Araucanian landscapes in cartography between 1575-1646: A domain-based image of the territory

Abstract

The exploration endeavors by navigators, soldiers and missionaries who were part of the Spaniard colony and conquest companies that arrived in La Araucanía resulted in a cartography that attempted to identify resources, establish defenses and control key points in the area. This work is aimed at explaining the process of building a domain-based image of the territory, developed since the arrival of the Spaniards until the establishment of the Biobío border, in 1646. The methodology is mainly focused on studying historical maps and consists on the development of a topographic and iconographic analysis of cartography, in addition to a critical analysis about the historiographical issues that emerged, as well as the discovery of maps and charts that have been poorly disseminated or not described before.