Military Relations on Chile's Southern Frontier (Araucanía) in the Early Nineteenth Century

Chile’s Independence battles officially ended in 1818.  However, the newly formed Chilean Republic struggled against remnants of the Spanish Crown in Araucanía from 1819-1824.  During this period, the few remaining Spanish colonial commanders retreated to this region, a stronghold of royalist sentiment, to regroup for another assault on the Chilean nationalists.  What ensued was a guerrilla war among Chilean nationalists, Spanish officers, Mapuche Indians, and bandits that lasted five bloody years.  The outcome was the elimination of the Spanish in Araucanía, enabling the newly formed Chilean Republic to further its plans to outright annex this territory and assimilate its inhabitants, the Mapuche Indians.  

This paper examines the relationship between the Chilean army, Spanish officers, bandits, and Indians in Araucanía during this five year period.  Araucanía, as Chile’s southern frontier, served as a refuge for a few remaining Spanish officers and their bandit and Mapuche allies, but these relationships were far from set in stone.  Bandits and Mapuche Indians had their own particular reasons for allying with the Spaniards.  To complicate the already chaotic situation, some Mapuches allied with the Chilean army and worked diligently to eliminate the remaining Spanish contingent from Chile.  This paper explores these relationships to gain a better understanding of the complexity of alliances and allegiances of marginalized groups during this tumultuous period in Chilean history.