The rural oasis of Pica against Chile: conflicts, interactions and re-arrangements (Tarapaca, North of Chile, 1880-1900)

Abstract

The implication that the chilenization process had in the Pica Oasis for the two first decades of Chilean dominion over this territory is analyzed and described through notarized documentation. More than delimiting the view of the great political and administrative processes, this article is addressed to examine the every-day life dynamics that caused tension to locals and government employees and at the same time generated organization and negotiation spaces among these actors. From this perspective aspects that were not considered until now in studies about the early chilenization of the territories of the Far North of Chile are examined, especially those referred to the impact that the defense of private interests and the use of legal mechanisms in order to protect acquired rights had.