Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
occurred between February and August, when the spring rains swelled
the river's channels. Other Paraguayan products descended as far as
Buenos Aires in the same fashion. From Santa Fe, cart trains carried
Paraguayan tea and other products to Córdoba for further distribution
west to Mendoza and Chile or north to Potosí.
Farmers of Mendoza
Mendoza served as the commercial link between the Río de la Plata
and the secondary market at Santiago de Chile. Abundant sunshine
and steady water supply from the Andean snowmelt proved ideal for
growing crops through irrigation. Mendocinos engaged in viticulture
and wheat growing as auxiliary economic activities, but commerce
remained foremost. Paraguayan
yerba
and imports from Buenos Aires
passed through Mendoza bound for Chile. In Mendoza, goods were
transferred from oxcarts to mule packs to be guided across the Andean
passes during the summer transport season. The weeklong trip covered
160 miles from Mendoza to Santiago de Chile. Chileans sent their
The main plaza at Mendoza, a city favored by location and climate, which made it a thriving
place in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Mendoza's surrounding fertile countryside
provided crops such as grapes and wheat, and it was also the point where goods bound to and
from the Andes were transferred from oxcarts onto pack mules, or vice versa.
(Edmond B. de La
Touanne, 1826, courtesy of Emece Editores)
