“With the rebenques turned upside down, they were advancing”. Three Episodes of Violence, Conflict and Identity in Interethnic Spaces (Buenos Aires, 1870-1900)

Abstract

This article deals with the resolution of conflicts between Indigenous People and Argentinian Creoles in western Buenos Aires during the last frontier period and in the years that followed. To this end, it analyzes three episodes of interpersonal violence in the tribes of the indios amigos (friendly Indigenous People) of the caciques (chiefs) Ignacio Coliqueo and the brothers Francisco and Martín Rondeau in Los Toldos and Veinticinco de Mayo, respectively. It examines who intervened in these conflicts, the representations of their reasons to act, the way in which the conflicts were resolved and the means, languages and legal mechanisms used.