Importance of the General Captaincy of Chile

It was one of the most important territorial entities that the Spanish crown held in the South American region after the conquest of America and that integrated and It depended on a higher entity called the Viceroyalty of Peru, until 1798, when it became independent and came to depend directly on the monarch. Spanish.

Chilean colonial government under which the social characteristics of Chile were gestated

During this period (1541-1818) an important racial and cultural mix took place in Chile as a result of the coexistence between Spaniards and aborigines, and that was fundamental in the delineation of the Chilean society that survives until today.

At this time and under this entity a strong social fragmentation was also generated, the Spanish and Creoles occupied the top, they made the times of the local aristocracy and could hold relevant positions, followed by the mestizos who were busy with various tasks such as he trade, crafts, to agriculture, and in the last stages were the natives and slaves who did not have any rights and were treated as slaves.

Satisfy and increase the wealth of the Spanish crown

The economic activity had as its goal, while the captaincy lasted, the absolute satisfaction of the coffers of the crown, both with the material wealth that was discovered, as with the fruits of cultivation and other commercial activities that were directed directly to Spain.

In the beginning, the economy was organized around the encomienda, the settler was assigned a group of indigenous people who they worked the land and defended the territory in favor of the Spanish crown, in exchange for protection and satisfaction his basic needs.

Then the agricultural activity and mining exploitation took the lead.

It should be noted that all the colonies had as their main function and raison d'être to increase the wealth of the metropolis, without exception.

The colonial government and the inhabitants subject to royal authority

Santiago de Nueva Extremadura, known today as simply Santiago, was its capital and the most important city, and the Governor and Captain General, accompanied by the Royal Audience, were the maximum local authorities, representatives of the King of Spain in his American domains, and those responsible for executing his decisions and applying the laws.

As has been amply proven, the Spanish conquest of America was carried out by men dominated by a absolute eagerness for the material, a fact that marked an excessive and violent action to get hold of the great wealth of the territory.

And especially they were very cruel to the population autochthonous, which, confident at the beginning, offered no resistance and ended up being decimated, while those that remained were submitted to the will of Spain.

Although the independence process at the beginning of the 19th century tried to counteract this state of affairs, succeeding in some respects, it It is true that the natives were never able to recover the privileged place that they knew how to have naturally before the arrival of the Spanish people.