REAL LOCATED: BACKGROUND AND HISTORY - HISTORY - 2026

The Real Located, also called, simply, as Situated, was a sum of money that Chile received to help with the expenses caused by the Arauco War and by the incursions of the pirates. This grant was annual and began in 1599, by order of Felipe III.

The money sent had its origin in the Viceroyalty of Peru, in charge of the royal boxes of the silver mines of Potosí. Although, at first, the royal order established that it would only last three years, the prolongation of the conflict against the Mapuches caused it to lengthen in time, reaching 1765.

Felipe III of Spain. Source: File: Felipe-III-de-Espana A-Vidal.jpg

under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license, When the Spanish conquered the current Chilean territory, they only found one area that resisted them: Araucanía. The Mapuches, an indigenous people known for their warrior skills, lived there. Despite the efforts of the conquerors, and after independent Chile, the Mapuches resisted for almost three centuries.

The Battle of Curalaba, called by the Spanish Curalaba Disaster, convinced the Spanish of the need to improve their army. Until then, it was the residents of nearby towns who paid the soldiers, something that proved insufficient. For this reason, Felipe III decided to establish the Real Located.

Background

The Arauco War was a conflict between the Mapuches and the Spanish conquerors, lasting until after Chile's declaration of independence. The war went through several stages, with periods of tense coexistence and others of direct confrontations.

After the Spanish conquest of Chile, the Mapuche Indians resisted attempts to occupy their lands. Thus, already in 1546, the first serious confrontation between the two sides took place, with the victory of the natives against the Spanish troops.

Later, from 1550, the colonizers seemed to take advantage, even founding some important cities in the middle of the Mapuche territory, such as Concepción, La Imperial or Valdivia. However, that advance was slowed when Lautaro, an indigenous man who had served with Valdivia, devised a plan to confront his enemies.

Lautaro's insurrection defeated the Spanish at Tucapel. The Mapuches lived two years of triumph until the conquerors defeated them in Mataquito.

During the following years, the Mapuches were forced to retreat before the Spanish advance. However, they continued to present great resistance and deplete the resources of the conquerors.

Battle of Curalaba

One of the turning points in the Arauco War took place in 1598, when both sides clashed in Curalaba. The result was a landslide victory for the Indians, which has caused the Spanish to call the battle the Curalaba Disaster.

The Spanish enjoyed arms superiority, but were unable to subdue the Mapuche resistance. The defeat caused that the conquerors were forced to change their tactics to continue trying to occupy the territory.

From this defeat, the Spanish understood that their Army was totally ineffective. At that time, the troops were made up of neighbors and recruits, many mobilized by forced levies in Peru.

The reports drawn up by the officers convinced the Crown that it should professionalize the militia and begin to fund it more adequately.

Financing the war

Until that moment, the war was being financed with the private contributions of the residents of each council, in addition to some forced contributions. The Mapuche rebellion of 1598 and the defeat in Curalaba made it clear that this way of raising money was insufficient.

In addition, during the rebellion, the Spanish had lost many haciendas and the gold lanes of Valdivia. To this was added that many indigenous people who worked for the conquerors fled to the territory dominated by the Mapuches.

Similarly, the loss of the foundations established south of the Biobío River contributed to further destabilizing the Chilean economy.

On the other hand, the Viceroyalty of Peru had participated for decades in financing the war against the Mapuches. Normally, it did so by sending weapons or supplies and, in some cases, organizing reinforcement detachments. These contributions were not regular, but were obeyed to requests sent from Chile.

History of Real Located

All the antecedents described provoked the reaction of the Spanish Crown. Thus, at the same time that Ribera was appointed governor, King Felipe III approved the Real Located. This, established in 1599, consisted of the obligation for the Viceroyalty of Peru to deliver 60 thousand ducats per year to Chile.

The royal order limited the duration of the Located to three years, the time they considered the war against the Mapuches to last. However, this was considerably extended, so the payment was maintained throughout the seventeenth, eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

Most of the money received was used to pay for the establishment of a permanent army on the Mapuche border. It was the permanent army in the entire Spanish colony in America.

Effects for the economy

Despite what was established by the king, the Located did not become a regular income, since sometimes it was not remitted. However, it ended up becoming an important economic injection for Chile, allowing the appearance of some very profitable businesses in Concepción and a help for the country.

As noted, the Located did not meet its annual periodicity. For example, historians point out that in 1701, Chile was owed five full annuities. The delays ended up causing frequent riots among the troops destined for Araucanía.

With the passage of time, the Chilean economy improved, going through some stages of great prosperity. However, no one wanted to lose the money from the Real Located, which caused the country's wealth to be concealed from the authorities.

Valdivia and Chiloé

The Real Located stopped financing the Araucanía troops in the middle of the 18th century. However, it did not disappear, since it went to other parts of the Chilean geography, specifically to Valdivia and Chiloé.

These places became preferred for the Royal Located after the Dutch expeditions of the first half of the seventeenth century. The crown intended to shore up the Valdivia fort system, as well as to reinforce the reinforcement detachments in Chiloé.

The poverty of both places and the fear that they would be conquered by some other power caused them to continue receiving the help of the Real Located.

Both areas became administratively dependent on the Viceroyalty of Peru, since they were considered strategic places and, in addition, Chile could not support them economically.

References

1. Chilean Memory. Real located. Obtained from memoriachilena.gob.cl
2. Guerrero, Cristián. A professional army in Chile during the seventeenth century ?. Recovered from centroestudioshistoricos.ubo.cl
3. Revolvy. Real Located. Retrieved from revolvy.com
4. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Araucanian wars. Retrieved from britannica.com
5. Icarito. War of Arauco: unrest in the south. Obtained from icarito.cl