Estancia

An Estancia is the Spanish and Portuguese word for the North American term ranch.

It describes a large rural estate. The term is used in Argentine, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay. The equivalent in other Latin American countries would be Hacienda, or, in Brazil, Fazenda.

Unlike the hacienda, which could be any type of agricultural venture, producing grain, coffee, vegetable, beef etc, the Estancia, most typically located in the southern South American grasslands, the Pampas, has historically always been a livestock (cattle or sheep) estate.

During the first centuries of Spanish colonial rule, cattle introduced by the Spanish roamed free and man undertook raids to catch and slaughter them. In the 19th century stationary ranching ventures started to form in the Pampas, with permanent buildings and marked livestock with clearly defined ownership. They were called Estancias, the term indicating the stationary, permanent character.

The Estancia’s ranch worker on horseback, the Gaucho is of similar importance to national folklore and identity as is the Cowboy in North America.

In recent decades agriculture has intensified and often shifted from livestock to crop farming in the Pampas of Argentina and Uruguay, due to the region’s high soil fertility.

A small number of Estancias, particularly those with historic architecture have been converted into guest ranches, in Argentina and Uruguay as well as in Paraguay or Chile.

Several cities and villages, mainly but not exclusively in Latin America, grew out of such estancias and are named accordingly, for example:

Estância in Sergipe state, Brazil
Estancia, Iloilo in the province of Iloilo, Philippines.
Estancia El Brete, Salta Province, Argentina

Gallery

Estancias in Argentina
Estancia Museo El Porvenir Villa Elisa, Entre Ríos

Estancia Museo El Porvenir Villa Elisa, Entre Ríos
Estancia La Oriental, Junín, Buenos Aires