Banditry Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, and murder, either as an ...

( es, bandidaje) was a considerable phenomenon in 19th century and early 20th century

Central Chile Central Chile (''Zona central'') is one of the five natural regions into which CORFO divided continental Chile in 1950. It is home to a majority of the Chilean population and includes the three largest metropolitan areas—Santiago, Valparaís ...

and Araucanía. Many bandits achieved legendary status for their brutality and others for being regarded

folk heroes Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

. The bandits usually preyed on

haciendas An ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or ''finca''), similar to a Roman ''latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards), ...

and their

inquilinos ''Inquilinos'' is a 2018 Mexican horror film directed by Chava Cartas, from a screenplay by Juan Carlos Garzón and Angélica Gudiño. The plot revolves around Luzma (Danny Perea) and Demián (Erick Elías), a young couple, who have just moved to ...

. The Chilean War of Independence (1810–1826) shaped an era of banditry as the war transitioned into irregular warfare known as

Guerra a muerte Guerra a muerte (lit. English: ''War to the death'') is a term coined by Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna and used in Chilean historiography to describe the irregular, no-quarter warfare that broke out from 1819 to 1821 during the Chilean War of Indep ...

(1819–1821) which was particularly destructive for the Biobío area and ended only to see a period of outlaw banditry occur until the late 1820s.Villalobos ''et al''. 1974, pp. 406–413. The rise of banditry made travel dangerous; indeed, 1812 is held as the date from where travel between Concepción and

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

was not longer safe for small groups.Salinas 1986, p. 59. The

Pincheira brothers The Pincheira brothers (Spanish: ''Hermanos Pincheira'') was an infamous royalist outlaw group in Chile and Argentina active from 1818 to 1832. The gang fought initially in the Chilean War of Independence as royalist guerrillas during the Guer ...

, a royalist outlaw group based on indigenous territory east of the Andes, was defeated and dissolved in 1832. In the words of

Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna (August 25, 1831 – January 25, 1886) was a Chilean writer, journalist, historian and politician. Vicuña Mackenna was of Irish and Basque descent. Biography Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna was born in Santiago, the ...

, banditry was a "national plague, worse than lepra or cholera." Following Chilean victories in the War of the Pacific against Peru, veterans begun to return in 1881, leading to a surge in banditry. The return of the veterans coincided with the Chilean Army's crushing of

Mapuche The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who sha ...

resistance during the Occupation of Araucanía (1861–1883). This allowed opportunities for bandits and veterans-turned-bandits to immigrate to the newly opened Araucanía territory,Salinas 1986, p. 60. leading to sudden rise in violence in a region that was recovering from Chilean-Mapuche warfare. Bandits that immigrated to Araucanía allied with displaced Mapuche and made cattle theft their chief business. Stolen cattle was sold in marketplaces through the region. Thus Araucanía continued to be an insecure zone for many years.

Assaults An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

and

robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

were common in the region. Because of this until the 1920s

carbines A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and lighte ...

revolvers A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...

, and other firearms were common in the households of Araucanía.Ferrando 1986, p. 620 Banditry in Araucanía and Central Chile began to be suppressed in the late 19th century with the creation of the rural police Cuerpo de Gendarmes para las Colonias, a predecessor to Chile's main police force

Carabineros de Chile ( en, Carabiniers of Chile) are the Chilean national law enforcement police, who have jurisdiction over the entire national territory of the Republic of Chile. Created in 1927, their mission is to maintain order and enforce the laws of Chile. Th ...

Hernán Trizano Hernán Trizano Avezzana (Valparaíso, 1860 - Temuco, 1926) was a Chilean Army officer who led the Gendarmes para las Colonias an army regiment that acted as rural police in Southern Chile Southern Chile is an informal geographic term for any pl ...

led this policing force until 1905.

Notable bandits

;Independence Era *Рябухина Варвара * José Miguel Neira, leader of Los Neirinos, patriots *

, royalists ;1835–1900 * Juan de Dios López *the Mendoza brothers * Ciriaco Contreras * Pancho Falcato

References

;Bibliography * * Villalobos, Sergio; Silva, Osvaldo; Silva, Fernando; Estelle, Patricio (1974). ''Historia De Chile'' (14th ed.).

Editorial Universitaria Editorial Universitaria is Chilean university press based in Santiago. It was established in 1947 with funds from private people and from the University of Chile. During its existence, it has published the works of generations influential Chilean sc ...

. . *{{cite journal , last1=Salinas , first1=Maximiliano A. , date=1986 , title=El bandolero chileno del siglo XIX: Su imagen en la sabiduría popular , url=http://www.bibliotecanacionaldigital.gob.cl/visor/BND:68533 , journal=Araucaria de Chile , pages=57–75, language=es , access-date=December 21, 2019 19th century in Chile 20th century in Chile 19th-century crimes in Chile 20th-century crimes in Chile Chilean outlaws Occupation of Araucanía Chilean War of Independence Mapuche history

Notable bandits

See also

References