The Spanish Empire's Southern Frontiers: from Arauco to Strait of Magellan

Abstract

The Spanish conquest and occupation of the territory known today as Chile started with the advance toward the Inca Empire’s southern frontier. When taking possession of new lands on behalf of the Spanish crown, conquerors founded cities, which became centers of power. From there, they explored the margins of new provinces to learn about distant peoples and lands and to establish physical presence on the borders. The Spanish expansion based on centers and peripheries –peripheries that later became centers of new peripheries– was analyzed by Francisco Morales Padrón, who wrote about “nucleus and lines of penetration.”1 The model put forward by this Canary Island historian fits the Chilean frontier well.