Interacciones entre españoles de chiloé y chonos en los siglos XVII y XVIII: Pedro y francisco delco, ignacio y cristóbal talcapillán y martín olleta

Abstract

This study presents five cases in which colonial sources discuss individuals from the Chono ethnic-cultural group from the coast of Western Patagonia. In the XVII and XVIII centuries, these individuals came into contact with political authorities and missionaries in the province of Chiloé, the most southerly in the kingdom of Chile. When required by the Spanish, the so-called Chono "caciques" gave news of their southern world, where Spain never maintained a real presence, despite having jurisdiction and control over Chiloé. The information delivered by these Chono caciques provided the Spanish with geographical and cultural knowledge of the territory between the Guaitecas archipelago and the continental border, which they considered to be of geopolitical significance. As this geopolitical element was the main interest in this coastal world, the information required and provided about colonies of Spanish shipwreck survivors, of hiding Englishmen, or of unknown indigenous groups, was decisive in whether or not the Chiloé colonists decided to move beyond their southern border.