Mapuche Women in Hands of Primitive Owners. Order and Sociosexual Control in Mid-Nineteenth Century Chile

This paper analyzes the representations of Mapuche otherness and polygamy in the nineteenth century historiography. The compilation of information from sources of the period revealed that the predominant opinions targeted specific objectives. Particularly important was the argument of the need for eradicating and transforming Mapuche customs, by denigrating their traditional social organization. This argument was sustained based on the victimization of Mapuche woman, a discursive element that has been scarcely investigated in Chile.