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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Chile
Index
Pedro de Valdivia, founder of Santiago and Chile's first
governor
Courtesy Embassy of Chile, Washington
Chile's first known European discoverer, Ferdinand
Magellan,
stopped there during his voyage on October 21, 1520. A
concerted
attempt at colonization began when Diego de Almagro, a
companion of
conqueror Francisco Pizarro, headed south from Peru in
1535.
Disappointed at the dearth of mineral wealth and deterred
by the
pugnacity of the native population in Chile, Almagro
returned to
Peru in 1537, where he died in the civil wars that took
place among
the conquistadors.
The second Spanish expedition from Peru to Chile was
begun by
Pedro de Valdivia in 1540. Proving more persistent than
Almagro, he
founded the capital city of Santiago on February 12, 1541.
Valdivia
managed to subdue many northern Amerindians, forcing them
to work
in mines and fields. He had far less success with the
Araucanians
of the south, however.
Valdivia (1541-53) became the first governor of the
captaincy
general of Chile, which was the colonial name until 1609.
In that
post, he obeyed the viceroy of Peru and, through him, the
king of
Spain and his bureaucracy. Responsible to the governor,
town
councils known as cabildos administered local
municipalities, the most important of which was Santiago,
which was
the seat of a royal
audiencia
(see Glossary) from
1609 until
the end of colonial rule.
Seeking more precious metals and slave labor, Valdivia
established fortresses farther south. Being so scattered
and small,
however, they proved difficult to defend against
Araucanian attack.
Although Valdivia found small amounts of gold in the
south, he
realized that Chile would have to be primarily an
agricultural
colony.
In December 1553, an Araucanian army of warriors,
organized by
the legendary Mapuche chief Lautaro (Valdivia's former
servant),
assaulted and destroyed the fort of Tucapel. Accompanied
by only
fifty soldiers, Valdivia rushed to the aid of the fort,
but all his
men perished at the hands of the Mapuche in the Battle of
Tucapel.
Valdivia himself fled but was later tracked down,
tortured, and
killed by Lautaro. Although Lautaro was killed by
Spaniards in the
Battle of Mataquito in 1557, his chief, Caupolicán,
continued the
fight until his capture by treachery and his subsequent
execution
by the Spaniards in 1558. The uprising of 1553-58 became
the most
famous instance of Araucanian resistance; Lautaro in later
centuries became a revered figure among Chilean
nationalists. It
took several more years to suppress the rebellion.
Thereafter, the
Araucanians no longer threatened to drive the Spanish out,
but they
did destroy small settlements from time to time. Most
important,
the Mapuche held on to their remaining territory for
another three
centuries.
Despite inefficiency and corruption in the political
system,
Chileans, like most Spanish Americans, exhibited
remarkable loyalty
to crown authority throughout nearly three centuries of
colonial
rule. Chileans complained about certain policies or
officials but
never challenged the regime. It was only when the king of
Spain was
overthrown at the beginning of the nineteenth century that
Chileans
began to consider self-government.
Chileans resented their reliance on Peru for
governance, trade,
and subsidies, but not enough to defy crown authority.
Many Chilean
criollos (creoles, or Spaniards born in the New World)
also
resented domination by the peninsulares (Spaniards,
usually
officials, born in the Old World and residing in an
overseas
colony), especially in the sinecures of royal
administration.
However, local Chilean elites, especially landowners,
asserted
themselves in politics well before any movement for
independence.
Over time, these elites captured numerous positions in the
local
governing apparatus, bought favors from the bureaucracy,
co-opted
administrators from Spain, and came to exercise informal
authority
in the countryside.
Society in Chile was sharply divided along ethnic,
racial, and
class lines. Peninsulares and criollos dominated
the tiny
upper class. Miscegenation between Europeans and the
indigenous
people produced a mestizo population that quickly
outnumbered the
Spaniards. Farther down the social ladder were a few
African slaves
and large numbers of native Americans.
The Roman Catholic Church served as the main buttress
of the
government and the primary instrument of social control.
