Colonial Chile

The Colony is the period in the history of Chile that covers the development of what was the Kingdom of Chile or Captaincy General of Chile, a territory that is part of the Hispanic Monarchy, between the battle of Curalaba (1598), which marked the end of the period of the Conquest of Chile, and the installation of the First Government Junta of Chile (1810), which gave way to the process of independence of Chile and, in the continental context, the balkanization of Spanish America.

In this period, a great racial and cultural syncretism was formed that originated in the coexistence of peninsular Hispanics and indigenous people, giving rise to Chilean society as such, and was characterized by the creation of an institutional organization that aims to offer training integral to others.

In this sense, the cultural formation of Chile at this time, like that of the rest of the Hispanic world, was due to a profound mutual fertilization of different cultures and creeds. Reaffirming the difference with respect to other American realities, where the native population suffered displacement and extermination by the English colonists.

Imperial Administration

From the Iberian Peninsula, the highest sovereign of the provinces and kingdoms in Latin America was the king of Spain, the head of a Catholic monarchy with a system of fueros, under his command there were two administrative forms: the Council of the Indies and the House of Hiring. The Council of the Indies was an organization located in Seville, created in 1524. Its function was to advise the king on the appointment of officials destined for America and on the creation of laws; monitor the application of the right to patronage (rights of the Catholic Church for the appointment of ecclesiastical authorities, define places to build temples, monasteries, etc. and carry out residency trials (evaluation at the end of its mandate). The Casa de Contratación was created on in Seville in 1503. He was in charge of supervising the commercial monopoly that Spain had over Chile and its other imperial overseas provinces, in addition to monitoring the arrival of people to America and Chile.

In America the highest representative of the king was the viceroy, who had judicial and administrative powers. Under his command, in his case, were the governors and captains general. The Captaincy General of Chile was directed by the governor and captain general, who remained under the supervision of the viceroy of Peru for much of the period; he had governmental, military and economic functions. His duty was to ensure the security of the territory and exercise the vice-patronage (he exercised the royal patronage in more everyday situations).

He was also in charge of presiding over the Royal Court, the highest court of justice in Chilean territory, made up of four judges or oidores, which acted as an advisory body to the governor, and who also held office in the event of a vacancy. Furthermore, due to the division of the territory into provinces, there was a plural number of magistrates, who had similar powers as the governor but in a smaller territory, acting as lieutenant governor and captain in war. And finally there was the council, an organization that represented and defended the interests of the neighbors.

Political changes of the 18th century

In the 18th century, Spain changed its dynastic house, with the Habsburgs reigning, replaced by the Bourbons. They made many changes to try to improve the political system of Latin America, based on enlightened despotism, which can be classified as:

• Economics: the good functioning of the commercial monopoly needed to end smuggling, so the Bourbons opened more ports, such as Valparaíso and Talcahuano, increasing the variety of products and allowing trade between Spanish provinces, previously forbidden.

• Administrative: To make the government more efficient, the Bourbons decide and administrative smaller ones. The mayors emerge, division of the general captains, among them the Concepción and the Santiago and the Chiloé government becomes a dependency of the viceroyalty of Peru, while the corregimiento of Cuyo is transferred to the viceroy of the Rio de la Plata. In addition, cities such as Los Andes and San Felipe are founded for the same purpose.

Important Governors

In the 18th century Chile had important governors, many of whom became viceroys of Peru. For example, the Irishman Ambrosio O'Higgins. Father of Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme, Liberator of Chile and considered 'Father of the Country'.

Social structure

At the top of the social pyramid were the peninsulares, a minority group in Spanish-American society, but dominant in the aristocracy. They held important public and military positions.

In second place were the criollos who were the pure or almost pure (and generally legitimate) descendants of the peninsulars. A large part of them belonged to the aristocracy. These were the owners of the land and dominated most of the productive activities. Some members of this group had strong socioeconomic power, but not political power; they managed to hold public positions, but of medium or little importance.

