THE
ANGLOby
L. C. DERRICK-JEHU
.
i : Introduction
i ) . T H E A m 0 -CHJr -EAN COMMUNITY
I
When the genealogist o b s e r v e s t h e family
origins of those persons who would today be mutually recognised as
'Ithe
Community", his f i r s t impression i s that the label
is as vague as that of &'the Holy Roman Empire"
(as a colonv of which. t h e countrv of Chile c a m e
into being).
For he has to treat of those most
mobile of all human beings: men 9 women who
left their !x?crr,e ocuatrias ta =e& thair fortune in
o t h e r lands. A n d mobility i s o n e of the h a z a r d s of
genealogy: it complicates r e s e a r c h , as it confuses
g r o u p definition.
Yet "Anglo-Chilean Community1'
i s no meaningless term.
So f a r as a definition
can be offered, it would r u n thus: the body of men
and women, of British descent o r tradition, who
have in common an affiliation with Chile through
past or continuing family residence there.
If the orinin by blood i s British, the point of
d e p a r t u r e f o r t h e original voyage to Chile i s
usually, though not always, in t h e British Isles.
T h e r e are several Anglo-Chilean families w h o s e
progenitors emigrated from, for instance, Austr a l i a U Canada; and s o m e long-settled families of
North American origin are closely linked with the
Community. T h e male-line origin by blood is not
necessarily British, as a glance through the Liat
of Members of T h e Anglo-Chilean Society shows:
for many families, "Anglo" by tradition and association, and usually by blood in the female-line,
bear n a m e s of European origin.
T h e family may
h a v e other South American associations e a r l i e r
than those with Chile: b many families arrived in
Chile &er a stay,varying from years to generations,
in for instance P e r u o r Argentina.
I
1
Bilingual fluency is not a common factor: for
the Community r a n g e s from persons of non-British
s u r n a m e who would be "taken for" British, to
p e r s o n s with completely British s u r n a m e s w h o s e
great-grandfathers forgot how to speak English.
N o r is continuing residence in Chile a common
factor: f o r whilst, in some families, the babies
now being bord are of the sixth FJ seventh gene&
ation from the original s e t t l e r , in o t h e r families the
original settler's descendants h a v e either returned
to the ancestral homeland o r h a v e moved t.3 a
third country. And throughout, the prefix "Anglo-18
implies lloriginll, not literalIy only in England,, bu
anywhere in the British
(and this whether
the origin b e by blood, m a r r i a g e o r association).
T h e s e preliminary comments serve to empha s i s e the varied and mobile origins of the community
h e r o trezted.
ii)
T H E LIMITATIONS O F T H I S P A P E R
F r o m t h e very abbreviated account of the
extent b variety of British associations with Chil
that i s given in this p a p e r , it will b e evident that,
as suggested in C h a p t e r I1 (ii), the total n u m b e
of p e r s o n s potentially involved in a complete r e v i e w
of the Anglo-Chilean Community i s probably to be
counted in tens of thousands.
It would b e a task
beyond the powers of any o n e man to trace them
all and tocompile a comprehensive index. So f a
as I am aware, n o book h a s hitherto been published,
devoted to Anglo-Chilean genealcgy: and it would
appear that only one book ( " T h e English in South
America", by Michael M U L H A L L , ~ 1 8 8 0 has
)
so
f a r been published, devoted to biographies of British
s e t t l e r s in South America generally,
T h i s paper, that I venture to offer, suffers
from the inherent limitations of m y Genealogical
Collection, f r o m which the Family Notices in
Chapter 1V h a v e been summarised.
I should
t h e r e f o r e explain what those limitations are and, as
it were, p r e s e n t m y credentials.
I h a v e been
collecting genealogical information about t h e AngloChilean Community s i n c e I first went to Chile in
1949: but, as genealogy is my pastime but not my
profession, the time available to m e for r e s e a r c h
h a s been limited and m y Collection h a s been buil
u p in concentric c i r c l e s of connection , starting
from my wife's family (IV.28 1. W h e r e there was
"genealogical continuity", w h e r e any connection of
a connection appeared, I h a v e sought out information
recorded it.
As a result, my Coilection
157
probably contains s o m e 5000 n a m e s of p e r s o n s ,
But I am
living Ef d e c e a s e d , of this Community.
v e r y a w a r e that t h e r e i s much grcund into which
this "personalised" line of r e s e a r c h h a s not yet
led me, particularly with r e g a r d to families of early
settlement, in l e s s c l o s e touch with families of
relatively recent settlement like my wife's.
Nevertheless, I offer the paper as it i s ihoping that, with
the cooperation of old families, t h e omissions may
be remedied, and that this p a p e r may o n e day
serve
a nucleus for a m o r e comprehensive
work.
i i : T h e C h i l e a n People
Before attempting to identify those p e r s o n s
who have comprised the Anglo-Chilean Community,
it is desirable first to give a brief picture of the
Chilean people amongst whom that Community h a s
grown.
A)
HI S T , O R I C A L
ETHNOGRAPHICAL
ASPECTS
i)
T h e country known to u s today as the R e public of Chile extends along the w e s t e r n coast of
South A m e r i c a from C a p e H o r n (so named by
Jacob L E M A I R E , native of H o r n e , in Holland,
w h o rounded it in 1616) northwards for 2661 miles
to latitude 17' South, yet with n e v e r a g r e a t e r
breadth than 250 miles between the A n d e s cordillera
and the Pacific seaboard.
3
It i s said that the f i r s t European to s e t foot
i n the country w a s the d i s c o v e r e r Ferdinand
M A G E L L A N ( F e r n - de M A G A L H A E S : c148015211, in D e c e m b e r 1520, after h e had p a s s e d
through the S t r a i t that bears his name, in the c o u r s e
of h i s ( t h e F i r s t ) Circumnavigation.
But the settlement Ef Colonisation of Chile,
w h e r e b y it c a m e to be o n e of that family of South
American republics w h e r e the Latin culture h a s
been transmuted in a n Amerindian environment,
dates b a c k t o 1535/36 w h e n don Diego d e
A L M A G R O ( ~ 1 4 7 0 - 1 5 3 8 led the first abortive
expedition into the northern Chilean deserts. T h e
Marshal A L M A G R O , 'conquistador', had been
with F r a n c i s c o P l Z A R R O (~1.471-1541) o n e of
the original contractors for the Conquest of P e r u .
T h e Conquest of Chile was an offshoot from the
Peruvian Conquest,ALMAGRO having been granted
b y t h e E m p e r o r C H A R L E S V the territory for
200 leagues south of Cuzco, to b e named New
Toledo.
T h e f i r s t Chilean expedition of 1535/36
proved to b e purely exploratory: but a second
expedition in 1541, under the command of don
Pedro d e VALDIVIA (1500-1544) founded the
capital city o f Santiago (1541) t3 t h e port of
Valparaiso (1544) and laid the foundations of the
Spanish colonisation of this area. Not m o r e than
150 E u r o p e a n s took p a r t in this expedition (see
"Young1' p a g e s 21/22 and miscegenation followed
naturally.
T h e indigenous inhabitants with whom their
c o n q u e r o r s intermarried w e r e the Araucanian
Indians, a valiant race unlike any other South
Amerindians, who w e r e only finally defeated by
the Chileans at a pitched battle in 1882. T h e n a m e
'Chile' i s p e r h a p s derived from 'tchili', the word
for 'snow' in the language of the Quechua Indians
of P e r u ( E . B . 1. T h e r e are today somewhat l e s s
than 100,000 pure-bred Araucanians living, mainly
c o n c e n t r a t e d in t h e t w o southern p r o v i n c e s of
Malleco 8 Cautin: b u t the m ~ o r i t y of Chilean
families who h a v e been settled f o r m o r e than four
158
o r five generations have in them s o m e strain of
Araucanian blood, and are proud of it. M a n y
aristocratic Chilean families c a n t r a c e a descen
from o n e of the companions of VALDIVIA, a
German m e r c e n a r y named Bartholomew B L U M E N ,
who married Elvira daughter of t h e Cacique of
Talagante ( s e e "Young" p a g e s 21/22).
T h e Captaincy-General Ef P r e s i d e n c y of Chil
remained subordinated to the Viceroyalty of P e r u
until the Declaration o f Independence i n 1810.
Colonisation during nearly t h r e e centuries of S p a n i s h
lmperial r u l e w a s slow. S o m e years ago, don
F r a n c i s c o d e B E S E , of the Chilean Central Office
of Statistics, estimated that the population of t h e
country was about 80,000 i n 1700, and about
500,000 when Independence was d e c l a r e d in 1810.
T h i s half - million "included 300,000 'mestizos'
(mixed bloods), half as many 'criollos' ('Creoles',
i.e. natives of European d e s c e n t ) , s o m e 20,000
peninsulares' (recently a r r i v e d S p a n i a r d s , among
whom B a s q u e immigrants from northern Spain
formed an energetic commercial element), and a
smattering of n e g r o e s and recently emancipated
Indiazs"! E. B. )
Meria GR/U-iAM (see v i ) , visiring Valparaiso in 1822, likens it to an English
fishing village by comparison with which Sidmouth
would b e an important town.
'
.
ii)
T h e Declaration o f Independence o n 18th
S e p t e m b e r 1810 (commemorated annually as the
'Diez-y-ocho' , t h e Chilean national d a y ) was
provoked by the Napoleonic invasion of Spain,
which i h r e w the p a r t s of t h e f o r m e r E m p i r e e a c h
o n its own r e s o u r c e s . Chile w a s t h e f i r s t of the
Spanish p o s s e s s i o n s in South A m e r i c a to proclaim
its independence, and its revolt was at the time
directed against continued government from L i m a
by the Viceroy of P e r u .
T h e autonomists w e r e
split amongst themselves and in 1814 were defeated
in battle at Rancagua by the royalists, who r e s u m e d
control of the country for another two and a half
years. In 1817 fighting acain b r o k e out, the patriots
being led by t h e Argentinian liberator, General
Jose de S A N MARTIN (1778-1850); and with the
decisive victory at Maipu, April 1818, independence
was effective.
H o w e v e r , fighting stil1 continued
against the last S p a n i s h royalist g a r r i s o n s in the
south of Chile: and it w a s not until 1826 khat they
w e r e finally expelled from Ancud, o n the island of
Chiloe.
