Chilean History: Liberal Republic, Pacific War, and Indigenous Rights

The Liberal Republic (1861-1891)

Aníbal Pinto G. (President)

• Allowed the entry of women to the University
• Secondary Education Act
• Faced regalist government positions
• International Economic Crisis
• Started the Pacific War
• Gave away Patagonia
• Home pacification of Araucanía

Domingo Santa María (President)

• Secular laws
• Cemeteries Lay Act
• Creation of civil registration and civil marriage
• Further extension of the law of incompatibility
• Gave away Patagonia
• End of the Pacific War

José Manuel Balmaceda (President)

• Founded the Catholic University
• Pedagogical Institute
• Civil War
• MOP Foundation
• Railroad construction
• Upgrading of roads
• Water supply

The Pacific War (War of the Pacific)

Causes

Economic: Seizing the rich nitrate zone (Peru, Chile, and Bolivia) to face the 1878 global crisis.

Legal: The violation of the Treaty of 1874 by Bolivia with Chile, which undertook not to increase nitrate taxes for 25 years.

Trigger: The Chilean army invaded Antofagasta (Bolivia) to prevent the auction of the nitrate.

Consequences

Economic: Chile became the owner of the nitrate zone, but the richness of nitrate was left in the hands of the English.

Territorial: Changed the shape of the territory of Chile (lost and gained territories) with treaties.

Development

Chronology of the campaigns:

1. Antofagasta
2. Maritime
3. Tarapacá
4. Tacna and Arica
5. Lima
6. De la Sierra

* Treaties are detailed in the notebook

Secular Laws

Secular laws are the laws passed and promulgated in Chile between 1833 and 1884, during the government of President Domingo Santa María, in which the state assumed the functions of civil registration of persons and rules for burial.

Cemeteries Lay Act (1833): Established non-discrimination based on religious belief in the burial of individuals in fiscal or municipal cemeteries. Prohibited burials in private venues.

Civil Marriage Act: Eliminated the right of the Catholic Church to consecrate and legally register marriages.

Civil Registration Act: Established civil registry as responsible for registering births, marriages, and deaths.

Occupation of Mapuche Lands

Mapuche lands were occupied by the republican state between the River and Marikina Malleco (San Jose de la Mariquina).

1860: Many lands were sold on more than one occasion to different buyers. The Mapuche were stripped of their territory, and their land was reduced.

1866: The Treasury declared itself the sole purchaser, and the army stepped in to occupy the territories of the border.

1881 and 1883: General Gregorio Urrutia was commissioned to make a military expedition. He made his way south and founded strong achievements that were the foundation of cities. The region became a fundamental property of Chile.

Convention No. 169

Convention No. 169 is a binding legal instrument open for ratification, concerning the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples.

Identification of indigenous and tribal peoples: The Convention does not define who the indigenous and tribal peoples are but provides criteria describing the people it claims to protect.

• Establishes obligations for states parties to respect and ensure the respect of these peoples to the lands they occupy.