Best regards, Andrew Stewart
Begin forwarded message: > From: H-Net Staff via H-REVIEW <[email protected]> > Date: January 29, 2021 at 1:21:37 PM EST > To: [email protected] > Cc: H-Net Staff <[email protected]> > Subject: H-Net Review [H-LatAm]: Campos on Herr, 'Contested Nation: The > Mapuche, Bandits, and State Formation in Nineteenth-Century Chile' > Reply-To: [email protected] > > Pilar M. Herr. Contested Nation: The Mapuche, Bandits, and State > Formation in Nineteenth-Century Chile. Albuquerque University of > New Mexico Press, 2019. 169 pp. $65.00 (e-book), ISBN > 978-0-8263-6095-3; $65.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-8263-6094-6. > > Reviewed by Amie Campos (UC San Diego) > Published on H-LatAm (January, 2021) > Commissioned by Casey M. Lurtz > > Pilar M. Herr's Contested Nation: The Mapuche, Bandits, and State > Formation in Nineteenth-Century Chile is a welcome addition to the > small but growing number of English-language monographs on the > complex and often contentious relationship between the Chilean state > and the southern region of the Araucanía. At the center of Herr's > story are Mapuche and Pehuenche indigenous groups as well as bands of > local bandits, mainly the pro-Spanish Pincheiras, who formed local > alliances with these communities. Herr argues that the Araucanía > region and the group of aforementioned historical actors were an > integral part of state formation processes in Chile post > independence, as territorial expansion into the region became an > increasingly important goal of the Chilean government. As Herr > demonstrates, creole elites who crafted governing structures and the > constitution during the early years of the republic considered > incorporating the Araucanía critical to the national imaginary of a > single, unified Chile. This is a significant intervention, as she is > centering the Araucanía during a period in which the region is > mostly treated as an afterthought in the historical literature, > especially compared to the economically viable central valley or the > regional conflicts between elites in Concepción and Santiago. By > doing so, Herr challenges scholars of Chilean history to rethink the > Araucanía's role as peripheral during an early period of political > consolidation that resulted in the centralization of government power > in Santiago. On the contrary, Herr demonstrates that bandits, > Pehuenches, and Mapuches all actively negotiated and at times > challenged the authority of government elites and were able to do so > through a network of local alliances. Much of the book is spent in > the Araucanía itself, and this choice allows the reader to become > familiar with the often important but sometimes forgotten local > dynamics that played a critical role in the evolution of the > Mapuche-state relationship. By doing so, she contributes to our > understanding of the complexities of state-formation processes as > Chile, like other nations in Latin America at the time, was grappling > with questions of identity, frontier expansion, and capitalist > encroachment. > > The book is divided into seven chapters, each of which explores the > complex and evolving relationship between the Pehuenches, the > Pincheiras, and early post-independence governments. Herr's first > chapter provides a broad context into the political and social > dynamics of the early nineteenth century and where these actors fit > into the larger story of nation-building she is telling. Her second > chapter, one of the strongest of the book, traces the processes > through which regional political groups in Concepción and Santiago > contended with the threat of Pinchera bandits. While most books on > this period largely ignore the Araucanía to focus on the motives and > actions of political elites in Santiago, this book instead > contextualizes the creation of political institutions in terms of how > these were influenced by events in the region. The third chapter > provides important biographical information on the Pincheiras > themselves and delves into the elaborate network of collaborators, > spies, and allies who solidified their position as a threat to state > formation in the region. The fourth chapter on local Mapuche > alliances further contextualizes the relationship between local > indigenous groups as they navigated interethnic and geographical > conflicts, as well as the ways the state sought to take advantage of > these fractured relationships for political gain. Chapter 5, > "Parlamentos," further examines the relationship between the > Mapuches, the Spanish crown, and later the Chilean state through > formal dialogues that extended from the late eighteenth century until > 1871. By covering this hundred-year period, during which Chile not > only gained its independence but also began making preparations for a > military campaign into the Araucanía, Herr demonstrates how the > relationship between the Mapuche and the newly formed Chilean state > gradually eroded, allowing for interesting points of comparison. > While these _parlamentos_ had resulted in a mostly fruitful dialogue > between Spanish colonial officials and indigenous groups in the late > eighteenth century, there was a notable shift in their use during the > early republic. After 1825, _parlamentos _went from being a space of > negotiation between indigenous groups and the state to one that > Chilean government officials used to dictate terms of governance to > these communities. This important shift reveals how each government, > both colonial and national, viewed their relationship to the Mapuche. > While Herr is not the first to argue that Mapuche-state relationships > worsened after independence, focusing on the _parlamentos _allows her > to trace key moments in the evolution of this relationship. By the > mid-nineteenth century, these _parlamentos_ were little more than a > cultural tradition that was ultimately unable to de-escalate the > growing calls among the military and politicians to occupy the > Araucanía. The penultimate chapter, "Notions of Chilean > Citizenship," analyzes the ideological views of Chilean politicians, > intellectuals, and travel writers who played an integral role in the > debate on whether Mapuche communities could integrate into Chilean > society. The final chapter provides concluding thoughts on the > tenuous nature of state formation in border regions during the > nineteenth century, as well as the enduring legacy of the Pincheiras > in Chilean popular memory. She concludes by observing that as a > consequence of the transformation of the Araucanía from a border > into a territorial boundary, "the Mapuche became disenfranchised > second-class citizens," a process they actively resisted in order to > preserve their political, economic, and social autonomy (p. 118). It > is unfortunate that over one hundred years later this conflict > between the Chilean state and the indigenous communities of the > Araucanía has only continued, as Mapuche communities and activists > in the Araucanía have, at various historical moments in the > twentieth century, been the targets of state violence. The 2012 > antiterrorism laws in Chile that are disproportionately used against > Mapuche activists and the murder of Camilo Catrillanca at the hands > of the national police are only recent examples of the ways human > rights abuses have persisted even in periods of democracy. > > Despite some minor flaws, _Contested Communities_ is a remarkable > study of how frontier communities in Chile advocated for their own > interests in the face of growing state encroachment. A discussion of > the experiences of Mapuches north of the Bio Bio River, in the region > just north of the Araucanía, would have served as an interesting > point of comparison, as these communities lost their lands soon after > independence. _Contested Communities_ also does not engage or > reference other contemporary English-language works on the > Araucanía, mainly Florencia Mallon's important work, _Courage Tastes > of Blood: __The Mapuche Community of Nicolás Ailío and the Chilean > State, 1906-2001_ (2005). While the slimness of the book does not > allow Herr to elaborate extensively on some of her more important > arguments, she covers a significant terrain in 118 pages. Given that > much of the literature on the Araucanía, and on Chile during the era > of independence, is still in Spanish, this book will be especially > useful in the classroom. Its accessibility, as well as its careful > detailing of the sometimes complex political dynamics of the 1820s > and 1830s, will make it a welcome addition to any undergraduate > syllabus on indigenous history, nation-state formation in the > nineteenth century, and borderlands studies. Graduate students and > other scholars will find many points of comparison that can be made > with other Latin American peripheries, as well as exciting avenues > for future research. > > Citation: Amie Campos. Review of Herr, Pilar M., _Contested Nation: > The Mapuche, Bandits, and State Formation in Nineteenth-Century > Chile_. H-LatAm, H-Net Reviews. January, 2021. > URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=55402 > > This work is licensed under a Creative Commons > Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States > License. > > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#5940): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/5940 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/80219331/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
