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Auction: 317 - The Collector's Series
Lot: 990

Argentina. Medal for the Chaco Campaign, 1870-1884. With Bar for the 'Expedicion 1884'. Gold (10-12k?). 31 mm. Argentine Arms; CAMPAÑA DEL CHACO around, rev. LA NACION ARGENTINA in three lines within wreath. On blue-white-blue moiré ribbon with fancy scrollwork top pin-bar. This handsome medal was awarded to Leopoldo Arnaud, head of the main scientific team in the 1884 Chaco Expedition. Lying in the northeastern part of Argentina, the Chaco region is part of the Gran Chaco in the Rio de la Plata basin, a massive, semi-arid expanse of near impenetrable forests straddling southeast Bolivia, northern Argentina, northern Paraguay and parts of the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Matto Grosso do Sul. Early on, the Conquistadores attempted to penetrate its unwelcoming wilderness, but the vegetation, fierce indigenous tribes and lack of water turned them back.
Becoming lost in the forest while hunting soon after entering the Chaco, Arnaud wrote: "the Indians, the beasts, the deadly reptiles, that was the picture I was facing. Nobody can fully understand…the sensation you go through when stepping onto a totally virgin terrain, on a land on which there is not even the slightest trace of civilized man."
Though isolated and uninviting, the Gran Chaco became a disputed territory from 1810 onward -- culminating in the bloody Chaco War of 1932-1935 between Bolivian and Paraguay.
Propelled by Buenos Aires desire to "advance civilization and progress," Argentina mounted a number of expeditions from 1870 to 1884 to pacify the indigenous population. In October, 1884, it mounted the largest military campaign ever conducted in the Chaco. Under the command of General Benjamín Victorica, the campaign utilized several cavalry regiments; the indigenous resistance proved no match for the Argentine Remingtons.
Teams of scientists, technicians, and engineers accompanied the army with a mandate to survey and map the area, and gather data on its geography, flora, fauna and peoples. Leading the scientific team was Leopoldo Arnaud, who afterwards published in 1889 "Del Timbó al Tartagal: Impresiones de un viaje á través del Gran Chaco".
Thin edge split as made. Toned Choice Extremely Fine and Very Rare.

Sold for
$1,300