At the end of the Hispanic period, most of this group was of northern origin (mostly Castilian and Basque). Below this aristocracy (of northern peninsular origin) was an incipient "upper-middle class" and a half of southern peninsular origin (mostly Andalusian and Extremaduran).

Thirdly we have the mestizos who were the bulk of the Hispanic population. These were those born from peninsular-indigenous or criollo-indigenous relationships, although as the Hispanic period progressed, and with the extinction of the indigenous people in the areas under Hispanic rule, the process of miscegenation continued, this time between whites and mestizos (thus increasing the percentage of European blood in the population that inhabited these areas).

The mestizos worked in various jobs, as artisans, low-ranking soldiers, small merchants, etc., although mainly in agriculture (as labor, through "inquilinaje", an institution that sometimes in turn replaced the "encomiendas" thanks to the New Laws of the Indies that sought to ratify the desire of the crown that there be no slavery in its territories). Despite being free, they were socially discriminated against, Therefore, they did not participate in political or administrative activities until late in the period.

In fourth place in the social pyramid were the indigenous people, incorrectly called "Indians" (and also called 'naturals'), were considered minors, so there was legislation that, unlike the previous group, protected them. But despite that, they were not highly respected nor did they have the right to political participation. When the XVIII century arrived, its extinction occurred in the areas under Hispanic rule.

Finally, at the base of the social pyramid and in fifth place were the black slaves, who had a very small presence in number. They were in charge of the housework

Marriage in Chile during this time could occur between people of different castes, producing miscegenation, however, socially for certain sectors, interracial marriage was frowned upon in the highest social classes, being prohibited in 1776 under the dynasty Bourbon, with the Pragmatic Sanction dictated that year by Charles III of Spain. Likewise, Catholic marriage was the only one that had legal validity, as civil marriage did not exist during this entire period. Also at this time, the differentiation between children born inside and outside of marriage began, the latter being considered "illegitimate" or "natural."

Economy of the Kingdom of Chile

At the beginning of the Hispanic period, in the 16th century, the economy was based on the encomienda. This system consisted of an encomendero being assigned a group of indigenous people who worked for him and defended the Crown's territory. In exchange, the encomendero gave them protection, evangelization, clothing and food. In 1542, King Charles I summoned theologians and the Valladolid Meetings were held. Bartolomé de las Casas had an important role in the discussion. On November 20, 1542, the New Laws of the Indies were promulgated, in which the encomienda of the Indians was prohibited on the grounds that abuses had been committed and it was ordered that all of them be freed from the encomenderos and transferred to the direct protection of the Crown.

With this, the Hacienda system emerged in the 18th century, which became the basis of the rural economy.

These large lands, where agricultural activities were carried out, had workshops for the manufacture of the elements they needed, so the hacienda was capable of being self-sufficient. The landowner, generally Creole, was in charge of his estate. He was in charge of hiring tenants and laborers as labor. The first worked in productive tasks and protected the limits of the territory, in exchange, they received land to live, cultivate and raise livestock. The latter used to wander through the fields, looking for work on the farms during grazing times.

In the 16th century, mercantilism, an economic system chosen by the Crown, promoted mining, specifically, the obtaining of metals, in order to enrich the Metropolis. Numerous gold pans were found to make coins, tableware, jewelry, cannons, bells and household utensils. In addition to gold, silver, copper and lead minerals were exploited and in agriculture the planting of wheat and barley began.

Imperial Education

During the Hispanic era, education was a task headed primarily by religious congregations and, to a lesser extent, by councils. In them reading and writing were taught, plus some rudiments of arithmetic and catechism. But real education was more focused on the aristocratic areas of the country such as the peninsulars and children or descendants of peninsulars in Chile, although there are records of schools made to train the workforce, and to teach women sewing practices, all of these directed by religious orders such as the Jesuits and Dominicans among others.

