Chile; Its History and Development, Natural Features, Products, Commerce and Present Conditions (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1907 edition. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER VI JESUIT POLICY, INDIANS, AND DUTCH PIRATES 1600-1645 Fuente governor--Jesuits and Indians--Pro-Indian fathers--Abolition of forced labour--Its results--Father Luis de Valdivia's parliament--The toqui's wives, and the refusal of the governor to return them--War again--The Defensive theory--Its results--Quemada becomes governor--Ribera's second term--Indian raids--Ulloa y Lemus--Cerda--Ulloa--Distress in the army--Pirates--Cordoba y Arce--Missions and their effects--Aggressive war permitted--Slaveraids--Bascunan's account of his capture--De la Vega governor--His camp surprised--His improvements--Great victory at Petaco--Marquis de Baydes--Great Indian Parliament at Quillin--Brouwers successful raid on Castro and Valdivia--The Dutch abandon Valdivia--Recaptured by Spanish--Death of Baydes. ABOUT this time there appeared in Chile a very remarkable development of the Indian question. Up to this period the encomiendas or estates and the mines were worked by the forced labour of the Indians attached to them. That had been the case under the Incas, but the Spaniards treated these Indians with atrocious cruelty. They were worked literally to death: they were never paid, and generally starving from want of food. The native population began to dwindle away as it had done in Peru. But so soon as the clergy, and especially the Jesuit fathers, realised the horrors practised at the mines, and the savageries of Araucanian warfare, they protested vigorously. They would, indeed, have had no claims to Christianity if they had not done so. At first these protests only evoked from the court of Spain some feeble and generalised recommendations, which could be, quite safely, disregarded or evaded. Philip II. and his advisers knew that they only...