THE COLONY OF CHILE
In Chile, as has been said, the conquest of the land was effected under
far more strenuous circumstances than those which applied to any other
part of South America, with the exception, perhaps, of the coasts in the
neighbourhood of the estuary of the River Plate. In the early days of
Chile it is literally true that the colonists were obliged to go about
their labours with a handful of seed in one hand and a weapon of defence
in the other. It was owing to this constant warlike preoccupation that
the early cities of Chile were of so comparatively mean an order, for,
harassed by continuous Indian attacks as they were, the settlers could
find no leisure to devote their energies to anything of a pretentious or
even reasonably commodious order in the way of town-building.
In the north of the Continent the enervating climate, facile conquest,
and easy life had naturally tended to atrophy the energy of the
Spaniards. In Chile, on the other hand, the constant and fierce
struggles of the warlike natives, the hardships and frugal living, and
the temperate and exhilarating atmosphere, tended not only to preserve
the energy, but even to increase the virility of the settler in the
south.
It is true that in the central provinces of the country, where the
Indians were less numerous and less warlike than the Araucanians of the
south, a certain number of the natives were distributed into
_encomiendas_, and set to work at enforced tasks, but the number of
these, compared with those which existed in the centre and north of the
Continent, remained utterly insignificant. As to the Araucanians
themselves, their indomitable nature absolutely forbade an existence
under such conditions.
It was not only with the aborigines of their new country that the
Spanish settlers in Chile had to contend. Nature had in store for them a
species of catastrophe which was admirably adapted to test their
fortitude to an even greater degree. Thus in 1570 the newly-founded city
of Concepcion was brought to the ground by an earthquake, and some
eighty years later the larger centre of Santiago became a heap of
smoking ruins from the same cause. Indeed, throughout the history of
both the colonial and independent eras Chile has been from time to time
visited by such terrible calamities as these. In every instance,
however, the disaster has left the inhabitants undismayed, and new and
larger towns have risen upon the sites of the old.
Chile, probably owing to the comparatively limited area of its soil, was
never raised to the rank of a Viceroyalty; nevertheless the Governorship
of the province was, of course, one of the most important on the
Continent. After the death of Valdivia on the field of battle, Francisco
Villagran was elected as chief of the new colony. At the period when he
assumed command there had come about one of the most severe of the many
crises through which the young colony was destined to pass. The
Araucanians, emboldened by their victories, now pressed on to the attack
from all sides with an impetuosity and confidence which proved
irresistible. The south was for the time being abandoned, and the
Spanish women and children were hurriedly sent by sea to Valparaiso,
while the harassed army retired towards the north.
Presently Lautaro, the famous Araucanian chief, at the head of his
undefeated army, marched in the track of the retreating Spaniards, and
threatened Santiago itself. But for an access of over-confidence on the
part of the natives, it is likely enough that the Spanish power would
have been completely swept from Chile. Villagran, returning to the
capital with reinforcements, found the investing Araucanian army in a
totally unprepared condition. Some were carousing, many slept, and in
any case the majority were drunk, a state to which, as a matter of fact,
these southern Indians were only too prone at all times. Villagran,
perceiving his opportunity, fell upon the demoralized native army, and
defeated them utterly with great slaughter. Lautaro himself, the flower
of the Araucanian warriors, perished in the ensuing struggle.
Villagran had thoroughly deserved this success, which had crowned one of
the most exhausting periods of the terrific struggle. He possessed, in
the first place, many fine qualities as a leader, and was one of the
toughest, bravest, and most honest of the _conquistadores_.
Unfortunately for himself, these qualities did not appear to suffice in
the eyes of the highest Spanish official in South America. Shortly after
his victory Villagran was superseded by Garcia Hurtado de Mendoza, son
of the Viceroy of Peru. Mendoza possessed many good points; at the same
time, he had to a full degree many of the faults which characterized so
great a number of the Spanish noblemen of the period. Thus, he was
unduly arrogant and autocratic towards his comrades of inferior rank,
flinging Villagran into prison on his first arrival in the country as
the result of little beyond a whim. On the other hand, it must be
admitted that Mendoza spared no endeavours to conciliate and treat with
kindness the Araucanian Indians.
Garcia Hurtado de Mendoza had some reason for his arrogance. At twenty
years of age, when sent by his father to Chile at the head of his force,
he had already distinguished himself by his bravery, and, according to
one biographer, had already fought in Corsica, Tuscany, Flanders, and in
France. Even in that age there were not many who could boast of having
effected all this when still in their teens. It was little wonder that
he was high-spirited, wilful, and impetuous. Ercilla represents him as
very ardent in battle, sometimes fighting himself, sometimes urging on
his soldiers, always in movement. At the time of the Araucanian invasion
he addressed his troops in the most humane terms. One of his sayings was
to the effect that--"An enemy who surrenders is a friend whom we ought
to protect; it is a greater thing to give life than to destroy it."