With the opening of the ports and of c o m m e r c e
to E u r o p e a n t r a d e , Chile grew and prospered.
I'By 1850 England, France t3 Germany had largely
crowded Spain out of Chilean trade" (E.B.1.
T h e 1907 C e n s u s r e c o r d e d a population of 3,249,279
and the 1930 C e n s u s r e c o r d e d 4,287,445 of whdm
105,463 were 'foreign-born' (one quarter of them
Spaniards).
About o n e q u a r t e r of t h e total population live in the central P r o v i n c e of Santiago.
'Whilst G e r m a n , S l a v fr Italian immigrants p r e dominate d e r S p a n i a r d s , t h e body of British
settlers is of significant s i z e within the nation, and
about 1900 it was estimated that 20,000 residents
in Chile were of British descent.
The population of Chile today h a s p a s s e d ' the
7 million m a r k ; and it would not be very r a s h to
h a z a r d the g u e s s that about o n e percent of the
Chilean nation has s o m e s t r a i n of British blood.
Indeed, t h e r e i s probably no other country in the
world, that never was a p a r t of the British E m p i r e
o r Commonwealth, w h e r e British associations and
sympethies are so strong.
B) SOCIOf.0CICAL A S P E C T S
T h e Chileans, in common with other South
A m e r i c a n s , are intensely a w a r e of family relations h i p s end kinships to a degree that would s e e m
udusual to most of t h e inhabitants of modern urbank e d Britain. T h i s i s undoubtedlydue to the Latin
sense of family having been transported to a remote
part of t h e world, to continue t h e r e throughout
centuries in relatively i s d a t e d 8 small communities.
Until the opening of the P a n a m a Canal in 1914,
Chile was one of the countries most distant by
trade route from Britain; and the sea voyage by
sailing shir could l a s t months. Nevertheless those
families that could W o r d to do so s e n t their s o n s
t o E u r o p e f o r education, throughout the XIXth
Century, often involving parent-child separations
of u p to 7 years: and it may b e this custom as
much as any o t h e r factor that accounts f o r the
dual allegiance of s o m e of the old Anglo-Chilean
families.
Vocabulary is the prime clue to t h e strength
of famiiy .feeling.
T h e English words father,
mother, s o n 8 daughter are translated. into Spanish
by 'padre', (madre', 'hijo' & 'hijaf. T h e grandparent-grandchild relationships are m o r e specificabuela', nieto' 8 'nieta'.
aily r e n d e r e d 1 abuelo',
T h e c u m b e r s o m e great-great prefixes of English
are replaced b y the m o r e manageable labels
'bisabuelo'
'tatarabuelo', or tbisnieto' etcetera:
( a n e c e s s a r y verbal economy in a country w h e r e
g i r l s m a r r y young and live to g r e a t a g e s , w h e r e by great-relationships are commonplace).
For
t h e untidy '-in-law'
s e r i e s , t h e r e i s a s e t of
specific words:
'suegro',
'suegra',
'verno' 0
'nuera' meaning respectively father-, mothen, son0 daughter-in-law.
T h e 'step-' relationships are
identified by t h e suffix I -astrot : thus 'padrastro'
a n d 'hijastra' mean respectively step-father 8
fr step-daughter. Brothers-in-law are recognised
in two degrees: t h e 'cunado' i s the s i s t e r ' s
husband o r t h e wife's brother, and the I concunado'
i s the wife's sister's husband.
'
'
,
T h e r e are also w o r d s for human relationships, for which t h e r e are no exact translations
Consuegro' defines the connection
into English.
between t h e respective fathers of the bride and
bridegroom.
Compadre' defines the association
between t h e godfather and the father of the baptised
child. And the colloquial term 'ti0 politico' (literally
"political uncle" 1 usually indicates a v e r y remote
connection through m a r r i a g e , mutually recognised
f o r mutual benefit.
'
Against s u c h a background, the British immigrant, exposed 1to the dual influences of remoteness
from the home-country and assimilation by a hospitable host-nation, h a s tended t o absorb and
a c q u i r e this highly developed s e n s e o f f amily.
Generalising, t h e "Chileno" (€2 the Anglo-Chilean)
knows to an extensive degree who h i s cousins are,
and who are related to p e r s o n s w h o married h i s
cousins. Fifty y e a r s ago, so it is said, it was a
dinner-party g a m e f o r t h o s e p r e s e n t to "relate"
themselves to o n e another. If two Chileans are
introduced f o r t h e f i r s t time, t h e instinctive reaction
is for them to catechise o n e another in the hope
o f identifying s o m e common link (which t h e y
usually s u c c e e d in doing). In small, remote and
intermarried communities, a different w a y of life
r u l e s , in which it i s not possible for t h e l e a s
member to remain anonymous.
Anglo-Chilean genealogy thus tends to become
a vast exercise in what o n e might call "sidewaysgenealogy'' (of which examples c a n be found in t h e
diagrammatic c h a r t in Anthony S A M P S O N ' s book
"Anatomy of Britain'' 1962, and in T a b l e s 111 B IV
of S i r Anthony WAGNER'S "English Genealogy"
1960). T h e pre-Chilean origins of the Community
are as d i v e r s e as life itself: but the immigrant
family, o n c e settled, usually b e c o m e s connected
through its first local m a r r i a g e s with the Community
that it h a s joined.
T h e G e n e a g r a p h annexed to
this paper gives s o m e indication of t h e connections
through intermarriage that c h a r a c t e r i s e the AngloChilean Community,
C)
NAMES 0 SURNAMES
The Chilean i s required to. u s e , by t h e law
of his country, two s u r n a m e s ; t h e paternal followed
by the maternal, without any conjunction. T h i s i s
v e r y confusing for foreigners w h o are unfamiliar
with the practice. ii t h e n a m e of a prominezit
Chilean i s mentioned in the British Press, it i s
usually wrongly cited, as if o n e were to refer to
t h e g r e a t wartime P r e m i e r a s S i r Winston
JEROME.
E v e n recognised w o r k s of family
r e f e r e n c e , when recording cadet b r a n c h e s settled
in Chile, h a v e not avoided this pitfall; and the
reader unacquainted withthe family would often be
misled as to the identity of the s u r n a m e (in a n
English s e n s e ) .
To avoid any possibility of confusion in this
paper, 1 h a v e followed t h e practice that 1 observe
in my Collection, namely to place the maternal
s u r n a m e in brackets: but I must emphasise that
this i s purely a personal practice. T h u s (in p a r a .
lV.8.d.i),
L u i s s o n of James L Y O N by his wife
G e r t r u d e P E R E Z w a s known in Chile as L u i s
L Y O N P E R E Z , though h e may h a v e written his
name as "Luis L Y O N P.''.. Hyphenated s u r n a m e s
are not unknown in Chile, well-known examples
being G O M E Z - L O B O and GARCIA-HUIDOBRO,
to which would be added in e a c h individual case
the other parental surname.
It i s a practice that
greatly assists the tracing of relationships; but
which p r o d u c e s s o m e odd r e s u l t s when a British
immigrant h a s already b e e n baptised with his
mother's maiden s u r n a m e ( - as in the case of
Ralph R O G E R S ( R A L P H ) , see IV.20.b).
A m a r r i e d woman i s formally styled b y
suffixing 'de' 8 her husband's paternal s u r n a m e
to h e r o w n maiden name: thus, continuing the
foregoing illustration, J a m e s L Y O N ' s wife was
known as G e r t r u d e P E R E Z de LYON. When
widowed, the 'de' becomes I viuda d e ' (abbreviated in writing to 'vda.de').
In practice, women
is9
are frequently r e f e r r e d to by their maiden names
only, though they may h a v e been married for years
and have had children: and this o c c u r s not only in
conversation ( a habit of s o m e confusion f o r newly
a r r i v e d f o r e i g n e r s ) , b u t also in their official documents (identity c a r d s 0 p a s s p o r t s ) which sometimes
may never be altered t o record their married
names.
T h e range of given names in Chile is not as
restricted as it i s in Argentina, w h e r e it is illegal
to name a child other than after o n e of the saints
B u t a certain conservatism (by
in the calendar.
British s t a n d a r d s ) in naming habits is m o r e than
compensated by a multiplicity of diminutives and
nicknames, which are invariably used in conversation to identify the p e r s o n r e f e r r e d to.
D ) N A T I O NA L l T Y
T h e f i r s t Constitution of Chile w a s promulgated in October 1822. T h e aspect of a written
Constitution that particularly interests the genealogist
i s that which r e f e r s to Citizenship b Nationality.
Chapter II of Part I of that Constitution defined as
Chileans: 1) those b o r n in t h e country; 2 ) those
of Chilean parents living abrdad; 3 f o r e i g n e r s
married to Chileans, after t h r e e years of residence:
4 ) foreigners who invest in Chile a capital of not
l e s s than 2000 pesos, €? after five years of residence. A t that time, the peso (originally the S p a n i s h
piece o f eight), had parity with the A m e r i c a n
dollar.
U n d e r t h e second definition, Chilean
nationality c a n , in fact, b e claimed f o r a child b o r n
outside Chile, even when the mother only i s Chilean.
To understand the philosophy behind those definitions,
o n e must r e m e m b e r that t h e population was then
probably little m o r e than 500,000 (see para.A.i
above), and appreciate t h e anxiety of a n e w independent S t a t e to i n c r e a s e the n u m b e r of its citizens.
.b o r n
T h e Anglo-Chilean who t r a v e l s elbroad may,
though d o e s not always, claim h i s second nationality:
f o r Chile (unlike s o m e o t h e r S o u t h A m e r i c a n
Republics) i s tolerant towards the human problem
of dual nationality.
B u t the Anglo-Chilean, b o r n
0 resident in Chile, i s f i r s t 0 foremost a Chilean
national.
iii :B r i t i s h Assoc iations with Chile
E)
T H E ROYAL LINKS
S i r Anthony W A G N E R refers in his book
"English Genealogy" (p.199) t o "the magic of
royalty and royal descent".
T h e line of descent
of t h e British Monarchs is, a s it were, the
"Greenwich meridian" of the g r e a t c h a r t of British
genealogy. T h e c h a r t of Anglo-Chilean genealogy
has a r e g a l point o f original r e f e r e n c e in the
m a r r i a g e o n 25th July 1554, only 19 years &er
A L M A G R O ' s first expedition into Chile, of MARY
T U D O R , Queen of England a n d P H I L I P of
H A B S B U R G , KING OF C H I L E .