Compared
with its counterparts in Peru and Mexico, the church in
Chile was
not very rich or powerful. On the frontier, missionaries
were more
important than the Catholic hierarchy. Although usually it
supported the status quo, the church produced the most
important
defenders of the indigenous population against Spanish
atrocities.
The most famous advocate of human rights for the native
Americans
was a Jesuit, Luis de Valdivia (no relation to Pedro de
Valdivia),
who struggled, mostly in vain, to improve their lot in the
period
1593-1619.
Cut off to the north by desert, to the south by the
Araucanians, to the east by the Andes Mountains, and to
the west by
the ocean, Chile became one of the most centralized,
homogeneous
colonies in Spanish America. Serving as a sort of frontier
garrison, the colony found itself with the mission of
forestalling
encroachment by Araucanians and by Spain's European
enemies,
especially the British and the Dutch. In addition to the
Araucanians, buccaneers and English adventurers menaced
the colony,
as was shown by Sir Francis Drake's 1578 raid on
Valparaíso, the
principal port. Because Chile hosted one of the largest
standing
armies in the Americas, it was one of the most militarized
of the
Spanish possessions, as well as a drain on the treasury of
Peru.
Throughout the colonial period, the Spaniards engaged
in
frontier combat with the Araucanians, who controlled the
territory
south of the Río Bío-Bío (about 500 kilometers south of
Santiago)
and waged guerrilla warfare against the invaders. During
many of
those years, the entire southern region was impenetrable
by
Europeans. In the skirmishes, the Spaniards took many of
their
defeated foes as slaves. Missionary expeditions to
Christianize the
Araucanians proved risky and often fruitless.
Most European relations with the native Americans were
hostile,
resembling those later existing with nomadic tribes in the
United
States. The Spaniards generally treated the Mapuche as an
enemy
nation to be subjugated and even exterminated, in contrast
to the
way the Aztecs and the Incas treated the Mapuche, as a
pool of
subservient laborers. Nevertheless, the Spaniards did have
some
positive interaction with the Mapuche. Along with warfare,
there
also occurred some miscegenation, intermarriage, and
acculturation
between the colonists and the indigenous people.
Data as of March 1994
Politics and War in a Frontier Society
Pedro de Valdivia, founder of Santiago and Chile's first
governor
Courtesy Embassy of Chile, Washington
Chile's first known European discoverer, Ferdinand
Magellan,
stopped there during his voyage on October 21, 1520. A
concerted
attempt at colonization began when Diego de Almagro, a
companion of
conqueror Francisco Pizarro, headed south from Peru in
1535.
Disappointed at the dearth of mineral wealth and deterred
by the
pugnacity of the native population in Chile, Almagro
returned to
Peru in 1537, where he died in the civil wars that took
place among
the conquistadors.
The second Spanish expedition from Peru to Chile was
begun by
Pedro de Valdivia in 1540. Proving more persistent than
Almagro, he
founded the capital city of Santiago on February 12, 1541.
Valdivia
managed to subdue many northern Amerindians, forcing them
to work
in mines and fields. He had far less success with the
Araucanians
of the south, however.
Valdivia (1541-53) became the first governor of the
captaincy
general of Chile, which was the colonial name until 1609.
In that
post, he obeyed the viceroy of Peru and, through him, the
king of
Spain and his bureaucracy. Responsible to the governor,
town
councils known as cabildos administered local
municipalities, the most important of which was Santiago,
which was
the seat of a royal
audiencia
(see Glossary) from
1609 until
the end of colonial rule.
Seeking more precious metals and slave labor, Valdivia
established fortresses farther south. Being so scattered
and small,
however, they proved difficult to defend against
Araucanian attack.
Although Valdivia found small amounts of gold in the
south, he
realized that Chile would have to be primarily an
agricultural
colony.
In December 1553, an Araucanian army of warriors,
organized by
the legendary Mapuche chief Lautaro (Valdivia's former
servant),
assaulted and destroyed the fort of Tucapel. Accompanied
by only
fifty soldiers, Valdivia rushed to the aid of the fort,
but all his
men perished at the hands of the Mapuche in the Battle of
Tucapel.
