A view of araucanía: territorial constructions in the chilean colonization that begins in 19TH century

Abstract

This article presents a territorial view of the Araucanía region in Chile when it was formed in the second half of the nineteenth century. In this period, the area transformed from a territory dominated and constructed by the different Mapuche groups to one dominated and constructed by the Chilean State. Based on accounts given by historical sources and the cartography produced by Nicanor Boloña in 1916 and 1917, the main constructions that dominated the process of occupying and colonizing the territory, which lasted several years, are described. These constructions include: the series of military forts, the division of rural land, and the railroad line. The sum of these constructions came to give a new physiognomy and order to the entire region. Thus, the objective of this paper is to begin to understand the Araucanía from the point of view of the construction of the territory ́s form.