P H I L I P did
not become King P H I L l P II of S p a i n until 18 months
l a t e r , 16th J a n u a r y 1556, when his father t t e
E m p e r o r C H A R L E S V resigned the crown of
S p a i n to him. In o r d e r that P H l L l P might not be
of lesser r a n k than his bride, his father created
him King of h i s most recently acquired ti distant
None o t h e r h a s held t h e title "King of
dominion.
Chile" s i n c e P H I L I P .
" T h e r e i s an old painting
now hanging at t h e M u s e o de Bellas A r t e s in
Fantiago, p e r h a p s t h e only o n e in existence, of
Bloody Mary in h e r robes as Queen of Chile.
O v e r t h e picture an inscription reads MARIA
T U D O R : R E G I N A C H I L A E " (see Young p.12).
For m e m b e r s of the Anglo-Chilean Community
who c a n trace a descent from EDWARD I, King
of England, and his first wife, special interest lies
in the fact that Queen C o n s o r t E l e a n o r w a s daughter
of ST. F E R D I N A N D I11 (d.12521, King of Castile
& Leon.
ISABELLA the Catholic, Queen o f
Castile b L e o n (reigned 1474-15041, w h o s e belief
in Christopher C O L U M B U S ( ~ 1 4 4 6 - 1 5 0 6 )enabled
him to sail o n his Voyage of Discovery of t h e N e w
World 1492, was a great-granddaughter of J O H N
of G A U N T , Duke of L a n c a s t e r (by his 2nd wife,
S h e m ar r i ed
C O N S T A N C E o f Castile).
F E R D I N A N D (11, King of A r a g o n , l a t e r ) V , King
of Spain (reigned 1479-15161, in whose n a m e
Vasco Nunez d e BALBOA ( ~ 1 4 7 5 - 1 5 1 7 ) took
possession of the " G r e a t South Sea" 1511 (re160
named Pacific Ocean 1520 by M A G E L L A N ) . At
that time, 1511, the King of England was H E N R Y
VIJI, son-in-law of F E R D I N A N D .
,
T h e Conquest of P e r u in 1524 by P I Z A R R O
b A L M A G R O , & its s e q u e l , that of Chile 1525,
both took place in the reign end s e r v i c e of the
E m p e r o r C H A R L E S V, grandson maternally of
F E R D I N A N D b ISABELLA, b first-cousin of h i s
daughter-in-law MARY T U D O R , Queen of England
0 Chile.
Of the Families noticed in C h a p t e r IV, t h o s e
o f G I B B S ( s e e 91, P R I C E ( s e e 13) a n d
W O D E H O U S E (see 32) h a v e d e s c e n t s from King
EDWARD IEI (see Ruvisriyts F l a t a g e n e t Roll) :
that of B L A I R (see 2 9 ) h a s a descent f r o m King
R O B E R T Ill of Scotland: b the WHITE family
(see 11) h a s its confused tradition of Hanoverian
origin: but genealogical p r e c e d e n c e must be allowed
to the family of L Y O N ( s e e 8 ) with its uninterrupted male descent f r o m Sir John L Y O N of Glamis
by his wife Joan duaghter of King R O B E R T IIq of
Scotland. T h e y were a n c e s t o r s also or H . k .
Queen E L I Z A B E T H T h e Queen Mother: which
connection r e n e w s today t h e four-hundred year old
link between Chile b the B R I T I S H C r o w n .
F) T H E COl.0NIAI P E R I O D . 1535-181Q
British associations with Chile during the
first two centuries of its history are, &S o n e would
expect, exclusively maritime and consist of contacts
with the Chilean coastline b islands on t h e part of
the great English navigators.
To the genealogist
t h e r e i s something about this period reminiscent of
the period of Viking r a i d s along t h e English coast,
p r i o r to permanent N o r s e settlement. T h e r e must
have been s o m e mingling of British with Araucanian
and mestizo blood, but quite beyond the k e n of any
genealogist to trace.
i)
S i r Francis DRAKE
(1545-15961,
c o u r s e of his glorious Circumnavigation
in the
on the
"Golden Hind", was off the coast of Chile during
the y e a r 1578, plundering €2 pillaging.
" H e then
continued his voyage along the coast of Chile b
P e r u , taking all opportunities of seizing S p a n i s h
ships, and attacking them o n s h o r e , till his men
w e r e satiated with plundert# ( E . 6 . ) .
ii)
T h o m a s C A V E N D I S H (?1555-1592), t h e
second English circumnavigator, behaved in similar
fashion and, o n t h e "Desire" (140 t o n s ) , touched
et Quintero fr Arica in 1586. (see *1Galdames18).
iii) Alexander S E L K I R K (1676-17211,prototype
of "Robinson Crusoe", was sailing m a s t e r o n t h e
'Y3nque Porte1@galley, o n e of the two v e s s e l s
commanded by William DAMPIER (1652-1715),
b u c c a n e e r fr h y d r o g r a p h e r , o n an expedition to t h e
In S e p t e m b e r 1704 this ship put in
South Seas.
at Juan F e r n a n d e z Islands and S E L K I R K w a s left
behind, as o t h e r English seamen had been marooned
t h e r e before him. H e was taken off in F e b r u a r y
1709 by Captain Woodes R O G E R S (circumnavigator of f708/11), commdnder of t h e llDukell
privateer (DAMPIER being the pilot 1 (E.B
T h e Juan F e r n a n d e z Islands (so named after the
Spanish pilot who discovered them in 15631 lie
s o m e 400 to 500 miles off Valparaiso, and are
Chilean territory.
..
iv)
Commodore G e o r g e A N S O N (1697-17621,
l a t e r B a r o n Anson, also called at Juan F e r n a n d e z
in his flagship "Centurion", in J u n e 1741, during
his expedition to attack the Spanish possessions:
a n d l a t e r that year h e captured t h e town of P a i t a ,
in t h e north of P e r u ( E . B . ) .
VI Admiral t h e Hon. John B Y R O N (1723-1786)
~
("Foul-Weather Jack". grandfather of the poet
had been a midshipman in A N S O N ' S expedition,
on t h e "Wager" wrecked n e a r Cape Horn.
He
commanded a circumnavigation 1764/66 (see his
"Narrative" published 17781, in w h i c h Philip
C A R T E R E T (1733-17961, later Rear-Admiral,
commanded the "Dolphin".
C A R T E R E T subsequently commanded the llSwallowll in Wallis' expedition of 1766/69, during which h e called at Juan
F e r n a n d e z and discovered Pitcairn Island, 1767
( s e e his Journal" in H a w k e s w o r t h ' s Woyages"
1773).
Whilst i t m a y b e stretching genealogical
connections almost as far as those seamen stretched
maritime r o u t e s , it i s possible to include D R A K E ' s
name in the annexed Geneagraph and to show
connections between A N S O N b the P R I C E family,
fr between B Y R O N D thefamilies of W O D E H O U S E
& R A I K E S (IV.28.c).
T o w a r d s the end of the XVIIIth Century,
British contacts of another sort begin to be made
T w o prominent
that lead t o family settlement.
instances also s e r v e to illustrate what must have
been t h e comparable careers of scores of u n r e corded men who did not attain to eminence.
vi) A m b r o s e O'HIGGINS w a s born in 1720 at
Ballinary, Co. Sligo (according to 'lGaldamestt
o r at Summershill, Co.Meath (according to P
H. )
'i'he son of a peasant f a r m e r on the estate
of t h e Countess of Bective (sic P . H . 1, h e w a s
educated at Cadiz by a n uncle who w a s a chaplain
at the Court at Madrid. H e went to P e r u in
commerce, end a r r i v e d in Chile in 1761 as a
Captain-General of Chile in 1788, w a s promoted
Field-Marshal 1789, and pacified the Indians. In
.
.
1
1796 h e w a s appointed Viceroy at Lima, w h e r e
By Isabel R I Q U E L M E , h e
h e died 18.3.1801.
left a natural s o n , B e r n a r d o (see para. G.iii)
(llGaldamesll 0 P. H .).R o s a , s i s t e r of B e r n a r d o
i s mentioned as living 1822 ( l l G r a h a m t l ) .
,
vii) Juan M A C K E N N A , b o r n in 1771 at Drogheda
Co. Louth,was a nephew of Alexander 0' R E I L L Y
(1722-17941, who settled in S p a i n , w a s created
a Count, commanded S p a n i s h f o r c e s in Louisiana
1769 b in A l g e r i a 1774, w a s disgraced b died at
Chinchilla, Murcia ("Galdames")
MACKENNA
went to P e r u b s e r v e d under V i c e r o y O'HIGGINS
(i.e. in o r before 18001, a n d w a s appointed
G o v e r n o r of Valparaiso in 1811, H e was killed
at Buenos Aires in 1814 in a duel with Luis
C A R R E R A (see para. G.ii) ("Galdames").
His
grandson Benjamin VICUNA ( M A C K E N N A ) (18311886) w a s a distinguished Chilean historian. T h e
M A C K E N N A family is r e p r e s e n t e d in Chile today
in both m a l e b female lines: and i s thus o n e of t h e
Chilean families able to t r a c e the earliest known
d e s c e n t s from an original progenitor b o r n in the
British Isles.
.
viii) B e s i d e s those men from t h e British Isles who
a r r i v e d in Chile through the S p a n i s h s e r v i c e , as
s o l d i e r s b civil s e r v a n t s , t h e r e were the s e a m e n
who in d i v e r s circumstances stayed o r were left
behind.
T h e r e must have been similar instances
throughout the XVlIlth Century, but nc specifically
named cases have come to my notice e a r l i e r than
t h e XlXth Century.
I n 1802, D r . G e o r g e
E D W A R D S , s u r g e o n o n the w h a l e r "Backhousetl,
settled at Coquimbo b founded what h a s beaoma a
prominent Chilean family in public life (IV.2). In
1804, a ship bound for Australia mutinied off t h e
Chilean coast b s o m e 100 of t h e p a s s e n g e r s landed
a: Conzepcion, inclcding Dr. H e n r y FAU L K N E R
who later b e c a m e G o v e r n o r of Quillota (P. H 1.
T h e s u r n a m e F A U L K N E R continues in Chile today, probably i n d e s c e n t f r o m him.