Valdivia himself fled but was later tracked down,
tortured, and
killed by Lautaro. Although Lautaro was killed by
Spaniards in the
Battle of Mataquito in 1557, his chief, Caupolicán,
continued the
fight until his capture by treachery and his subsequent
execution
by the Spaniards in 1558. The uprising of 1553-58 became
the most
famous instance of Araucanian resistance; Lautaro in later
centuries became a revered figure among Chilean
nationalists. It
took several more years to suppress the rebellion.
Thereafter, the
Araucanians no longer threatened to drive the Spanish out,
but they
did destroy small settlements from time to time. Most
important,
the Mapuche held on to their remaining territory for
another three
centuries.
Despite inefficiency and corruption in the political
system,
Chileans, like most Spanish Americans, exhibited
remarkable loyalty
to crown authority throughout nearly three centuries of
colonial
rule. Chileans complained about certain policies or
officials but
never challenged the regime. It was only when the king of
Spain was
overthrown at the beginning of the nineteenth century that
Chileans
began to consider self-government.
Chileans resented their reliance on Peru for
governance, trade,
and subsidies, but not enough to defy crown authority.
Many Chilean
criollos (creoles, or Spaniards born in the New World)
also
resented domination by the peninsulares (Spaniards,
usually
officials, born in the Old World and residing in an
overseas
colony), especially in the sinecures of royal
administration.
However, local Chilean elites, especially landowners,
asserted
themselves in politics well before any movement for
independence.
Over time, these elites captured numerous positions in the
local
governing apparatus, bought favors from the bureaucracy,
co-opted
administrators from Spain, and came to exercise informal
authority
in the countryside.
Society in Chile was sharply divided along ethnic,
racial, and
class lines. Peninsulares and criollos dominated
the tiny
upper class. Miscegenation between Europeans and the
indigenous
people produced a mestizo population that quickly
outnumbered the
Spaniards. Farther down the social ladder were a few
African slaves
and large numbers of native Americans.
The Roman Catholic Church served as the main buttress
of the
government and the primary instrument of social control.
Compared
with its counterparts in Peru and Mexico, the church in
Chile was
not very rich or powerful. On the frontier, missionaries
were more
important than the Catholic hierarchy. Although usually it
supported the status quo, the church produced the most
important
defenders of the indigenous population against Spanish
atrocities.
The most famous advocate of human rights for the native
Americans
was a Jesuit, Luis de Valdivia (no relation to Pedro de
Valdivia),
who struggled, mostly in vain, to improve their lot in the
period
1593-1619.
Cut off to the north by desert, to the south by the
Araucanians, to the east by the Andes Mountains, and to
the west by
the ocean, Chile became one of the most centralized,
homogeneous
colonies in Spanish America. Serving as a sort of frontier
garrison, the colony found itself with the mission of
forestalling
encroachment by Araucanians and by Spain's European
enemies,
especially the British and the Dutch. In addition to the
Araucanians, buccaneers and English adventurers menaced
the colony,
as was shown by Sir Francis Drake's 1578 raid on
Valparaíso, the
principal port. Because Chile hosted one of the largest
standing
armies in the Americas, it was one of the most militarized
of the
Spanish possessions, as well as a drain on the treasury of
Peru.
Throughout the colonial period, the Spaniards engaged
in
frontier combat with the Araucanians, who controlled the
territory
south of the Río Bío-Bío (about 500 kilometers south of
Santiago)
and waged guerrilla warfare against the invaders. During
many of
those years, the entire southern region was impenetrable
by
Europeans. In the skirmishes, the Spaniards took many of
their
defeated foes as slaves. Missionary expeditions to
Christianize the
Araucanians proved risky and often fruitless.
Most European relations with the native Americans were
hostile,
resembling those later existing with nomadic tribes in the
United
States. The Spaniards generally treated the Mapuche as an
enemy
nation to be subjugated and even exterminated, in contrast
to the
way the Aztecs and the Incas treated the Mapuche, as a
pool of
subservient laborers. Nevertheless, the Spaniards did have
some
positive interaction with the Mapuche. Along with warfare,
there
also occurred some miscegenation, intermarriage, and
acculturation
between the colonists and the indigenous people.
Data as of March 1994
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