Captaincy General of Chile: Difference between revisions

| native_name = {{native name|es|Capitanía General de Chile Reino de Chile}}

| conventional_long_name = General Captaincy of Chile or <br/>Kingdom of Chile

| life_span = 1541-18101541–1810<br>1814-18171814–1818

| year_end = 18171818

| s1p2 = PatriaPrehispanic Viejahistory of Chile

| flag_type image_flag2 = [[CrossFlag of Burgundy|Ensign used bySpain Spanish(1785–1873, troops]]1875–1931).svg

| government_type = [[Monarchy]]

| year_leader2 = 1808–18131808–1810

| year_leader3 = 1813–18181814–1818

| year_representative3 = 1815–18171815–1818

| year_representative2 = 1808-18101808–1810

| today = {{ubl|[[Chile]]|[[Argentina]]}}

===17th century: Consolidation of the colonykingdom===

In the 17th century, the Spanish colonyoverseas territory of Chile saw a rearrangement of its population center. While in the 16th century, most of the cities founded by the Spanish were located from [[Biobío River|Bio-Bio]] southward, with only Santiago, La Serena and some transandine cities located north of it, in the 17th century, Spanish authority and settlements were boughtabandoned down south of Bío-Bío Region. The colonykingdom went from being a gold exporter with potential for expanding to the [[Strait of Magellan]] to being one of the Spanish Empire's most problematic and poor in natural resources. The Spanish Empire had to divert silver from [[Potosí]] to finance a standing army in Chile to fight in the [[Arauco War]]. Since the raids of [[Francis Drake]] in Chilean waters more seaborne assaults followed in the 17th century, mostly from [[Dutch people|Dutch]] [[Privateer|corsairs]]. The Spanish Empire's attempts to block the entrance to the [[Pacific Ocean]] by fortifying the Straits of Magellan were abandoned after the discovery of [[Drake's Passage|Hoces Sea]], focusing then on fortifying the coastal cities of Chile, a tactic that later was proven to be more affordable and effective in combating piracy while keeping the area under Spanish rule.

[[File:Captaincy General of Chile, 1775.svg|thumb|left|Territory legally belonging (with or without effective control) to the Captaincy General or Kingdom of Chile in 1775 according to Chilean historiography. The next year the [[Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata]] was created and the territorios of the cities of [[Mendoza, Argentina|Mendoza]] and [[San Juan, Argentina|San Juan]] gotwere transferred from Chile to the new entity.<ref name=Eyzaguirre>{{cite book |author1=Eyzaguirre, Jaime |title=Breve historia de las fronteras de Chile |date=1967 |publisher=Editorial Universitaria}}</ref><ref name=LagosCarmona>{{cite book |last1=Lagos Carmona |first1=Guillermo |title=Los Títulos Históricos: Historia de Las Fronteras de Chile |date=1985 |publisher=Andrés Bello |quote=(p. 197) We note that the Loa river is at 22 degrees and that Baleato, in 1793, indicated 21.5 degrees for the beginning of the Kingdom of Chile, with the Loa at its mouth in the Pacific. (...) (p. 540) According to the Map of Cano y Olmedilla, the limit of the Kingdom of Chile "(...) through the desert of Atacama (...) From here it turns to the S., S.E., S.E., and S., keeping in general this last course until near the 29° parallel, from where it takes a S.E. direction. SE. and S., generally keeping this last course until the vicinity of the 29° parallel, from where it takes a S.E. direction, skirting to the east the 'Province of Cuyo' which, of course, appears to be included in the territory of the Kingdom of Chile. In the latitude of 32°30' the line turns to the S.W. until reaching the Quinto river, which, as the legend says 'communicates by channels with the Saladillo in time of floods'. It follows the river down to the meridian 316°, counting to the E. of Tenerife, where it turns a stretch until it reaches the Hueuque-Leuvu river (or Barrancas river) at 371/2° latitude. From here it runs along the river for a stretch to the S.E., and then turns to the E. and falls into the Atlantic Sea in the vicinity of parallel 37° between Cape Lobos and Cape Corrientes", "a little north of the current Mar del Plata". (...) (p. 543) In this document it is seen that those of the province of Cuyo end to the south at the source of the Diamante River, and that from that point to the east, the dividing line goes to the point where the Quinto River crosses the road that goes from Santiago to Buenos Aires.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Amunátegui |first1=Miguel Luis |title=Títulos de la República de Chile a la soberanía i dominio de la Estremidad |date=1985 |url=https://libros.uchile.cl/files/presses/1/monographs/128/submission/proof/36/}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Morla Vicuña |first1=Carlos |title=Estudio histórico sobre el descubrimiento y conquista de la Patagonia y de la Tierra del Fuego |publisher=F. A. Brockhaus |location=Leipzig |date=1903}}</ref>]]

Chile lost an important part of its territory with the [[Bourbon Reforms|Bourbon reforms]] of [[Charles III of Spain|Charles III]], the territories of the city of [[Mendoza, Argentina|Mendoza]] and [[San Juan, Argentina|San Juan]] from the [[Cuyo, Argentina|province of Cuyo]] were transferred to the domain of the newly created [[Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata]] in 1776.<ref name=Eyzaguirre /><ref name=LagosCarmona/> Chile gained two [[Intendant|intendancies]], [[Santiago, Chile|Santiago]] and [[Concepción, Chile|Concepción]] in 1786 and became a Bourbon-style [[Captaincy|Captaincy General]] in 1789.

== Chilean Antarctica in colonialthe Hispanic Monarchy times ==

[[File:OrteliusWorldMapTheatrum Orbis Terrarum, by Abraham Ortelius, World, 1572.jpegjpg|thumb|left|250px|World Map by Abraham Ortelius (1570), where appears the ''Terra Australis Incognita''.]]