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Samuel Fisher Lafone: Montevideo Saladero Owner and Falklands Venturer

A British merchant who built a salted-beef business in Uruguay and put his name on the Falklands' Lafonia.

Who was Samuel Fisher Lafone?

Samuel Fisher Lafone was born in Liverpool on 6 August 1805, the son of a broker and tanner, according to the Dictionary of Falklands Biography. He sailed to the River Plate region in the 1820s, never returned to England, and became one of the best-known British merchants in Montevideo.

His wealth rested on a simple idea. Cattle on the River Plate were plentiful and cheap, but meat spoiled quickly, so the money lay in processing and shipping. His fortune came from cattle byproducts: charque, salt beef and hides, all products of the pampas herds that were abundant but poorly priced before processing.

The saladero business near Montevideo

The Falklands biography says he operated a slaughter yard, a jerked beef factory and a salt beef plant, all described as profitable, and shipped cow hides to Europe. The Wikipedia biography places the early salting work at the Cerro, across the bay from Montevideo's old town. Spanish-language summaries name his plant the Saladero del Pantanoso.

He also built a large landholding in Uruguay, including land around Punta del Este, and took part in sealing at Isla de Lobos. The brothers held a seal concession there for years.

Partnership with Urquiza

Lafone partnered with General Justo José de Urquiza, Governor of Entre Ríos, to process cattle. Urquiza ran a vast estancia, and the Wikipedia biography gives its size as 950,000 hectares. For a saladero, a partner with that many cattle meant steady supply.

The Dictionary of Falklands Biography confirms the partnership and adds that the cattle were processed in the plants he ran. The pairing joined British capital and mercantile contacts to a landowner who controlled the animals, a model repeated in many River Plate meat ventures.

Hope Place and Lafonia in the Falklands

In 1844 Lafone proposed to the Falklands governor, Moody, a scheme to lease the islands' wild cattle for slaughter. An agreement was signed on 16 March 1846. His manager R.A. Williams arrived in May 1847 with 102 men, and the Hope Place saladero began to operate on the shores of Brenton Loch. A January 1850 contract reduced the price to 30,000 pounds.

He sold his interests to the Falkland Islands Company (see the full Falklands biography entry), formed in 1851, subscribing for over 200 of its 1,000 shares and serving as a director. A dispute with the company began around 1854 and was settled by arbitration around 1857. The biography suggests he probably never visited the islands. Lafonia, the large southern part of East Falkland, still carries his name.

The Key to Lafone's Success

Lafone's record shows a merchant who matched a surplus resource, cattle, to export markets and used partners to supply raw material.

The record also includes costly misjudgments, such as the dispute over Falklands shares,.

  • Process before shipping: salting turned perishable beef into a trade good.
  • Sell the by-products: hides were shipped to Europe alongside jerked beef.
  • Partner for supply: Urquiza's Entre Ríos estancia fed his plants.
  • Look for untapped herds: the Falklands cattle scheme tried to repeat the method on wild cattle.
  • Spread the risk: sealing, land and church patronage diversified his activities.

Family, faith and legacy

Lafone married Maria Quevedo y Alsina in 1832 or 1833, after a first ceremony was annulled and the couple married again in a Catholic church on 13 June 1833. They had three sons and six daughters, two of whom died in infancy, according to the Falklands biography. He donated land and building costs for Holy Trinity Church in Montevideo, and its Lafone Hall bears his name. He died in Buenos Aires on 30 April 1871, during a yellow fever outbreak, five years after his wife.

Wikipedia also records that he helped plan the La Teja neighborhood of Montevideo, where a square is named for him. Readers curious about similar enterprises can browse the ranching pages at farm.FM or read a farm.FM story about the hide and salted beef trade.

Timeline

  1. 1805Born in Liverpool
  2. 1833Marries Maria Quevedo y Alsina
  3. 1844Proposes cattle scheme to Falklands governor
  4. 1846Agreement signed on 16 March
  5. 1847Manager R.A. Williams arrives with 102 men; Hope Place saladero begins
  6. 1851Falkland Islands Company formed; Lafone sells interests
  7. 1871Dies in Buenos Aires on 30 April

Frequently asked questions

Who was Samuel Fisher Lafone?

He was a Liverpool-born merchant who ran saladeros, hide shipping and landholdings in Uruguay and organized the Hope Place cattle salting venture in the Falkland Islands before selling to the Falkland Islands Company.

What is Lafonia named after?

Lafonia, the southern part of East Falkland, is named after Samuel Fisher Lafone, who arranged the 1846 agreement to exploit the islands' wild cattle.

What did Lafone's saladero produce?

His plants produced jerked beef, salt beef and hides, which were shipped to Europe and other markets.

How did Samuel Lafone die?

He died in Buenos Aires on 30 April 1871 during a yellow fever outbreak, according to the Dictionary of Falklands Biography, of cerebritis.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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