Environmental determinism is a concept, which emphasizes the notion that one’s physical environment determines his or her trajectory of growth. In other words, a society or community develops in a manner it does due to its surrounding environment and related influences. Sarmiento’s discussion on civilization and barbarism reflects environmental determinism because an individual living in a city has a different physical environment than a person living in the countryside. For example, he states that there are a certain disdain and hostility of a person from the countryside towards a more educated inhabitant of a city, and similarly, the latter perceives the former as more barbaric (83). In other words, a “barbaric” person experiences different environmental challenges compared to his or her counterpart because he needs to “take down a wild bull,” whereas a more “civilized” person “may have read many books” (83). Therefore, the main reason is rooted in the fact that both of these individuals become such due to their environment, which determined their subsequent development.
Sarmiento describes gauchos as “trackers” because they can identify their domestic animals with a high level of precision as professional trackers. He describes trackers as a “grave and circumspect personage whose declarations are accepted without question by local judges” (86). For example, plainsmen are the trackers because they can identify a mule, which went missing for a year, by its hoof print. The tracker has positive qualities in regards to being skilled in such a way that they recognize small differences and notice, which is unnoticeable by others. In other words, the tracker has a certain set of skills, which can be used for both good and bad deeds, where Calibar helped to track a prisoner, but also helped a group of political prisoners to escape.
Reference
Sarmiento, D. F. (1916). Facundo. Editorial America.