Facundo: Or, Civilization and Barbarism

Written in political exile by one of Argentina’s greatest statesmen and intellectuals and long known to English-speaking readers as Life in the Argentine Republic in the Days of the Tyrants, Facundo (1845) is ostensibly a biography of the gaucho “barbarian” Juan Facundo Quiroga. Combining history, sociology, and political commentary, Sarmiento explores the impact of Argentine geography on the life of the gaucho; chronicles the often bloody political and military adventures of Facundo; examines the reign of the tyrannical ruler Juan Manuel de Rosas; and ponders the future of Argentina. This edition includes an informative introduction and a chronology of Sarmiento’s life and times. It also restores the original author’s note that was dropped for the 1868 English-language edition – and that is crucial to our understanding of Sarmiento and his views.