William
K E N N E D Y , mate of t h e "Scorpiont' in 1808, when
h e r captain b s o m e of h e r c r e w w e r e m u r d e r e d ,
stayed in Chile, b e c a m e a merchant b was resident in Valparaiso, 1823 ( P . H. ).
.
ix)
in 1805, Amasa ' D E L A N O ( w h o s e b r o t h e r
P a u l founded a prolific family in Chile: ~ e e I V . 4
native of Boston, who t r a d e d o n the Chilean coast,
captured offCoronel the mutineered s l a v e r " P r u e b a 8 @
(see his "Narrative" published 1817).
A n 'early example of an English t r a d e r in
Chile w a s John M I E R S , coppersmith, who settled
at Concon in 1808, m a r r i e d t h e r e G had i s s u e ,
and published his " T r a v e l s in Chile" 1826.
x)
xi) W i t h ' t h e exceptions o f M A C K E N N A ,
E D W A R D S , D E L A N O (collaterally) and possibly
F A U L K N E R , none of t h e other n a m e s mentioned
in this p a r a g r a p h ( F)are indicated as having been
the progenitor of a family subsequently resident in
Chile: and it might b e objected that t h e mention of
those other names would b e m o r e Bppropriate in
a historical account r a t h e r than in a genealogical
paper.
But the reader h a s b e e n w a r n e d in t h e
Introductory C h a p t e r of the limitations of this p a p e r .
And, in any case, t h e interest of t h e o t h e r n a m e s
to the genealogist ( w h o s e role is to c h a r t the
s t r e a m s of blood, noble & common, open b hidden)
is that, in a period of incomplete and virtually unr e s e a r c h e d r e c o r d s , they illustrate the various
w a y s in which the first w a v e of British blood must
161
I
h a v e seeped into Chile in the y e a r s prior to the
m o r e formal & r e c o r d e d travel of the XlXth Century.
T h e descendants of t h e unnamed s e a m e n and
soldiers-of-fortune,
who s e t out from the British
Isles before t h e end of the XVlIlth Century, hispanicized their s u r n a m e s and adopted Chile as
their home, and their families today must b e as
completely Chilean as their neighbours.
Yet they
mu& also have p r e s e r v e d , f o r a generation or
two, s o m e tradition of their British origin: and
so, through their cushioning p r e s e n c e , and undoubted hospitality t o w a r d s subsequent a r r i v a l s
f r o m Britain, they would have facilitated the acclimatization of the XIXth Century s e t t l e r s , amongst
whom w e find the progenitors of t h e extant B recognisable Anglo-Chilean Community. T h e p r e s e n t
d a y descendents of t h e "first wave" of British blood
can r a r e l y b e said to form p a r t of t h e Anglo-Chilean
Community: but the p r e s e n c e of their f o r e b e a r s
made the existence of that Community possible.
GI
T H E I N D E P E N D E N C E P E R I O D . 18101 8 2 6 : N A V A L b MILITARY A S S O C I A T I O N S
During the period of a d e c a d e 5 a half that
i)
intervenes between the Declaration of Independence
and its complete unchallenged e x e r c i s e , t h e r e is a
considerable influx of British names into Chile:
and, in this "second wave", the names of transient
soldiers- b sailors-of-fortuni overlap with those
of eventual settlers. T h e focal point f o r the soldiers
w a s the "English Brigade" (recruited mainly from
officers who had s e r v e d in the Peninsular W a r ,
1808/14), which formed p a r t o f 0"lGGlNS'
Patriot Forces in S A N h4AR'Tlh"s &my o f
Liberation, that c r o s s e d the A n d e s in January
1817 and defeated t h e Spanish royalist f o r c e s at
Chacabuco, 12.2.1817.
T h e focal point for the
s a i l o r s w a s s e r v i c e u n d e r Admiral L o r d C O C H R A N E ( s e e para.iv below).
ii)
T h e first Independence movement o f 1810
(sea Chapter 1l.ii) w a s originally a 'junta' ( c o m mittee) movement, from which the dominant f i g u r e
to e m e r g e w a s Jose Miguel C A R R E R A ( b r o t h e r
of L u i s , see para.F.vii).
H e w a s born in 1785
at Santiago, s e r v e d in the Spanish A r m y against
N A P O L E O N , b returned to Chile in 1811. Styled
t h e ItLiberator of Chile", h e was Dictator from
1812 until deposed by t h e royalists in 1814, being
subsequently counted as the 1 s t P r e s i d e n t of the
Republic. H e w a s shot at Medoza, Argentina, in
1821 ("Galdamestv). His niece Magdalena married
a b r o t h e r of C a r m e n S A N T A MARIA, the wife
of G e o r g e L Y O N (IV.8) (see "Young" p.60).
iii)
T h e l e a d e r of t h e second 5 effective Independence movement (see C h a p t e r 1I.K) w a s B e r n a r d 0
O'HIGGINS ( R I Q U E L M E ) , t h e g r e a t national
hero. B o r n at Chillan, Chile, in 1776 5 educated
in England, h e returned to Chile in 1802 and
commanded t h e Patriot Forces in 1813, in s u p e r During the period of
s e s s i o n of C A R R E R A .
royalist restoration, h e w a s in Argentina, helping
S A N MARTIN to o r g a n i s e the A r m y of Liberation:
and, aRer the battle of Chacabuco (see para. i
a b o v e ) , h e w a s appointed b y S A N MARTIN
Director-General of Government. 0'HIGGINS i s
counted as t h e 2nd P r e s i d e n t of t h e Republic. , H e
ruled until 1823, when h e resigned 5 retired to
P e r u w h e r e h e died peacefully in 1842 ("Galdames"
b E.B.).
H e left no descendants. It w a s a t his
162
.invitation that C O C H R A N E entkred t h e Chile?
service.
iv)
T h o m a s COCHRANE,
(Admiral L o r d
C O C H R A N E ) (1775-1860) accepted in 1817 t h e
invitation to command the Chilean naval squadron,
which h e c a r r i e d out with complete s u c c e s s 1818/
23 in a s e r i e s of actions fought along C h i l e ' s
extensive coast, f+ h a s s i n c e been r e v e r e d as a
national hero. His signal exploit w a s the cutting
out of the Spanish frigate "Esmeraldal' u n d e r the
fortifications of Callao h a r b o u r , P e r u , 5.11.1820.
In 1823 h e t r a n s f e r r e d his s e r v i c e s to Brazil and
w a s created Marquess of Maranhao by the E m p e r o r
Dom P E D R O 1. H e succeeded his father as 10th
E a r l of Dundonald in 1821 ("Galdames" b B u r k e ' s
Peerage). His descendants maintain c l o s e links
with Chile and with the Anglo-Chilean Society
(see para. M.vI.
v)
Prior to C O C H R A N E ' s a r r i v a l , t h e r e i s
r e c o r d in 1817 ( P - H . 1 of Captain MACKAY, a
f o r m e r s e a m a n on a w h a l e r , l e a d e r of a party of
6 unemployed English sailors ( S a m BRAIN, Dan
F U R E Y , G e o r g e J E N K I N S , T o m MARTIN,
Aleck MORRlS 5 Bill SHAE) w h o set out from
Valparaiso in a launch b captured t h e "Minerva"
in Africa. T h e y subsequently captured a Spanish
brig bearing despatches from t h e Viceroy of P e r u
to the Spanish royalist authorities in Chile, which
n e w s MACKAY p a s s e d to the P a t r i o t s in VaIparaiso, who then iegalised his privateer.
O n 22nd April 1822, H.M.S. frigate"Doris"
vi)
put into Valparaiso, aboard being Maria GRAHAM,
widow of the 1 a t e commander Capt. T h o m a s
GRAHAM, R.N., who had died off Cape Horn
b who w a s buried at Valparaiso. Maria daughter
of G e o r g e D U N D A S , Vice-Admiral of t h e Blue,
w a s born 1785 n e a r Cockermouth b died 1842 at
Kensington.
S h e had m a r r i e d Capt. GRAHAM
in 1809; and in 1827 m a r r i e d , as h e r 2nd husband,
Augustus Wall C A L C O T T (1777-1844, knighted
1837, F . R . A . 1813, o n e of w h o s e best-known
paintings i s "Milton dictating h i s poem t o his
daughterst11. Maria GRAHAM travelled widely 8
published a number of books; but E.B. omits to
mention (in the r e f e r e n c e t o h e r , s u b A. W.
C A L C O T T ) h e r I'Journal of a Residence in Chile
1822", published 1824, and recognised i n tha
country as a n authoritative description of the e a r l y
d a y s of t h e Republic. Capt. GRAHAM had been
a colleague of C O C H R A N E , who p r e s e n t e d the
widow to Chilean society, amongst whom s h e lived
f o r t h e following 9 months.
vii) In h e r Journal, s h e mentions the n a m e s of
1 2 naval officers who were at Valparaiso in 1822,
apparently serving under C O C H R A N E .
F o u r of
them are also mentioned in WMuthalP or P.H.:
M r C A N D L E R , of the I'Doris".
Capt. COBBETT, nephew of William COBBETT
(1763-1835: the Radical). H e was drowned 1826
off Cape H o r n , when C O C H R A N E ' s f o r m e r flag
ship tlOIHiggins't (that had been t h e Spanish frigate
"Maria Isabel" before s h e was captured) Wwrecked on h e r voyage to Argentina (which country
had bought the ship) (P.H.).
Dr. CRAIG, s u r g e o n o n thet8OVHigginstt:apparently temporarily resident in Santiago.
Capt. C R O S B I E , commander of t h e flagship
"0'
Higgins": an Irishman. According to "Mulhall" ,
h e m a r r i e d C O C H R A N E ' s daughter: but t h e r e is
no mention of s u c h a m a r r i a g e in B u r k e ' s P e e r a g e .
M r D A N C E , of the I1Dorisl1.
P. 0. G R E N F E L L , Lieutenant in the Chilean
Navy. commander of t h e "Mercedes".
M r J A C K S O N , of t h e i*Moctezumal'.
Capt. M O R G E L L , of t h e Chilean brig "Aranzazu'?
Capt. the Hon. F r e d e r i c k S P E N C E R , commander
of the frigate ''Alacrity".
Capt. V e r n o n , of t h e "Doris".
Capt. WILKlNSON (also named in tlMulhallll).
Capt. W I N T E R , of t h e "Moctezuma".
He was
later in command of the "Independence" when that
ship was sold to Argentina, but s h e w a s broken
up at T d c a h u a n o , 1826 ( P . H . 1.