Sentiments of this kind were doubly commendable when, judging from their
rarity, they could scarcely have been popular.
Notwithstanding his good intentions towards the Araucanians, Mendoza
soon found himself involved in a struggle to the death with the now
hereditary foes of his race, for the southern Indians--maintaining their
reputation--proved themselves implacable, and would hear nothing of
compromise. After many fierce battles, in the course of which fortune
ebbed either way, Mendoza succeeded in capturing Caupolican, who was
tortured to death, an episode which caused a short lull in the fevered
activities of the Spanish forces.
In 1560 Mendoza was abruptly ordered by King Philip II. of Spain to
surrender his post as Governor to Francisco Villagran. That fine old
_conquistador_ was now worn out in body and a wreck of his former self.
The furious combats with the Araucanians broke out afresh, and continued
unabated. A series of disasters shattered the spirit of Villagran, and
sent him to his grave. Following this came the usual succession of
Governors, and the unbroken continuance of the Indian wars, victory
and disaster alternately succeeding each other to an extent which would
prove monotonous if an attempt at description were made.
[Illustration: ACAPULCO, ON THE PACIFIC COAST.
One of the chief points of sailing of the great East Indian trading
galleons of Spain.
_From a seventeenth-century engraving._]
There is only one instance, I believe, of a white man having gained the
complete confidence of the Araucanians, and this did not occur until a
century after the two races had first come into contact with each other.
It is said that in 1642--thirty-nine years after the town of Valdivia
had been captured from the Spaniards and destroyed--Colonel Alonzo de
Villanueva, who had been sent to the south with the object of regaining
possession of the city, effected this without bloodshed by the
employment of an extraordinary amount of tact and patience. He landed at
a point a little to the south of Valdivia, and boldly made his
appearance quite alone among the astonished warriors. He remained with
them for two years, when, having won their respect and confidence, he
proposed that they should appoint him their Governor at Valdivia,
explaining that by this move they would effect a reconciliation with the
Spaniards, and, in consequence, obtain many material benefits. The
Araucanians readily fell in with the idea, and in 1645 Valdivia was
rebuilt, and was again populated. Undoubtedly in the middle of the
seventeenth century time was of very little value in Chile, and in any
case it would seem that to effect so brilliant a result at so little
cost was worth the two years' wait!
In 1577 Sir Francis Drake made his appearance in the Pacific, and was
the pioneer of the adventurers who were to follow in the wake of his
keel. Thus new anxieties were added to the minds of the Chilean
officials, although it must be said that the colonists, when they once
became accustomed to the visits of these foreigners, gave them an
increasingly friendly reception, notwithstanding the hostility evinced
towards them by the Spaniards. It was not long before this new and grim
type of visitor increased in numbers and grew cosmopolitan.
The Dutch, always on the look out for a weapon with which to flog their
enemies the Spaniards, had managed to glean intelligence of the
successful warfare which the Araucanians in Southern Chile were waging
against the Spanish troops. When the news of the separation of Portugal
from Spain reached Holland, the position of that country's forces in
Brazil became automatically somewhat unsettled--at all events in theory,
and finally in practice. It was then that the idea occurred to them to
establish settlements in equally fertile and less tropical climates.
A squadron was fitted out by the Dutch navigator, Brouwer, and in 1642
it sailed into the Pacific Ocean, and the troops effected a landing on
the Island of Chiloe. Here they succeeded in inflicting a defeat upon
the Spanish forces. It was now the policy of the invader to establish
friendly relations with the Araucanians. Before long they persuaded a
number of the chiefs to enter into an alliance with them; this brought
about, they prepared to establish themselves permanently in the south of
Chile.
First of all they erected a fort at Valdivia without encountering any
opposition on the part of the natives. After this they began to trade;
but they permitted their lust of gain to outweigh their discretion. So
eager did they show themselves to obtain gold in exchange for weapons
and other objects coveted by the dusky races, that the Araucanians
became suspicious, and in the end awoke to the fact that the presence of
the Dutch in their country was due to precisely the same causes as had
attracted the Spanish. Disillusioned, they withdrew their hastily
extended friendship, and retired to their own haunts, lending a passive
rather than an active resistance to those strangers with whom they still
remained on outward terms of friendship. The relations, however, became
more strained when, on the rare occasions when the two races came into
contact, the Indians refused to supply the Dutch with provisions. This
policy of the Araucanians won them their object, for in the end the
Dutch, unable to subsist without the supplies for which they depended on
the Indians, were forced to relinquish their settlements and to abandon
the country.
