History of agriculture in Chile facts for kids
Agriculture in Chile has a long and interesting past. It goes all the way back to before the Spanish arrived. Native people grew different kinds of crops. They farmed from the dry Atacama Desert in the north to the Guaitecas Archipelago far south.
The Potato was a very important food for the many Mapuche people. Groups also raised animals like llamas and chilihueque (a type of llama).
When the Spanish arrived, farming changed a lot. Many native people became sick or were forced to work in mines. This meant less farming in some areas. The Mapuche people in central Chile started raising sheep and growing wheat. They also began using horses, which the Spanish brought. In Chiloé, apple trees and pigs were brought in. They fit well with the local potato farming.
As the Spanish were pushed back from southern Chile, the central part of the country grew. Raising animals became very important in the 1600s. Vineyards (places where grapes are grown) also became more common. Spanish farms, called haciendas, took over much of the land. They used the labor of the native people. Many forests in Central Chile were cut down or burned for farming. But in southern Chile, open fields became overgrown. This happened because fewer native people were left due to sickness and wars.
In the 1700s, Chile started growing a lot of wheat and making wine. These products were then sent to Peru.
The wars for independence in Chile caused damage to many farms. But Chilean agriculture quickly got back on its feet. New lands were opened for farming. This led to a conflict with the free Mapuche people in Araucanía. After this area was taken over in 1883, it became known as Chile's "granary." This meant it produced a lot of grain.
Many Mapuche people lost their land. They were moved to small plots or mountains. Their animal farming there caused serious soil erosion. Chilean and foreign settlers also grew only one crop, like wheat, over large areas. This, along with cutting down trees, also led to bad erosion. In the far south, a sheep farming boom happened around 1900. This was because the grasslands of Patagonia were settled.
Even with new irrigation canals and some paid workers, Chilean farming was behind other parts of the economy. A system called inquilinaje, which was like old feudal systems, lasted until the 1960s.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Chilean government invested in farming. They built dairy plants, refrigerated slaughterhouses, sugar refineries, and better roads. Then, the Chilean land reform in the 1960s and 1970s changed farming a lot. Large farms were divided, and land was given to farmers and groups of farmers. Farmers' unions were allowed and encouraged.
Later, a military government led by Augusto Pinochet changed some of these reforms. Farming became more controlled by big private companies and rich people. They owned most of the land. Even with a tough economic time in 1982, Chile's farming grew in the 1980s. Fruit exports became especially important.
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Farming Before the Spanish Arrived
When the first Spanish explorers came to Chile, most native people lived between the Itata River and the Chiloé Archipelago. In this area, they farmed in clearings among the forests. The forests gave them firewood, fibers, and wood for building.
Farming methods were different. Some Mapuche and Huilliche people used a method called slash-and-burn. This meant cutting and burning trees to clear land for crops. Other Mapuche groups used more complex farming. They built raised fields around Budi Lake. They also dug canals in the Lumaco and Purén valleys to water their fields.
Farming before the Spanish reached as far south as the Guaitecas Archipelago. There, the native Chonos grew Chiloé potatoes. Their tools were quite simple. The Mapuche and Huilliche also raised chilihueque, fished, and gathered shellfish and seaweed.
In Valdivia and near the Bueno River, people grew beans, maize (corn), and potatoes. Beans were grown all over Chile, probably even as far south as the Chiloé Archipelago.
Quinoa was also grown very early in northern Chile, near the coast. The Chinchorro culture grew it. A type of quinoa was brought from the Andes mountains to central-southern Chile a long time ago. Quinoa varieties in central-southern Chile came directly from old plants. They then grew differently from those in the mountains. Some think quinoa arrived around 1000 BC, while others say 600–1100 AD. If the older date is right, quinoa came to Chile before maize. During colonial times, quinoa was grown as far south as the Chiloé Archipelago and the shores of Nahuel Huapi Lake.
Farming During Colonial Times
When the Spanish settled in Chile in the 1500s, they founded many cities. Native workers were divided among the Spanish conquistadores (conquerors). The Spanish used a lot of native labor. This system was very harsh and caused many native people to die. The Spanish Crown then created the encomienda system. This was meant to stop the worst abuses, but Spanish settlers still forced native people to work in very difficult conditions. Rich Spanish settlers often faced opposition from Jesuits, Spanish officials, and the native Mapuche people.
The first Spanish settlers in the Chiloé Archipelago (taken over in 1567) tried to find gold and farm like they did in Europe. But this did not work well because the land was not suitable. So, the Spanish changed to cutting down Fitzroya trees for wood.
After the Spanish cities in the south were destroyed in 1598, the Spanish lost their main gold areas and many native workers. After these tough years, the Spanish colony in Chile focused on the central valley. This area became more populated and important for the economy. Like in other parts of Spanish America, large farms called haciendas were created. The economy shifted from mining to farming and raising animals.
In the 1600s, Chile's farming and animal raising economy was less important than rich mining areas like Potosí in Peru. Products from animal farming were the main things Chile sent to other parts of the Spanish empire. These included suet (animal fat), charqui (dried meat), and leather. This trade led a Chilean historian to call the 1600s the "century of suet." Other exports included dried fruits, mules, wines, and small amounts of copper. Trade with Peru was controlled by merchants from Lima. Chile also sent products inland to Upper Peru through the port of Arica. Trade within Chile was small because cities were tiny and produced most of what they needed themselves.
From 1650 to 1800, the number of poor people in Chile grew a lot. To help these people, the government started founding new cities and giving land nearby. From 1730 to 1820, many farmers settled near old cities or started new ones. Settling near old cities like La Serena, Valparaíso, Santiago, and Concepción was more popular. This was because it meant more people would buy their farm products. Large Chilean farms (haciendas) did not sell much to Chilean cities. They focused on selling products to other countries to make money.