Only one military n a m e i s mentioned in the Journal:
that of Major O ' C A R R O L , who attended General
S A N MARTIN when h e passed through Valparaiso
o n h i s return to Argentina from Lima. And only
o n e merchant captain i s named: Capt. WHITE, of
t h e "Medwayt1, in Valpafaiso h a r b o u r at t h e time
of t h e earthquake of November 1822.
viii) O t h e r naval n a m e s survive from other s o u r c e s .
In 1818, Capt. T U R N E R of t h e "Santa Rosa" was
put a s h o r e at Valparaiso by mutineers ( P H
In the s a m e year, B Y N O N (IV.5) engaged as
C O C H R A N E ' s signal midshipman. In 1819, the
American, P a u l D E L A N O , a r r i v e d to deliver the
corvette 1Quriacio" to the Patriots fr stayed to join
them: h i s s o n P a u l Hinckley engaged as a midshipman under C O C K R A N E , & l a t e r founded a
numerous family (IV.4).
In 1821, Robert W.
S I M P S O N entered t h e Chilean Navy, t l a t e r
settled (IV.25.d.iii):
a n d in 1822, Humphrey
B U N S T E R settled in unique style, being lassooed
(IV.5).
A l s o in 1822, John R O B E R T S O N , a sailor
on t h e British brig-of-war itHecatelt (which ship
had been Capt. GRAHAM'S first command i n
18101, joined the Patriot Navy t w a s given command of a brig.
H e settled on La Mocha Island,
off Talcahuano @ m a r r i e d a Chilean.
He was
captured b y the royalists, escaped t resumed
Patriot s e r v i c e , turned privateer t w a s killed by
the S p a n i a r d s ( P . H . ) .
In 1826, Capt. YOUNG
commanded t h e P e r u v i a n brig-of-war "Congressol'
(ltMulhalll*): and in t h e same year Lieutenant
O X L E Y , of the brig IIGalvarina" (formerly the
"Hecatel'), w a s p r e s e n t at the capture of Chiloe
("Mulhall")
. ..
.
ix) John WILLIAMS entered the Chilean Navy
before 1826.
H e w a s b o r n in South Wales,
nahtralised a Chilean, & hispanicized his name to
Juan G U I L L E R M O S . L a t e r Captain, h e formally
b o k possession of the S t r a i t of Magellan in the
name of Chile, 21st S e p t e m b e r 1843. His son
Admiral WILLIAMS ( R E B O L L E D O ) ( b , 1826 at
C u r a c e v i ) l a t e r s e r v e d in t h e Pacific W a r 1879
("MulhaiP t
3 P.H.).
Another settler prior t o 1826, L Y N C H ,
from Ireland (IV.lO.a.i), w a s also probably a
naval man. ''Mulhall~~also mentions Capt. B L A I R ,
commdnder of a pirate vessel off the Equadorian
.coast, who was captured in 1821 by C O C H R A N E
and subsequently released. A rare military refe r e n c e is to (201. T U P P E R (b. 1800 in G u e r n s e y ,
C - I - ) , who a r r i v e d in Chile in 1821, & m. 1826
Valparaiso a grand-daughter of Count Z E E G E R S
had issue: he defeated the Spanish at Chiloe in
' l 8 2 6 , W w eppoipted Governor of Coquimbo 1829,'
.
& w a s murdered 1830 after the battle of Maule by
rebellious Indians ('tMulhall''
M a n y British subjects (particularly S c o t s @
Irish) w e r e similarly engaged during this period
e l s e w h e r e in South America: and amongst them,
General Nicholas B U T L E R , in Argentina, w a s
ancestor of several families l a t e r settled in Chile
(IV.3).
It i s probably d u e to the British s e a m e n of
this period that all British immigrants and visitors
to Chile have been and are known by the g e n e r i c
t e r m 'gringos'.
T h e derivation o f t h e word
'gringo' i s o b s c u r e , but i s said to allude to the
refrain " G r e e n grow the r u s h e s O!" chanted b y
the s e a m e n as they heaved at the capstan.
H ) T H E I N D E P E N D E N C E P E R I O D . 1810-1826
T R A D I N G & CIVIL A S S O C I A T I O N S
i)
Whilst the fighting for Independence continued,
the foreign mercantile and civil community was
already beginning to take s h a p e ; and marly of t h e
f i r s t British merchants to t r a d e with South A m e r i c a
were those who already had trading connections
with the Peninsula, particularly t h e C a d i z m e r c h a n t s
Indeed, it could be argued that N A P O L E O N ' S
attempt to conquer E u r o p e was t h e catalyst through
which the Anglo-Chilean Community originated,
Unemployment after the campaign s e n t the ex-combatants to South America.
Blockade during that
campaign sent t h e merchants there.
And both
t h e s e movements of individuals were in consonance
with British Government policy, epigrammatically
defined o n 12th D e c e m b e r 1826 b y G e o r g e
CANNING (1770-18271, then F o r e i g n S e c r e t a r y ,
when h e declaimed: "1 called the N e w World into
existence to redress t h e b a l a n c e of the Old'? Oiie
might style him the "political godfather" of emancipated South America.
H e can be remotely connected with families now r e s i d e n c e in Chile ( s e e
B u r k e ' s Peerage, art. 'IBaron Garvagh"
ii)
P e r h a p s o n e of the earliest r e f e r e n c e s to a
British merchant in South A m e r i c a , w h o s e trading
activities g a v e r i s e to a family l a t e r settled in Chile,
i s to John P a r i s h R O B E R T S O N (1792-1843) e
H e w a s b o r n at Kelso, Scotland, s o n of t h e Asst.
Secretary of the Bank of Scotland, by h i s wife
He
Julia P A R I S H , dau of a Hamburg merchant.
went t
o South A m e r i c a in 1807, w a s t h e f i r s t
merchant to t r a d e with Paraguay 1811, founded
the S c o t s colony of Monte G r a d e on t h e R i v e r
P l a t e 1825, G retired to Scotland 1830, w h e r e h e
died.
His y o u n g e r b r o t h e r William P a r i s h
R O B E R T S O N ( 1 7 9 5 - 1 8 6 1 )settled in South A m e r i c a
in 1814, died at Valparaiso, B was the father of
William R O B E R T S O N (IV.15.c).
Another early
South American settler, who left descendants in
Chile, was T h o m a s P A T R I C K S O N (1V.ll.b)
who d, 1819 at Buenos A i r e s .
iii) A n d r e w B L E S T , merchant, of Co. Sligo,
Connaught, a r r i v e d in Chile in 1813 on the ship
"Emily", with h i s 2 b r o t h e r s , & settled (S.P.M.1.
Joshua WADDINGTON (b.1792 a t Y o r k , d.1876)
went to Buenos A i r e s in 1812, fr thence to Valparaiso in 1817. H e financed the copper mines
at Copiapo fr Coquimbo, and irrigation at Limache,
trading a s 'Waddington, Templeman 6 C 0 . 1
("Mulhall")
In o r soon after 1822, WADDINGTON
w a s joined by Edmund E A S T M A N , founder of a
family resident in Chile (IV.6).
.
163
iv)
It is evident f r o m Maria GRAHAM'S Journal
( s e e para. G.vi a b o v e ) that by 1822 t h e r e w a s
alr-eady an "English" colony resident in Valparaiso.
But s h e i s a disappointing authority for a genealogist
tr often only identifies h e r contacts with blanks or
initial letters.
S h e tells u s , f o r instance, that
"five English" died in t h e earthquake of November
19th: and s h e mentions meeting an Englishman,
manager of a soap B candle factory n e a r Melipilla,
who had been a s a i l o r o n a whaler wrecked n e a r
Juan F e r n a n d e z : but s h e d o e s not give any of their
names. T h e non-Spanish residents named in h e r
Journal were:
Mr B E N E T T , from Co. Lincs.
H e had been
G o v e r n o r of E s m e r a l d a in the early p a r t of the
W a r of Independence, and later became C O C H R A N E f s s e c r e t a r y B manager of his estate at
Quintero.
M r B E R N A R D , of Santiago; known as 'don Diego'
settled with a family.
M r C A M P B E L L , S c o t s merchant, who had m.
a s i s t e r of Mariano d e E N C A L A D A .
Mr C L A R K E (no details).
M r C R U I K S H A N K , of Quintero Viejo.
M r DAVIDSON (no details).
M r F A W K N E R , "born in >England", Lt-Governor
of Quillota ( w h o must b e identical w i t h D r
F A U L K N E R , see para. F.viii).
M r G O L D S E G G , who had c o m e from Woolwich,
with his family, to make r o c k e t s to fire against
Callao.
Mr HOGAN, the American Consul at Valparaiso,
his wife b daughter.
M r H O S E A S O N ( n o details).
M r MIERS k his family (see para., F . x ) .
M r O L V E R , shipwright.
M. P H A R O U X , proprietor of the "Hotel F r a n c e s "
at Valparaiso.
.
Mr P R E V O S T , the American-Consul General k
a Chilean judge, w h o s e father, a S w i s s from
Geneva, had settled in Chile.
M r T H O M P S O N , phi!anthropist
b founder of
schools, who s e e m s to have been a transierrt and
to have left Valparaiso for Lima in June 1822.
British C o n s u l a r representation apparently
commenced t h e following year, 1823, with the
appointment a s V i c e Consul o f William Henry
ROUSE.
In 1827 h e went t o Concepcion as
Consul, B later returned to Valparaiso in that
office.
H e m a r r i e d c1838 A d e l a daeghter of
Auguste B A R D E L , t h e F r e n c h Vice-Consul at
Concepcion.
R O U S E i s said to have been Ita
s o n of King G E O R G E 1V k anoriental lady" ( P .
H .) T h e f i r s t British Consul-General at Valp a r a i s o (after t h e A c t of 1825 regulating the
appointment of consuls) w a s Christopher Richard
N U G E N T , who held office until 1828 ( P . H . 1 .
Rev. T h o m a s K E N D A L L (bapt.1778), who went
to New South Wales in 1813, w a s a missionary in
New Zealand 1814/25 tr w a s ordained 1820 in the
U K., was resident in Valparaiso 1825/27. T h e r e
w a s a "Burying Ground f o r Foreigners" a t Valp a r a i s o from a n early date: and Capt. P e t e r
D I L L O N subscribed to its upkeep in 1827, o n his
w a y to discover the fate of LA P E R O U S S E ' s
Expedition.
