Ramón Lista
| Ramón Lista | |
|---|---|
Ramón Lista
|
|
| Born |
13 September 1856 Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Died | 23 November 1897 (aged 41) Orán, Salta, Argentina |
| Nationality | Argentine |
| Occupation | Soldier, explorer |
| Known for | Selknam Genocide |
Ramón Lista (13 September 1856 – 23 November 1897) was an Argentinian soldier and explorer. He was the second governor of the Territorio Nacional de Santa Cruz, precursor of Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. He was in part responsible for the Selknam Genocide in Tierra del Fuego. Later he identified with the indigenous people of Patagonia, and went to live with them until he was recalled to Buenos Aires. Lista wrote a number of books on the people and places he had found.
Ramón Lista was born on 13 September 1856 in Buenos Aires. His grandfather, also called Ramón Lista, was a Colonel of Infantry. Ramón Lista studied at the Colegio Nacional in Buenos Aires. When only 15 years old he taught history and geography at the Colegio del Salvador. He traveled in France and Germany in 1875–77. He was interested in natural sciences, met the main scientific figures and was taught by the great scientist Hermann Burmeister (1807–92). On his return from Europe at the age of 21 he was appointed a civilian explorer for the navy, with the rank of "superior officer".
The Scientific Society sponsored an expedition to Patagonia to explore the region between Punta Arenas and Santa Cruz. In March 1878 Lista landed at Punta Arenas in the Strait of Magellan, where he made a careful examination of the mines. In mid-August he set off for the north, passed the Santa Cruz valley and explored the Chico River, the main object of the expedition. He traveled up the river to the foot of the Cordillera of the Andes, and claimed the land for Argentina. Returning east, on 6 November 1878 he met an encampment of friendly Tehuelche people in the Shehueu valley. He found that they were tall, as had been reported earlier, indolent and addicted to gambling, but kind and hospitable. They lived by hunting. Lista made a collection of words in their language. Lista became a friend of Papón, a Tehuelche leader, and the friendship survived until Lista's death in 1897. At one time they traveled to Buenos Aires together, where the only thing in which Papón showed interest were two elephants in the zoo. Lista took this apparent lack of curiosity in modern things as evidence of the inability of the "savage Tehualche" to change.
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