An English expedition, with more peaceful intent, under the command of
Sir John Narborough, set sail from England towards the end of 1669, and
arrived in Valdivia in 1670. On this occasion the hands of the Commander
were strictly tied, since he had received implicit injunctions not to
fall foul of the Spaniards; thus, when he endeavoured to trade with the
Indians, the Spaniards took prisoner his lieutenant and three of his
men, whom they detained.
Sir John, it is said, contemplated rescuing his men by force, but the
fate of the unfortunate Sir Walter Raleigh, according to some ancient
historians, stayed his hand, and he reluctantly sailed from the coast,
leaving these four members of his crew prisoners of the Spaniards.
Rolt, who published a "History of South America" in 1766, has a rather
curious account of the methods by which the inhabitants of the town of
Concepcion in Chile carried on their business with the Indians.
"There is a beneficial trade carried on by the inhabitants of the
city of Conception, with the Indians behind them, who trade with
the Spaniards in a very peculiar manner, though they have never
negociated a peace with Spain. These Indians are called Aucaes, and
inhabit the mountains, where they retain the primitive customs and
manners of their ancestors. When a Spaniard comes to trade with
them, he addresses himself to the Cacique, or Chief, who, on
perceiving a stranger, cries out, _What, are you come?_ The
Spaniard answers, _Yes, I am come._ Then the Cacique says, _Well?
What have you brought me?_ The merchant answers, _A present._ And
the prince replies, _Then you are welcome._ He then provides a
lodging for the merchant near his own, where all the family go to
visit the stranger, in expectation of some present; and, in the
meantime, a horn is sounded to give notice to the Indians who are
abroad that a merchant has arrived. This soon assembles them
together about the merchant, who exhibits his treasure, consisting
of knives, scissors, pins, needles, ribbands, small
looking-glasses, and other toys, which the Indians carry away,
after settling the price, without getting anything in exchange;
but, after a certain time has elapsed, the horn is sounded again,
by the direction of the Cacique; when the Indians immediately
return, and punctually perform their respective engagements, the
goods they deal in being cattle, skins of wild beasts, and some
gold; but they bring very small quantities of the latter, as they
are sensible how dear the possession of that metal cost their
ancestors and their neighbours."
In the various treaties which were engineered from time to time between
the Spaniards and the Araucanians, one of the most important clauses
which the Spaniards invariably endeavoured to insert was to the effect
that the Indians were to oppose to the utmost of their power by force of
arms the founding of any foreign colony in the territories occupied by
them. Thus the attitude of the Araucanians towards foreigners was apt to
depend to some extent on whether they happened to be at peace or at war
with their Spanish neighbours. It was owing to this, moreover, that the
European adventurers found themselves attacked when they had very little
reason to fear an onslaught. One of these instances occurred in 1638,
when the natives murdered the survivors of a shipwrecked Dutch crew.
There were times, on the other hand, when the enmity between the Indians
and the Spaniards induced the former to render every assistance to the
rovers who came, whether by accident or design, to their coasts. It is
certain that the accounts of these foreigners retailed by the Spaniards
to the natives were not of a nature to render the intruders popular in
the eyes of the dusky southern dwellers.
During the chief part of the colonial era the town of Valdivia, in
Southern Chile, was employed as a sort of convict station for the white
criminals of Peru and Chile, and incidentally for a number of persons
whose sole crimes were of a political order. These prisoners were
employed in the erection of the fortifications of the spot, and the
ruins which still exist attest the solidarity and the extent of the
buildings. A large annual sum was wont to be allotted for the
maintenance of these fortifications, and for other objects connected
with the sustenance of both the prisoners and the garrison. It seems to
have been necessary to expend only a very small proportion of this sum
on the objects for which the allowance was originally intended, and from
its enormous financial opportunities the post of Governor of Valdivia
was one of the most sought after of any on the west coast of South
America.
The later colonial era of Chile, like that of Peru, is very little
concerned with dramatic episode, with the exception, of course, of the
raids on the part of foreigners which took place from time to time along
the coast. Yet it is curious to remark that in Chile, at the same time
as these buccaneers were burning, plundering, and fighting, other
vessels, more especially those of the French, were carrying on a trade
in peace with the various ports of the state. This commerce, moreover,
continued growing steadily, and the influence of the foreigners upon the
Chileans in time became marked, and was largely responsible for the
broad-minded views which prevailed among the colonials.