Establishing Colonial Rule in a Frontier Encomienda: Chile’s Copiapó Valley under Francisco de Aguirre and His Kin, 1549–1580
Francisco Garrido,
Erick Figueroa
Abstract:This article explores how Francisco de Aguirre used the Copiapó Valley encomienda to negotiate political power during the transition from conquest to colonial rule in northern Chile. Simultaneously, we analyze the circumstances of how a native society was incorporated into the Spanish Empire after a decade of fighting and resistance on the fringes of the empire. The strategic use of the fear of native rebellions to close the road from Peru to Chile gave Aguirre enough power to negotiate an important political … Show more
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