In the early Caribbean territories and Mexico, holders of
encomiendas acquired land in the area where they had access to Indian labor. They needed on-site Hispanic supervisors or labor bosses called . In Mexico, multiple estancias owned by the same individual could be termed a
hacienda. The term
estancia is used in various ways in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay,
southern Chile and
southern Brazil. The equivalent in other Spanish American countries would be
hacienda. During the first centuries of Spanish colonial rule, the Spanish introduced cattle into the colonies for livestock. In the peripheral areas of northern Mexico and the southern part of South America, these animals roamed free; settlers conducted periodic 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 that clearly defined ownership. They were called
estancias, the term indicating the stationary, permanent character. The estancia's ranch worker on horseback in Argentina, the
gaucho, has similar status in national folklore and identity to the
cowboy of North America. Since the late 20th century, agriculture has intensified as an industry; landowners have 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 in Argentina and Uruguay, as well as in Paraguay or Chile, particularly those with historic architecture, have been converted into guest ranches called
paradores. Several cities and villages, mainly but not exclusively in Latin America, developed from such estancias and are named accordingly, for example: •
Estância in
Sergipe state, Brazil • Estancia
El Brete,
Salta Province, Argentina •
Estancia, Iloilo in the province of
Iloilo, Philippines.
California mission estancias Many
California missions in North America had separate farms and ranchos associated with them. These were known as
California mission estancias, which were different from the
California ranchos, based on land grants to individuals.
In Puerto Rico An estancia, during Spanish colonial times in
Puerto Rico (1508–1898), was a plot of land used for cultivating (minor crops). That is, the crops in such farms were produced in relatively small quantities and thus were meant, not for wholesale or exporting, but for local, island-wide sale and consumption. Some such were
rice,
corn,
beans,
batatas,
ñames,
yautías, and
pumpkins; among fruits were
plantains,
bananas,
oranges,
avocados, and
grapefruits. A farm equipped with industrial machinery used for processing its crops into derivatives such as
juices,
marmalades,
flours, etc., for wholesale and export was not called an
estancia, but instead was called a
hacienda. ==See also==