But British c h u r c h e s fr schools ( a t
least those that s u r v i v e in t o d a y ' s community) are
of l&er foundation.
v)
-
.
.
vi)
O n e of the f i r s t British merchant h o u s e s to
establish itself in Chile, and still today one of the
164
leading houses, w a s that of 'Antony Gibbs b Sons',
founded in London in 1808 with Peainsula connections. In South A m e r i c a , t h e h o u s e first traded
in Peru, u n d e r the s u c c e s s i v e s t y l e s of 'Gibbs
Ci-awley M o e n s b Co.'
f1822/24) b 'Gibbs
C r a w l e y k Co .I (1824/47 1 T h e latter firm opened
its first office in Chile in 1826: and from 1847 onw a r d s Gibbs have continuously traded in Chile
under the s u c c e s s i v e styles of 'William Gibbs D
Co.1 (1847/79), *Gibbs b C0.I (1880/1948) and
'Gibbs y Cia. S.A.C.'
( s i n c e 1948).
Their
s t o r y is told in " T h e History of Antony ti Dorothea
Gibbs" by J . A . G I B B S , published privately 1922,.
and in "Antony Gibbs B S o n s , Limited, Merchants
b B a n k e r s , 1808-1958", compiled 1958 by W.
MAUDE. T h e first English employees of t h e firm
mentioned as resident i n South A m e r i c a were
G e o r g e T h o m a s DAVY (d.18741, who went to
P e r u in 1823 k stayed in S o u t h A m e r i c a until
1846, being subsequently a p a r t n e r (1848/74) ;
and John H A Y N E (d.18641, who went to Pemr
In 1825 k stayed in South A m e r i c a until 1846.
H A Y N E , who was a p a r t n e r (1848/59), w a s
uncleof J a m e s C h a r l e s H A Y N E ( p a r t n e r 1880/56:
d.18991, who resided in South A m e r i c a 1849/79
0 w a s t h e father o f Caroline w h o m. 1887
Archibald WILLIAMSON ( l a t e r 1 s t B a r o n F o r r e s )
( s e e para.K.ii 0 IV.16).
F r o m 1828 o n w a r d s ,
s o m e members of the G I B B S family have occasionally resided in Chile (IV.9).
.
vii) In 1826, t h e year in which the Spanish were
finally driven from their l e t stmnghold, G e o r g e
L Y O N (1803-1866) settled in Chile. H e had been
"sick 0 ailing" and w a s s e n t to Chile for his health
his family possibly havicg been influenced by t h e
publication of Maria GRAHAM'S Journal, 1824
in which s h e described t h e country m t t a n e a r t h y
paradise b beneficial to t h e lungstt (see "Young",
p.61).
H e settled and founded a large family,
w h o s e descendants are widely connected by m a r riage with o t h e r Anglo-Chilean families 0 with
Chilean families. (1V.8).
,
In the s a m e year, 1826, Mathew B E G S (d.
1853) b his wife went to Lima, Peru, and raised
a family that subsequently (1842) settled in Chile.
Between the descendants of D E L A N O ( 1 8 1 9 ) ,
L Y O N (1826) 0 B l G G S (18261, the genealogist
can trace c l o s e connections with a l a r g e proportion
of the families that today c o m p r i s e the Anglo-Chilev
Community.
J)
T H E EA R L Y T R A D l N G P E R I O D 1826-185Q
i)
In the 1830s Chile w a s exclusively ( a s it still
continues largeIy today) an agriculturai 0 mining
country, and the export of mined p r o d u d s h a s
always accounted for t h e great part of C h i l e ' s
foreign trade. T h u s the trading pattern of the
country, which from this period o n w a r d s provides
the occupational background of t h e mqjority of t h e
British immigrants, is o n e familiar throughout the
World during t h e XlXth Century, namely t h e export
of national raw materials and t h e import of European
finished goods and technical knowledge.
A t the beginning of this period, the principal
The
export w a s 'guano' for u s e as fertiliser.
droppings of milliards of s e a b i r d s over centuries
of time had formed r i c h deposits along the coast
that required no m o r e than to be cut out and shipped
In the w o r d s of t h e clerihew quoted to me in 1949
by t h e Hon. Antony Gibbs.
Gibbs
first made their dibs
out of t h e t u r d s
of foreign birds.
S o m e of t h e l a r g e r of the e a r l y merchant
h o u s e s owned their own fleets of sailing v e s s e l s ,
such
those of CANCIANI S o b r i n o s (an Italian
family settled ~ 1 8 3 0 ,with many Anglo -Chilean
descendants: see N . 1 0 1 B the C o r n i s h family of
R O G E R S 8 Co., of whom Ralph R O G E R S m.
e granddaughter of James F R A Z E R (b.1794, d.
T h e 'Pacific Steam Navig1847 et 'Valparaiso)
&ion Company' ( P . S . N . C . )
w a s founded in 1840
D established itself as t h e traditional shipping line
o n "the West Coast", a generic term in common
local u s a g e embracing Chile, P e r u 8 Bolivia, and
w h e r e b y many old-timers refer to themselves as
"West-Coasters"
.
.
Traders l a r g e B small went to Chile thems e l v e s , cr s e n t p a r t n e r s , and later their contracted
m a n a g e r s , c l e r k s B overseers a s their needs
dictated. Other British subjects, sometimes professional men, went to Chile independently to test
their luck: and s o m e who went a s employees
s t w e d to set up business on their own account.
And through t h e whole s t o r y of British immigration
t h e r e r u n s an intriguing thread of men whom o n e
c a n only d e s c r i b e as "cliance settlers": men who
were apparently "en route" for s o m e o t h e r country
or to n o w h e r e in particular, and who fell in love
wit&-chils B stayed to
there.
T h e motives
.-.-settleof t h e mobile would in themselves %e afascinating
study.
S o m e who went to Chile moved on o r returned;
o t h e r s brought their wives with them: but many,
original settlers or their children, married in the
country, F9 so the Community with its network of
connections through intermarriage took shape. It
will b e noticed that only a minority of the names
so f a r mentioned carry r e f e r e n c e s to "Chapter IV",
w h e r e a s the mqjority of the names subsequent to
this point are so cross-referenced: and the r e a d e r
is w a i n reminded of the limitations of this p a p e r ,
explained in t h e Introduction.
ii)
Another g r e a t English name connected with
Chile at this time w a s that of C h a r l e s R o b e r t
DARWIN (1809-1882), the naturalist B scientist,
H e took part in the surveying expedition of the
'!Beagle1' 1831/36, which cruised up the Chilean
c o a s t 1832, in t h e c o u r s e of h e r circumnavigation.
It was the observations that h e made o n this voyage that inspired him to begin his w o r k , 1837, o n
t h e tlTransmutation of Species"; and h e mentions
t h e island of Chiloe m o r e than o n c e in his w o r k s .
Again, a remote connections with the Community
can be traced, through the m a r r i a g e of his s o n
Sir F r a n c i s (1848-1925) to Amy R U C K , w h o s e
s i s t e r Mary w a s mother of the 1 s t Baron A T K I N
of Abcrdovey (IV.23).
iii)
D r . William B L E S T (1800-18841, born at
Sligo, County Sligo, physician a n d surgeon,
settled in Chile 1827, D became deputy D senator.
H e m.
G A N A & had i s s u e 3 s o n s born in
Chile:
1 ' ) Guillermo (1829-19051, b. at Santiago,
p l a w r i g h t 8 poet, b e c a m e Chilean Minister Pleni, potentiary to Argentina & Brazil. About 1880 b e
---
*
w a s lntendente of S a n Felipe. H e m. an Englishwomen.
2') AIberto (1831-19201, novelist, deputy,
8 Intendente of Colchagua.
H e left Chile in 1886
to b e Envoy Extraordinary to P a r i s & London.
3") Joaquin (b.18321, l a w y e r , tj editorof
the daily n e w s p a p e r 1ICorreof1, w a s Minister of
Information 1866/71 D P r e s i d e n t of the H b u s e of
Deputies 01880.
(llGaldames" & "Mulhall" 1.
iv)
T h e following are s o m e names that o c c u r
during the period 1830-1850, most of whom left
descendants, m e m b e r s o f t h e Anglo Chilean
Community today, as noticed in C h a p t e r IV:
-
McLAUGHLIN, T h o m a s Morris (1800-1882) : w a s
settled at T a c n a , P e r u before 1830. H e m. Maria
MAZU E L O S (1802-1886 1B his great-grandchildren
w e r e surnamed A L L A R D I C E B B I R R E L L .
P O R T E R , James: b. in London c 1800. H e m.
before 1830, N a r c i s s u s daughter o f F e r n e u d o
M A R T E L L , of Valparaiso (P.H.1.
F L I N D T , Adolph Ferdinand (1813-18511, from
Larenfeld, Denmark. H e settled at Valparaiso c
1832/33 B m. a niece of Antonio CANCIANI, w h o s e
p a r t n e r h e became (lV.10).
- --
WHITE, ---,
whosefamily w a s settled at Valparaiso
before 1837m when h i s s o n - i n - l a w T h o m a s
P A T R I C K S O N d. t h e r e ( N . 1 1 )
MacKAY, D r . John (1819-1901), b. at Inverness.
H e qualified as a doctor et Glasgow, 1838; sailed
1839 for New South W a l e s , D was s e n t thence to
Chile for supplies, 1840, w h e r e h e a r r i v e d et
Talcahuano w h e r e h e settled B died ( P . H . 1.
B R A U N , Elias: b. in Poland. H e settled 4 8 4 0
a t P u n t a A r e n a s , in t h e e x t r e m e south of Chile F9
set u p sheepfarming, which developed into t h e
1 Sociedad Expiotadora d e Tierra del F u e g o '
(s
E .T F. ) the principal sheep-farming and wool
producing undertaking in Chile (IV. 1 2 ) .
.
-
,
Y R I B E R R Y , P e d r o : a B a s q u e from Pamplona or
S a n t a n d e r , Spain. H e settled in P e r u before 1842,
When his s o n Simon w a s b. t h e r e (lV.14).
R l E D , D r . C h i n a s (18iO-18691, military s u r g e o n ,
from Bavaria.
H e settled at Velparaiso 1842,
when returning to England after a tour of duty in
Australia, B m. a niece of Antonio CANCIANI
(IV.10).
