Mineros, comerciantes y hacendadosformación de redes personales y empresariales en Chile, 1730-1830

Abstract

This thesis analyses some representative members of the Chilean mercantile elite who were mainly active in the city of Santiago de Chile in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. It also examines various situations in which they were involved. For these objectives, we have explored official sources compiled by the Crown's agents, as well as private sources from the individuals themselves (notarial documents and letters). The methodology applied focused on the reconstruction of their relationships, the establishment of their networks, both business and personal, and also analysed the forms of management of a company in colonial times. On the other hand, it describes the strategies used by the members of the elite to consolidate themselves as a privileged group, the mechanisms they used to relate to the institutions, without forgetting their capacity to exert pressure and influence as a prominent group in society.