The priests were the most cultured people of the time; Therefore, the teaching had a solid religious basis. They provided education, intended for children from wealthy families. Also in this period the orders of the Mercedarians and Franciscans formed schools in Concepción, Osorno, La Imperial and Valdivia.

Almost all of the large cities had schools that provided secondary education under ecclesiastical sponsorship. These incomes came from donations, their objective was to train literate people in the priestly area (seminaries). For the crown, every commune had to support one or more primary schools, but municipal revenues were usually scarce, and at the end of the Spanish-American political regime the number of public schools was usually zero.

In Chile the income for a state education did not exist. Creoles received primary education in convents or schools maintained by secular clergy or private patrons. For the Hispanic monarchy, education had to be in charge of the Church. Obviously only for the needs of the moment, Spain maintained little development in its own region, therefore the concern of the Latin American governments about education did not exist; More than anything, education was limited to training Dominicans and Jesuits, among others, for the development of the faith.

Each religious order maintained studies for the training of priests. The crown demanded that every indigenous town maintain a school to teach Spanish. Due to the need to convert the indigenous people to the Catholic faith, an Araucanian language course was opened in Penco, but it did not last due to a shortage of students. A school was also built where the Mapuches could learn Spanish, the Colegio de Naturales de Chillán (1697). But this measure was not always followed.

In the most remote towns, only the chiefs or “principals” understood Spanish and knew how to read and write. The indigenous children were gathered in the atriums and patios of the churches, monasteries mainly for religious instruction, they formed hundreds of students and the main teaching focused on them learning to read and write.

At the beginning of the Hispanic period, the training of indigenous schools surpassed that of Creoles or aristocrats, since it was the easiest way to train a semi-specialized workforce focused on work. The schools were also focused on future mothers. In these institutions they were probably not taught to read and write, but rather focused on the Christian life and the domestic arts, catechism, sewing and embroidery. The girls remained in these schools from the age of five or six until puberty. Normally, those girls who entered puberty were married to the pupils of the missionaries, with this, it was believed, the Christianization of indigenous society would be easier. This fact produced an increase in the mestizo population, rejected both on the Hispanic and indigenous sides, a large part of these children grew up without education and became the scourge of society (vagrants, prostitutes, criminals), with this the formation of schools dedicated to salvation of these people increased in Chile.

In the Spanish American provinces, the need of the aristocrats for an education at their level for their children forced the crown to produce the first two major universities in America, both “royal” and “pontifical”, they were those of Mexico and Peru created by imperial decrees in 1551. It also avoided the dangerous trip of aristocratic children to Spain to obtain education. Thus, the largest educational centers that were formed by Jesuits “enjoyed the power to confer the degree of Doctor of Theology, which provided for ecclesiastical positions” (Campos Harriet, p 44).

The Jesuits founded a boarding school for young aristocrats: the Convictorio de San Francisco Javier. Alonso de Ovalle and the Abbe Don Juan Ignacio Molina did their first studies there. After the expulsion of that religious order from the country, in 1767, the boarding school, maintained by the State, was transformed into the Carolino Convictory. There is evidence that in the 17th century, three higher education centers with the category of pontifical universities operated in Chile, which had an eminently ecclesiastical character: the Colegio Máximo San Miguel of the Jesuits and the University of Santo Tomás de Aquino of the Dominicans, both in Santiago; while in Concepción the Pencopolitana University run by the Jesuits operated for 43 years. They offered degrees in philosophy and theology in preparation for the priesthood.

In 1738, authorization was obtained from Philip V for the founding of the University of San Felipe, which could grant bachelor's and doctor's degrees, thanks to the efforts of the Santiago council. With this, Chilean education and social class were enhanced.

Towards the end of the Hispanic period, the Academy of San Luis was founded, where mathematics, geometry, chemistry, drawing, etc. were taught. It had the merit of being the first Technical Education Institute in America.