L'origine du Norte Grande du Chili : frontières ouvertes, mentalités fermées / The origin of Chile's Norte Grande : open borders, closed minds

Abstract

Abstract: The origin of Chile's Norte Grande: open borders, closed minds. The purpose of this article is to analyse the historical origins, in the 19th century, of the current Norte Grande borderlands of Chile. Until 1879, this region was part of Bolivia (Antofagasta) and Peru (Tarapacá). The hypothesis is put forward that there was a contradiction between the economic decision to maintain open borders and the political decision to consolidate the sovereignty of these territories in conflict. The importance of mining along the Pacific shoreline is examined together with the area's role as a focus for the population of the Andes through trade, the transport of livestock and the arrival of migrant labour to exploit the resources of guano, silver and especially saltpetre. The Andean population played an important part in this development. Particular importance is paid to the emergence of the four republics (Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile), stemming from the break-up of the Andean colonial area and the conflict concerning the sovereignty of the Atacama desert, currently a part of Chile's Norte Grande. In this paper we will try to answer questions concerning the origins of the present borders of Chiles Norte Grande, the developments affecting them, and the conflicts they have been associated with during the XlXth century and the first decades of the XXth century.