B U D G E , F o r b e s : from Scotland.
H e settled in
Chile before 1843, when his daughter Isabel (d.
19351 w a s b.there. S h e m. Carlos B A R R O I L H E T
(1835-18761, s o n of a F r e n c h immigrant, B their
s o n C a r l o s . (1866-1954) m. Teresa C A N N O N ,
s i s t e r of M r s F e d e r i c o Y R I B E R R Y (IV.14).
P L U M M E R , Anthony (1817-1864) : was settled in
Chile before 1844, when h e w a s already m. to
A n a daughter of P a u l Hinckley D E L A N O (IV.4).
O X L E Y , S a m u e l P o t t e r (1804-18721.
H e had
settled at Valparaiso before 1844, when his infant
daughter Isabel was buried t h e r e (IV.13).
T R U M B U L L , Rev. David (1819-18891, b. at
Elizabeth, New J e r s e y , U.S.A.
H e settled in
Chile 1845, and founded & w a s the first minister
of the Union C h u r c h , at Valparaiso, w h e r e h e
d i ed.
H i s granddaughter M a r y m. G e o r g e
C O M P T O N (1V.ll.c).
1
165
I
in 1851 u n d s r the style of S, Williamson
t (20.8, to act as F o r w a r d i n g Agents, Merchants
t S h i p o w n e r s ; and the Chilean office w e opened
in t h e following year by Stephen WILLIAMSON
(1827-1903) , the first of s e v e r a l m e m b e r s of his
family to r e s i d e occasionally in Chile (IV.16).
T h e s t o r y of t h i s merchant house i s toId in
"Balfour Williamson 0 Co., 5 Allied F i r m s:
memoirs of a merchant house", published privately
1929, and in "Heirs of G r e a t Adventure" by Wallis
H U N T , 1951. T h e style w a s changed in 1856 to
1 Balfour Williamson t2 C o ,I; and again to 'Williamson
Balfour t2 Co.' in 1863, in which year David
D U N C A N (1831-18863 left t h e partnership.
S A L K E L D , F r e d e r i c k ; from London, H e settled
at T a c n a , P e r u , before 4846, when his daughter
E l i s a was b. t h e r e (1V.14).
M A C Q U E E N , William Lennie (1832-18791, b. at
D r y m e n , Co. Stirling. H e settled in Chile 1849,
b e c a m e Manager of the Banco Nacional d e Chile,
t m. a great-niece of Antonio CANCIANI (IV.10).
A R M S T R O N G , Rev. William: during this period,
w a s t h e first formally appointed Consular Chaplain
' at
Valparaiso.
W e w a s succeeded before 1852
by Rev. Benjamin H I L L ( P . H . ) .
.
K)
.
David DUNCAN had been o n e of t h e t h r e e
t in
original p a r t n e r s in 1 S Williamson & Co.
1855 became WILLIAMSON ' s brother-in-law (IV.
,161. In 1863, h e founded, b a s e d upon an e a r l i e r
firm of Ravenscroft B r o t h e r s , the third traditional
British house, 'Duncan Fox ti Co.'
T H F P F R I O D O F COMMERCIAI.
E X P A N S I O N . 1850-188L
i)
F r o m t h e middle o f t h e XIXth C e n t u r y ,
t h e r e w a s construction t operation of railway lines,
and t h e building. C expansion of p o r t w o r k s . T h e
Antofagasta-Bolivia Railway, climbing from sealevel to t h e plateau at 1 2 , 5 0 0 ' , was a fine feat of
railway engineering,
T h e activities brought a
f u r t h e r influx of British subjects, both as m a n a g e r s
t artisans. Sometimes they a r r i v e d in p a r t i e s ,
as for example t h e gang of men recruited in the
s h o p s of Dubbs t Co., locomotive engineers, of
Glasgow, in 1862.
Dubbs were manufacturing
locomotives for the Chilean S t a t e Railways, and
the men w e r e contracted to help s e t up the operation.
T h e y w e r e led out by John KING (18331921) (IV.19.b). ,
Sheep-farming 0 the wool export b u s i n e s s
brought out m&y S c o t s m e n and Northcountrymen
to w o r k o n t h e sheep-stations, again both as
managers t shepherds.
O t h e r shipping lines
operated o n t h e West C o a s t , s u c h as the Nautilus
S t e a m ShiFping Campany ( 'Gulf Line' 1 of Gteenock
(cf. IV.28) 5 the M c A U L I F F E L i n e (IV.271,
who, like t h e P.S.N.C.,
brought out or engaged
locally their s h o r e staff. Most of the v e s s e l s on
t h e 'West Coast' at t h e beginning of this period
were sailing ships o r paddlewheel s t e a m e r s . T h e
first s t e a m e r o n this coast installed with electric
lighting was R.M.S."Mendoza"(then
'Queen of the
Pacific' ), commanded in 1880 by Capt. Elias John
JOSTE (IV.28.b).
British subjects have been employed in the
nitrate, c o p p e r , iron t coal mining companies;
though ownership C direction of the last t h r e e
activities h a s tended to lie r a t h e r with American
interests.
Copper-mining h a s always been of the
first importance in Chilean economy, and in 1876
Chile produced 38% of the world supply of copper.
.William Gibson D E L A N O (1810-1877) (IV.4) w a s
o n e of t h e pioneers i n developing coal-mining.
T h e important S c h w a g e r Coal Mines (today operated by 'Cia. Carbonifera y Industrial d e Lotat )
w e r e first developed b y F r e d e r i c k William
S C H W A G E R (1789-18611,
b. a t Z e r b s t ( i n
Anhalt, G e r m a n y ) , d. at Valparaiso, w h o s e
daughter Marion (d. 1912) m. Robert Adolph
C L A U D E (d.1891) t had 2 children (IV.13.c).
T h e second, in o r d e r of age, of t h e leading
ii)
Brfiish merchant h o u s e s i s that of 1Williamson,
Balfour t Co.'.
T h e firm w a s established in
166
'
. Liverpool
S O T H E R S , Joseph (1815-18921, b. at G r a v e s end, London. H e s d e d et T a c n a , P e r u , before .
1645 when h e m. C a r m e n PIVIDAL, a granddaughter of G e n e r a l B U T L E R (1V.3).
'
'
T h e third original p a r t n e r in IS. Williamson
0 Co.' w a s Alexander B A L F O U R (1824-1886),
who also resided sometime in Chile (IV.21).
Both
WILLIAMSON & B A L F O U R w e r e active philanthropists, and the Anglo-Chilean Community in
Valparaiso o w e s much t o their efforts.
They
w e r e s p o n s o r s 0 benefactors of t h e Union C h u r c h
( s e e p a r a . J.iv. u n d e r T R U M B U L L ) , tr BALF O U R was o n e of t h e founders of t h e Y.M.C.A.
in Chile. B A L F O U R also founded t h e A r t i s a n s '
School in Valparaiso in 1857, and c h o s e Peter
MACKAY, of Edinburgh, as the f i r s t headmaster.
S O M E R S C A L E S , the marine painter, was a
m a s t e r at this Schooi iintii 1877, when MACKAY
resigned. T h e school, s i n c e known as M a c K a y I s
School, still teaches the community's sons.
iii) T h e period of Chile's greatest prosperity
c a m e with the development and exploitation of t h e
sodium nitrate deposits in t h e north of t h e country.
T h e s e 'nitrate pampas' are r i c h fi extensive, and
in an o r d i n a r y year s o m e 40,000 Chilean w o r k
men w e r e employed in t h e 'nitrate oficinas'(E.BJ.
S o m e of the r i c h e s t d e p o s i t s were i n t e r r i t o r y that
then belonged to Peru t Bolivia, and many w e r e
worked by Chilean companies u n d e r a g r e e m e n t s
and concessions. T h i s situation, and t h e s o u r c e s
of disagreement that it provoked, was t h e c a u s e
of t h e " W a r of the Pacific" 1879/83, during which
the Chileans occupied Lima in 1881. B y this W a r ,
Chile won its two northernmost provinces, T a r a p a c a
t h e iurthest north) ceded by P e r u in 1883, and
Antofagasta ceded by Bolivia in 1884. Most of
the nitrate ports, s u c h as Iquique, are today m e r e
s h a d o w s of their f o r m e r selves: but during the
late XIXth 5 e a r l y XXth C e n t u r i e s many British
subjects lived t worked t h e r e , and the English
genealogist should r e m e m b e r that, as with so many
European countries, South A m e r i c a n frontiers h a v e
also changed. A man may have left Ensland to
settle in P e r u o r Bolivia, and have died in Chile,
yet always havelived in t h e same South A m e r i c a n
town. T h e houses of Gibbs, Williamson, 5 W.R.
G r a c e 0 Co. w e r e specially interested in t h e nitrate
trade.
iv)
S o m e of the British settler family f i r m s that
d a t e from t h i s period, besides those already
mentioned, w e r e :
Altardice 0 Co: founded 1876 by David A L L A R DICE (d. 1 9 1 2 ) , formerly a p a r t n e r in Williamson
Balfour.
-
Balfour'Lyon @ Co.
B e a u s i r e c/ Co: before 1870 in P e r u (IV.25).
Buchanan J o n e s b Co: (IV.22) : since succeeded
by Jorje J o n e s y Cia. (IV.17.b.iii).
Cooper 0 Co: before 1869, closed 1899 (IV.26).
Heatley E v a n s c/ Co: before 1853, liquidated
1865 (lV.10.a.iii).
Jackson b Co: about 1854, closed before 1916
(lV.3.e).
Morrison @ Co: about 1860, family interest sold
1963 (IV.20).
Rose-lnnes & Co: about 1860, now closed (IV.
3.e.v).
Wallace 0 Co: still trading.
O t h e r f i r m s , with British connections, but which
do not appear to h a v e been named after settlerfounders a r e Wessel Duval (still trading) and
Graham R o w e (in P e r u before 1886, now s u c ceeded by Agencias Graham in Chile:. cf. IV.25.
C).
VI
During this period, members of the liberal
professions still settle in Chile and s e t up practice
&d, after t h e XlXth Century, it is unusual for a
doctor or l a w y e r , already qualified e l s e w h e r e , to
settle. S u c h professions may only b e practiced
today by p e r s o n s who have qualified in Chile: and
amongst them i s a representative number of d e s cendants of British settlers.
t) MODE R N TIMEs ,
1883-1964
i)
For about 50 years following the ''War of t h e
Pacific", times w e r e p r o s p e r o u s for Chile; though
a national economy that depends to so g r e a t a n
extent o n t h e export of mined products i s subject
to many vicissitudes.
