Banditry in Chile
Banditry(Spanish:bandidaje) was a considerable phenomenon in 19th century and early 20th centuryCentral ChileandAraucanía.Many bandits achieved legendary status for their brutality and others for being regardedfolk heroes.[1]The bandits usually preyed onhaciendasand theirinquilinos.[1]
TheChilean War of Independence(1810–1826) shaped an era of banditry as the war transitioned into irregular warfare known asGuerra a muerte(1819–1821) which was particularly destructive for theBiobío areaand ended only to see a period of outlaw banditry occur until the late 1820s.[2]The rise of banditry made travel dangerous; indeed, 1812 is held as the date from where travel betweenConcepciónandSantiagowas not longer safe for small groups.[3]ThePincheira brothers,a royalist outlaw group based on indigenous territory east of the Andes, was defeated and dissolved in 1832.[4]
In the words ofBenjamín Vicuña Mackenna,banditry was a "national plague, worse than lepra or cholera."[3]Following Chilean victories inthe War of the Pacificagainst Peru, veterans begun to return in 1881, leading to a surge in banditry.[4]The return of the veterans coincided with the Chilean Army's crushing ofMapucheresistance duringthe Occupation of Araucanía(1861–1883). This allowed opportunities for bandits and veterans-turned-bandits to immigrate to the newly opened Araucanía territory,[5][4]leading to sudden rise in violence in a region that was recovering from Chilean-Mapuche warfare.[6]Bandits that immigrated to Araucanía allied with displaced Mapuche and made cattle theft their chief business.[5]Stolen cattle was sold in marketplaces through the region.[5]
Thus Araucanía continued to be an insecure zone for many years.[6]Assaultsandrobberywere common in the region.[7]Because of this until the 1920scarbines,revolvers,and other firearms were common in the households of Araucanía.[7]Banditry in Araucanía and Central Chile began to be suppressed in the late 19th century with the creation of the rural policeCuerpo de Gendarmes para las Colonias,a predecessor to Chile's main police forceCarabineros de Chile.[1]Hernán Trizanoled this policing force until 1905.[8]
Notable bandits
[edit]- Independence Era
- José Miguel Neira,leader ofLos Neirinos,patriots[5]
- Pincheira brothers,royalists
- 1835–1900
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abcdefg"Bandidaje rural en Chile central (1820-1920)".Memoria Chilena(in Spanish).Biblioteca Nacional de Chile.Retrieved30 December2019.
- ^Villaloboset al.1974, pp. 406–413.
- ^abSalinas 1986, p. 59.
- ^abc"Bandidaje rural en Chile central (1820-1920): Cronología".Memoria Chilena(in Spanish).Biblioteca Nacional de Chile.Retrieved30 December2019.
- ^abcdSalinas 1986, p. 60.
- ^abCádiz Villarroel, Francisco Felipe (2013)."Chilenización institucional y progreso en Villarrica, Chile, 1900-1920"(PDF).Procesos Históricos(in Spanish).XII(23): 58–73.Retrieved5 December2013.
- ^abFerrando 1986, p. 620
- ^"Historia de Carabineros de Chile".Carabineros.cl(in Spanish). Archived fromthe originalon 19 July 2012.Retrieved7 December2013.
- Bibliography
- Ferrando Kaun, Ricardo (1986).Y así nació La Frontera...(Second ed.). Editorial Antártica.ISBN978-956-7019-83-0.
- Villalobos, Sergio;Silva, Osvaldo; Silva, Fernando; Estelle, Patricio (1974).Historia De Chile(14th ed.).Editorial Universitaria.ISBN956-11-1163-2.
- Salinas, Maximiliano A. (1986)."El bandolero chileno del siglo XIX: Su imagen en la sabiduría popular".Araucaria de Chile(in Spanish): 57–75.Retrieved21 December2019.