Casimiro Biguá
19th-century indigenous leader from Patagonia / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Casimiro Biguá was a 19th-century Tehuelche cacique in Patagonia. He opposed the Chilean colonization of the Strait of Magellan and in the 1860s he entered an alliance with Argentine authorities. In a bid to establish Argentine sovereignty over the strait Argentine "ad-hoc agent" Luis Piedra Buena brought Biguá to Buenos Aires where met President Bartolomé Mitre and was declared lieutenant colonel of the Argentine Army and granted a salary accordingly.[1] In 1866 he signed a treaty with Argentine authorities where the Tehuelche were recognized as Argentine citizens and Argentine sovereignty up to the strait of Magellan was declared.[2] The influence of Casimiro Biguá in political affairs declined in the late 1860s.[2]
Casimiro Biguá | |
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Cacique of the southern Tehuelche people from the Strait of Magellan and the Patagonian coast | |
Predecessor | María la Grande |
Died | Patagonia |
Nationality | Tehuelche |
Mother | María la Grande |
He was known for his deference to English travellers and sea-farers.[3]