intervention has also taken place there.
“Patagonia tends to be considered an untouched and protected place. However, it was a region crossed by a lot of maritime activity. The landscapes we see today are very different from what they were before the arrival of these navigators.“, ensures Haller.
In the context of the Industrial Revolution, the most prosperous markets in Europe and the United States needed to be supplied with resources and, in this sense, the region’s marine natural heritage played a transcendent role.
sea plunder
The South Sea was not only a source of resource extraction for marine mammals and coastal birds, but also enjoyed a privileged position, being one of the two passages that connected the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. “Whalers arrived in the late 18th century and began to exploit sea lions and elephant seals.. The latter produced very good oil and their skins were highly valued in some markets. For example, at the beginning of the 19th century they sold very well in China and then sea lion hats became fashionable in England”, details the expert.
Thus, the area began to be populated by American, English and French ships. In this way, affected the landscape not only because with their movement they dragged marine organisms attached to the boats, but also because they brought rabbits, pigs, cows, goats and horses. “Species were introduced and the environment was changing. In 1840, although sea lion activity declined, guano appeared, which was the most widely used fertilizer at the time. In turn, during this period they also started producing penguin oil”, he points out.
During this time animals were killed indiscriminately and, due to the remoteness of the great administrative centers, due to internal conflicts or for not having warships, it was very difficult to find ways to regulate this type of exploitation. In this way, it is estimated that already in 1829 the populations of sea lions were in danger of extinction.
Although time has passed and the target population has changed, the problem continues to this day with squid, hake and shrimp fishing at ‘mile 201’, the limit of the Argentine Sea.
search for information
To carry out this search, the scientist had to collect data that was scattered in different parts of the world. Before embarking on the adventure, more than one colleague warned that it would be impossible to collect the necessary information to know who had arrived in the region, where and what those vessels came from. Anyway, he went in search of shipping records in national and international archives.
“To do the job I had to travel and review repositories of Argentine and foreign documentaries. In the country I collected the legislation of Buenos Aires, I was in Malvinas and Carmen de Patagones. Abroad, I wandered around Connecticut, USA, looking at court documents produced in Le Havre, France, and official British correspondence collected in voluminous London editions.”, comments the researcher.
This allowed Haller to connect Patagonia and the Malvinas archipelago with different parts of the world and measure the maritime potential that the region had during that stage. in turn, the tour of different fountains allowed you to learn about the stories of the Patagonian populations of the time.
Many traders used to enter the territory and trade regularly with different Yagan and Tehuelche parties.. These relationships, not free of conflicts, were recorded in different chronicles. One of them tells that, in the Santa Cruz River, there was a guano island where an American merchant arrived to take refuge after being kidnapped by a Tehuelche faction. The captive, Benjamin Bourne, left descriptions of the nomadic lifestyle and Tehuelche hunting habits in his book ‘Cautivo en la Patagonia’, published in 1849.
always were and will be
“When I started my thesis, I wanted to talk about Patagonia and the Malvinas appeared as inevitable when thinking about the maritime history of the region. So I traveled there and, As we didn’t have much information about what had happened in that territory since its occupation in 1833, I consulted its archives.Haller explains.
Through different documents and discussed sources, the researcher discovered that the islands were a place where sea lions went and were related to guano colonies. According to the researcher, the Malvinas had safe harbors, meat and free animals. “Getting to know the Islands, being there and getting information about their role and connection with Patagonia was very exciting, not only for my scientific career, but also personally.“, he states.