Chile began sending cereals to Peru in 1687. This happened because Peru was hit by an earthquake and a plant disease. Chile's soil and climate were better for growing cereals than Peru's. Chilean wheat was also cheaper and better quality. The Chilean Central Valley, La Serena, and Concepción were the main areas that sent cereals to Peru. However, the area used for growing wheat was very small compared to the 1800s.
At first, large Chilean farms could not grow enough wheat because they did not have enough workers. So, they hired temporary workers. They also bought wheat from independent farmers or from farmers who rented land. This second option was more profitable from 1700 to 1850.
The 1687 Peru earthquake also ended Peru's wine boom. The earthquake destroyed wine cellars and clay pots used to store wine. Peruvian wine slowly declined. Peru even had to import some wine from Chile. For example, in 1795, Lima imported wine from Concepción in southern Chile. This showed that Chile was becoming an important wine-making region compared to Peru.
Early Years of the Republic
The wars for independence in Chile (1810–1818) and Peru (1809–1824) hurt Chile's economy. Trade stopped, and armies in Chile stole from farms. The war made business very risky. Peru, which was the only market for Chilean farm products, closed its doors to independent Chile. A very destructive period of war in the Biobío area was followed by years of banditry until the late 1820s.
The Chilean silver rush, which started in the 1830s, greatly affected farming. Rich miners invested in farms. German immigrants who arrived from 1850 to 1875 were the first to use paid workers in farming.
In the 1800s, selling wheat to California and Australia was very profitable. In the mid-1800s, these countries had big gold rushes. This created a huge demand for wheat. Chile was the "only wheat producer of some importance in the Pacific" at that time. During this wheat boom, new irrigation canals were built. Also, apiculture (beekeeping) and some machines were brought into Chilean farming. New markets were found for Chilean farm products.
The wheat boom did not last long. By 1855, California could grow enough wheat for itself. From 1858, it even started selling wheat to Chile. The Australian gold rush of 1851 meant fewer workers were available for farming there. This forced Australia to buy wheat from Chile. This helped Chilean wheat exports even as the Californian market disappeared. After the gold rushes in California and Australia ended, these regions started selling wheat. They competed with Chilean wheat. From the mid-1860s, Chile had to send its wheat to England. Between 1850 and 1875, the land used for growing wheat and barley for export in Chile grew a lot. The "wheat cycle" ended in the late 1870s. This was due to more advanced farming in the United States and Argentina. Also, competition from Russia and Canada increased. The end of the wheat cycle added to the already difficult economic situation in Chile in the 1870s.
Until the mid-1800s, more than 80% of Chile's people lived in the countryside. They worked in farming or mining. They mostly produced what they needed themselves.
From 1873, Chile's economy got worse. In farming, this was seen as Chilean wheat exports faced too much competition. This came from Canada, Russia, and Argentina. After winning the War of the Pacific, Chile gained new land with valuable minerals. The national treasury grew by 900 percent between 1879 and 1902. This was due to taxes from the new lands. British control of the nitrate industry grew a lot. But from 1901 to 1921, Chilean ownership increased from 15% to 51%. The growth of Chile's economy, based on its saltpeter monopoly, meant it relied too much on one natural resource.
The building of the Buenos Aires-Mendoza railroad in 1885 made trade easier. It connected these two parts of Argentina. It also helped cattle exports from the pampas to Chile. However, the cattle still had to walk over the high mountain passes of the Andes. These imports lowered meat prices in Chile. The Sociedad Nacional de la Agricultura (National Agriculture Society), a group of landowners, pushed for a tax on Argentine cattle. In 1897, this tax was passed in the Chilean congress. The unpopular tax led to a huge protest. This turned into a destructive riot in Santiago in October 1905.
Chilean wine exports to Argentina were difficult. This was because there was no good land transport and there were fears of war. This changed after the Pactos de Mayo were signed in 1902. Also, the Transandine Railway opened in 1909. This made war unlikely and trade across the Andes easy. Governments agreed to sign a free trade agreement. But Argentine winemakers protested strongly. They thought Chilean wines were a threat to their industry. The complaints from Argentine winemakers and Chilean cattle farmers stopped the free trade agreement.
Tierra del Fuego and much of the Magallanes Region also saw a fast growth in the sheep farming industry from the 1880s. This came with people settling in the empty Patagonian grasslands. In the south-central Araucanía, the Chilean invasion of native Mapuche land changed the economy. It went from raising sheep and cattle to farming and cutting wood. The Mapuches lost land after the invasion. This caused serious erosion because they continued to raise many animals in small areas.
20th Century Farming
The years from 1900 to 1930 saw the biggest growth in farming in the 20th century, until the 1980s. But conditions for farm workers remained very hard. A person named Tancredo Pinochet spoke out about the poor conditions of workers on the farm of President Juan Luis Sanfuentes (1915–1920).
Some people described the Chilean hacienda (large farm) as an old-fashioned and rural part of the economy. A British visitor to Chile in the 1930s was "amazed" to see farms using "agricultural methods that reminded him of ancient Egypt, Greece, or Palestine."
From 1953, Chile's economy grew slower. Some people blamed this on not paying enough attention to farming. Farming production in Chile actually went down from 1950 onwards. A government plan in 1954 to fix this did not work well. So, in 1958, a new plan was made. This plan allowed a government agency called CORFO to invest in dairy plants, refrigerated slaughterhouses, sugar refineries, and better transport.
See also
- Aquaculture in Chile
- Chilean wine
- Climate of Chile
- Drought in Chile
- Fishing in Chile
- Forestry in Chile
- White Earthquake
- Water resources management in Chile
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