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Argentina: North - Salta
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o more than 1200 m.s.n.m., between hills 20 de Febrero and San Bernardo, is the Valley of Lerma and the city of Salta, capital of the province and second city in importance of the Argentine northwest.
The Incaico Empire it inhabited these earth from century XII, coming from the region of the Titicaca lake and in its apogee (century XV) one extended by The Andes, (North Argentine), integrating the province of the Collasuyo. Its dominion collapsed with the arrival of the Spanish conquerors, at the beginning of century XVI.
They were criadores agriculturists and, maintaining activities of loom, pottery and a very typical musical tradition with instruments like the quena, anata, siku, erke and erkencho. The ruins of Incahuasi that attest their presence, are located in the Department of Rosary of Lerma - contiguous to the one of Capital -, to 2,860 m.s.n.m. The investigators maintain that he is rest of one old strength that served to maintain the dominions on the diaguitas tribes, atacamas, humahuacas, chiriguanos or lules, constructed in the days of the Yupanqui Inca or of of its Able Huaina son. The origin of the word "Salta", has two more common translations. One maintains that it is the denomination of "pretty place, pleasant to be based", in quechua; others, maintain that chaqueña would correspond to the name of the tribe "sahta" - of the nation "Lule" - that would have inhabited east valley when the Spaniards arrived. The first explorations of the territory salteño came from Peru towards 1535, 43 years after Cristóbal Colón arrived at America.
In 1550 the definitive colonization of a vast zone began that denominated "the Tucumán". The 16 of April of 1582 Hernando de Lerma found on the margins of the Arenales river, the "City of Lerma in Salta" in order to offer defense and support of the commerce and the communications of Santiago del Estero with Perú.
Affirmed in this valley, Lerma took advantage of the natural routes of communication and already used by the natives and fortified therefore the dispersed, weak and little nuclei of the Spanish population. With this objective, it was tried to form a network of circulation of men, animals, merchandise and the news that, with axis in Potosí, the Callao (Perú) would allow to the communication between the ports and the one of just founded Buenos Aires. Seated legally, Lerma distributed the lots to the new neighbors with condition for surrounding them in the term of a year and for remaining in them under pain to lose them. These estates belonged to the King who delegated its division and distribution to the governors.
The life in the towns was difficult that began their existence. The day after the foundation, the Governor Lerma and Obispo Victoria they decided to give to this valley the name of San Felipe de Lerma in the Valley of Salta. San Felipe in honor to the King of Spain, Lerma to be the last name of his you founder. Although the transit with Potosí provided to the city of foods, also towards present the indigenous hostility that limited its expansion and threatened its continuity. However, one stayed thanks to his important strategic function within the commercial transit.
The reduction of the indigenous population could be alleviated partly with the introduction of African population, the one that had its gravitation in the population salteña: in 1778 this migration and its descendants they composed the 46 percent of the inhabitants.
Passed the first twenty years, It jumps tended to be reduced before to grow. Those were the calchaquíes Indians that with more crudity faced the Spaniards, between 1630 and 1640.
The balance between the ports El Callao in Peru and Buenos Aires was difficult and unstable during the Spanish colony. In 1776, the Virreinato of the River de La Plata settled down and in 1784 new Intendance with capital arose in Salta.
After 1810, the interruption of the commerce with the Alto Perú and the war of independence produced the deterioration of the economy of the Northwest.
The city began to grow just when the pacification arrived from the Eastern border, sealed between the Spanish governor and the cacique of the mocovíes.
It Salta began to receive resources via payment of taxes by each head of cattle in transit to the Alto Perú.
During the war of Independence, the realistic armies were defeated in Jumps (1813) by the general and Argentine lawyer Manuel Belgrano. Located between Lima (realistic) and Buenos Aires (independentista), It Salta was between two fires and were the barrier of containment of the Spaniards whom from the North they tried to enter these earth. Güemes was the one who better anticipated the times that came. Initiate in the military specialty and son of an important Spanish civil employee of Intendance of Jumps, followed his studies in Buenos Aires, where it participated in the English Invasions. Of return to It jumps, after the death of his father, the young person was destined to the border, destiny that allowed him to extend its knowledge of the provincial territory and to show to its skill of rider and its capacity of organization and and of control.
Güemes had studied the principles of the war, but mainly salteño knew the land. The first great test was Batalla de Salta, fought the 20 of February of 1813, in that the Army commanded by Manuel Belgrano defeated to the one of Pío Tristán.
Soon, after the patriotic defeat in Sipe Sipe, in the Alto Peru, It jumps had to reject seven invasions: this it was the merit of Güemes and its "infernales", as the gauchos know themselves who accompanied it.
As of 1815, from the position of civil governor - it was 30 years old transformed its military power into politician and among other decisions it exempted of the payment of leasings and debts to those who participated in the fights by Independence.
In 1820, while he was in the Peru Stop like commander in chief of the Army of Observation, by orders of the Gral. San Martín, the Town hall salteño demoted it. Their presence and the one of 600 lanceros gauchos in the city ended the political putsch. It recovered the control and the town replaced it.
While the Spanish forces were in the door of the city, it at night entered a game of the 7 of June and untied a rain of bullets on Güemes, that was hurt mortally.
Obstinate to its horse galopó towards the Quebrada de la Horqueta, where it agonized until its death, the 17 of June of 1821.  |
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