Escalona-Ulloa MIGUEL , Universidad Católica de Temuco. Chile, Chile
Muñoz FRANCISCO, Universidad Católica de Temuco. Chile, Chile
Since time immemorial, fire has been the main protagonist in the colonization of new territories. European colonization in the Brazilian rainforest, northern Australia (Moura, et al. 2019) or the case of Algeria (Sivak, 2013) are some significant examples. These actions have justified the usurpation of land from indigenous peoples under the concept of “terra nullius” (Clarkson et al., 2017). This work discusses the role of the fire between Mapuche people and the Chilean state in two ways: (a) in a politic-symbolic way, where the conquest actions occurred between 1800-1890 are associated with Chilean State settlements into Wallmapu-Araucanía. Here, the use of fire sought to expel the Mapuche people from their territory by an elite that views the Mapuche as an “enemy of civilization”, positioning the fire as an agent that displaced the ancient inhabitants of these lands, and (b) as a technical-productive device, through burning and clearing of hundreds of hectares that left “clear lands” available to be used. This allowed the commodification of the land space that favored the colonization of “the border”, the fortifications, and the foundation of cities. The generalized use of fire in both ways made it possible for the Chilean State and its settlers to build a new border landscape of occupation. Preliminary results of this work are key to understanding the origin of this historical conflict present in southern Chile and the current processes of territorial recovery.
Mots clés : Historical Geography|Fire|Wallmapu/Araucanía|south of Chile
A103245ME