according to latin american historian john lynch, juan manuel de rosas was "a landowner, a rural "caudillo", and the dictator of buenos aires from 1829 to 1852". he was born into a wealthy family of high social status, but rosas's strict upbringing had a deep psychological influence on him. sarmiento asserts that because of rosas's mother, "the spectacle of authority and servitude must have left lasting impressions on him". shortly after reaching puberty, rosas was sent to an "estancia" and stayed there for about thirty years. in time, he learned how to manage the ranch and he established an authoritarian government in the area. while in power, rosas incarcerated residents for unspecified reasons, acts which sarmiento argues were similar to rosas's treatment of cattle. sarmiento argues that this was one method of making his citizens like the "tamest, most orderly cattle known".