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A Cowboy Journey - From Vaquero to American Icon
Not many people realize that the cowboy tradition that we now know actually originated from the very traditional Spanish vaqueros. It all began with the ranches, or the Spanish hacienda system present in Medieval Spain, some of which are still alive and in production until this very day.
That particular style of cattle handling went into and throughout most of the Iberian Peninsula until it finally migrated into the northern part of the Americas. Both places had a hot and dry climate, so even if there was a vast amount of land, there was very little grass, so huge tracts of land are needed as grazing grounds to get sufficient food and sustenance for the animals.
This need to oversee a large and diversely elevated area of land gave rise to the need of the overseer to be off his feet and on a horse. Thus, the horseback-mounted cowboy came into focus.
During the 16th century, the early Spanish settlers and the Conquistadors brought the cattle-raising and their horses and their tradition of the vaquero system to the Americas. The rise of the rearing of the domesticated cattle and horses that they brought over started the trend of working as a cowboy for the ranches.
These settlements were in what are known today as Mexico and Florida, where many of the Spanish descendants are holding residence up to now. The traditions of Spain were also transformed and evolved as it was influenced by the geographic, environmental and cultural differences that it faced in the transition. In turn, the Spanish also changed the way of life in the towns near the settlement in terms of their lifestyle, habits and tastes.
So although popularly considered as an all-American icon, the traditional cowboy elevated from Hispanic origins, which transformed further into what the image of the cowboy is today. However, in the old days, most cowboys were men of Mexican and Native American origin, while most of the hacendados or the ranch owners, were all descendants of the original Spanish settlers.
It is also crucial to note the importance of the horse in both the real work of a real cowboy to those who are only the media projections of the image. The arrival and use of horses was very significant since horses and other equine animals have been extinct in the Americas since prehistoric times, as early as the ice age.
However, with the reintroduction of this species into the Americas by the Spanish settlers, the horse population quickly increased and contributed to the success of Spanish settlers and ranch owners. The imported horses were of Andalusian, Barb and Arabian ancestry, however because of horse breeding and natural selection due to the number of animals who were able to escape to the wild, many uniquely American horse breeds came to be.
The Mustang, and other common "wild" breeds are now considered untamed horses, but these breeds are actually feral horses, and are descendants of what were domesticated equines.
From Spanish manservants to the all-American icon, there is no doubt that the cowboy is an image that made its mark in history.
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