Displacing the stage: the Araucanians in the Independence Process of Chile

Abstract

This article analyses the Araucanian presence in the Independence process of Chile. Between 1810 and 1818, the time in which Chile achieved its formal independence, the Mapuches were alien to the process because the war between patriot and royalist troops was fought in the centre of the country, an area bound in the north by the region of La Serena and in the south by the region of Concepción. The displacement southwards of the scene of events due to the attempts by royalist forces to recover power from there brought about the Chilean government’s interest in this indigenous world on the frontier. In this new phase of the war which went on until 1828, Spanish troops established themselves in the Araucanía, encountering strong allies in the caciques of the area. The policies of the Chilean government towards the indigenous population were ambiguous, and although it tried to win friendship out of need, the natives overwhelmingly supported the royalist cause in their war to the death. This paper, along with exploring the reasons given by historians to explain the stance taken by the indigenous people, presents the ways in which the frontier, through an ideological model based on the confronting visions of civilization and barbarism observed in the Araucanians, was pacified after the definitive defeat of the royalist troops.

Keywords

• Chile
• independencia
• araucanos
• patriotas
• realistas
• frontera
• guerra a muerte