By 1906, Chilean copper
production r e p r e s e n t e d only 4% of the world sapply.
But in 1910, Chile suppiied 64% of the w o r l d ' s
nitrogen requirements: though only 25% in 1926
(E. B )
In t e r m s of Anglo-Chilean genealogy,
this p r o s p e r i t y meant a continued influx of contracted
employees to s t a r t their own businesses.
And
prosperity a l s o brought another category of immigrant, t h e domestic servant.
For the r i c h (and
s o m e were v e r y r i c h ) built l a r g e houses and set
up establishments in t h e grand Victorian manner.
Tutors b G o v e r n e s s e s , butlers b ladies' maids,
cooks f3 g a r d e n e r s , went from Britain at this period
to w o r k in Chilean b Anglo-Chilean homes: and a
quota of t h e s e m a r r i e d b settled in the country.
..
ii)
British Banks made a s l o w s t a r t in Chile,
d u e to t h e fact that transactions w e r e usually
c a r r i e d out through the merchant houses. In 1888,
iargely on the initiative of Colonel N O R T H (who
went to Chile for a Yorkshire firm of boilerm a k e r s , 6 acquired substantial interests in the
nitrate industry), t h e 'Bank of T a r a p a c a and
London' w a s founded, w i t h its first office at
P i s a g u a , a nitrate p o r t in the northern province
that had formerly belonged to P e r u . T h e Bank
l a t e r opened offices i n Antofagasta, Santiago,
Valparaiso a n d Concepcion; a n d it pioneered
banking in the far south, w h e r e its office at Punta
A r e n a s , o n the S t r a i t of Magellan, w a s the first
bank in that locality,
F r o m that area, the Bank
extended its activities into Argentina, and in 1900
amalgamated w i t h the 1 Anglo-Argentine Bank'
(established in Buenos Aires and in Montevideo,
U r u g u a y ) , taking the name of 'Bank of T a r a p a c a
and Argentina'.
In 1907, t h e name w a s again
changed to Anglo-South American Bank' ; and
!
for the next 25 y e a r s this Bank continued to expand
throughout Latin America and in S p a i n , acquiring
various o t h e r banks of British origin. ( S e e " B a n k
of London b South A m e r i c a L t d . ,
Quarterly
Review, Centenary number, October 1962").
iii)
M o r e family firms of British origin d a t e from
this p e r i o d , including; Casa MacKenzie; H a r d y b
Co (IV.30) in 1903; Kenrick f4 C o (IV. 3 6 ) ;
McKAY & Co., biscuit manufacturers; Robinson
b Co; Sutton b Co. ( s u c c e s s o r to Huth b Co.
founded 1 9 0 1 ) ; and W e i r S c o t t b C o ; all still
trading.
O t h e r , 0 most d i v e r s , r e a s o n s have
brought British FY A m e r i c a n subjects to settle in
Chile: the GARVINs ( A m e r i c a n s : tV.35) went
t h e r e in 1884 as medical missionaries; professors
have gone to teach at Chilean universities; hospital
matrons, schoolteachers 8 football referees have
been contracted by Chilean B Anglo-Chilean organizations.
iv)
During the world economic crisis of 1929/32,
the Chilean nitrate industry [ a l r e a d y badly hurt by
the competition of synthetic nitrates) collapsed with
v e r y prejudicial effects o n the Chilean economy,
on the merchant houses most involved in the nitrate
t r a d e , and on many individual careers, T h e assets
of the closely involved 'Anglo-South A m e r i c a n Bank
w e r e frozen in 1932, and taken o v e r in 1936 b y
the I Bank of London b South A m e r i c a Limited'.
T h i s Bank, "a fusion of s e v e r a l h n k i n g t-nterprises established i n different p a r t s " o f South
A m e r i c a (of which t h e two e a r l i e s t were begun in
1862, respectively in Buenos A i r e s b in Rio de
Janeiro, B r a z i l ) , i s Ittoday the only British bank
with b r a n c h e s in Latin America'' ( s e e the s a m e
authority as for para.ii a b o v e ) .
,
'
v)
T h e s e Banks in turn brought out many British
subjects in their employ, and at this s t a g e t h e r e i s
a f r e s h genealogical aspect, for t h e banking o r g a n ization is o n e of t h e big international employers,
w h o s e practice it i s to t r a n s f e r their careers.
Comparable employers, from a genealogical viewpoint, with b r a n c h e s or subsidiary companies in
Chile, are the Western T e l e g r a p h Co., the Shell
Petroleum organization ( Shell Chile Ltd .), Imperial
Chemical Industries (Cia, Chilena d e Explosivos)
the British American T o b a c c o Corporation (Cia.
Chilena d e T a b a c o s )
b the f i r m s of auditors,
Deloitte P l e n d e r Griffiths and P r i c e Waterhouse
Peat. Amongst the p a r t n e r s b executives of s u c h
organizations, the genealogist finds many p e r s o n s
with family connections by m a r r i a g e in m o r e than
o n e South American country, t h u s extending
throughout the Continent the network of "Anglo'#
family connections B associations.
T h e British
insurance companies have sometimes s e n t their own
employees to Chile: but in general their interests,
which d a t e back to the 1830s, tend to h a v e been
c a r e d for (as in the cases of British manufacturers
8 e x p o r t e r s 1 by firms o r individuals acting as agents.
,
,
vi)
S i n c e the economic crisis of 1929/32, Chile
h a s encouraged a g r a d u a l industrial development,
in the c o u r s e of which the British merchant h o u s e s
(all now trading u n d e r Chilean styles ) have diversified their activities; and in consequence their m o r e
recently engaged contract employees have included
technicians in various b r a n c h e s of industry. In
1960, t h e Bank of London b South A m e r i c a Ltd,
acquired t h e whole of the s h a r e capital of Balfour
Williamson; and in the Centenary number of its
167
R e v i e w (quoted in para.ii above), the latter f i r m ' s
trading activities are summarised in the following
mio r e than a century of existence t h e r e
words: %
i s hardly any form of economic activity in which
Balfour Williamson and its associated companies
have not at s o m e time participated ;
flour-milling,
cement manufacture, mining, fruit-farming, sheepfarming (on Easter Island in the Pacific), shipping,
banking and insurance, besides its normal trading
activitiestf. T h e description i s typical for the o t h e r
big houses: Duncan Fox, for instance, controls
m o r e than o n e l a r g e textile mill on the West Coast.
....
MI
T H E COMMUNITY T O D A Y
i)
D u r i n g the period of a century b a half in
which t h e varied British interests, influences and
associations reviewed briefly above, ' have shaped
t h e Community with a flow of immigrants, the body
of t h e Community has been building in the p e r s o n s
of t h e descendants of those who stayed and settled.
T h e r e h a s , of c o u r s e , always been a constant
r e v e r s e movement: the merchant retiring,
the
contract employee opting to r e t u r n , the children,
or descendants of a s e t t l e r re-emigrating
to the
original homeland or to a third country. And s o m e
of t h e s e descendants w h o returned to Britain h a v e
s i n c e b e c o m e prominent in public life of theunited
Kingdom: there are a number of peoplenamed in
"Who 1 s Who" who h a v e Anglo-Chilean backgrounds.
Y e t s u c h i s the attraction 'that Chile exerts on
those who h a v e lived t h e r e , that a number of
f o r m e r residents continue to lend their support to
Community organizations.
ii)
In its widest s e n s e , b as was observed in
Chapter I, the Cornmucity (if understood to include
d l descendants of British s e t t l e r s 1 i s heterogeneous.
For it ranges, with every intermediate graduation,
between t h e e x t r e m e s from the most recentlya r r i v e d 'gringo' struggling with h i s first Spanish
lessons, to t h e seventh-generation descendant w h o s e
only r e l i c of British heritage i s h i s surname. In
that widest s e n s e , British d + s c e n d m t s are to be
found in all walks of life. In s o m e families, w h e r e
the emphasis naturally lies r a t h e r o n the 'Chilean'
actuality than o n the ItAnglo-11 origin, m e m b e r s
h a v e been prominent in public life, as deputy,
s e n a t o r , Minister or Ambassador.
S u c h families
would probably include those o f MACKENNA,
E D W A R D S , R O S S 0 L Y O N . Col. Marmaduke
G R O V E (b.1878 at Copiapo) w a s the socialist
candidatefor election as P r e s i d e n t of the Republic
in 1932: and h i s b r o t h e r Eduardo, Chilean Ambassador to Canada, m a r r i e d Ines, s i s t e r of S a l v a d o r
A L - L E N D E , who was defeated in the latest Presidential election, 1964 (IV.24.b).
In other families
with British s u r n a m e s , w h e r e t h e u s e of the
English language in the home lapsed long ago, the
descendants are indistinguishable from their Chilean
neighbours: they might be officers in the Chilean
Army, businessme% shopkeepers, c l e r k s , artisans,
or labourers.
~
iii)
In a m o r e restricted s e n s e , t h e word Community c a n be understood to signify only Britishborn residents and those Anglo-Chilean descendants
who actively k e e p their British associations b connections d i v e .
S o m e s u c h would be p a r t n e r s in
their family businesses. T h e daughters tend
become bilingual secretaries in business houses or
with United Nations representations, international
168
airline h o s t a s s e s , or t e a c h e r s in q r i t i s h Gt American
schools. T h e s o n s often e n t e r the empIoy of the
old merchant houses or of t h e local b r a n c h e s of
the international firms. Many (including a f e w who
barely s p o k e English) went 'thome" to s e r v e in
the Forces in the Second World W a r (1939/45)
as m e m b e r s of the British Latin-American Volunteers (B.L.A.V.):
and those who s e r v e d in the
R.A.F.
m a y now b e pilots in the national airline
Linea Aerea National' ( L. A. N .I.
Others enter
the Chilean Navy (which h a s inherited a s t r o n g
British tradition from t h e days of L o r d C O C H R A N E ) , o r become officers in t h e Chile-CUI m e r chant navy ('Cia. Chilena d e Navegacion Interoceanica', and 'Cia. Sud-Ameri-ana de V a p o r e s ' ).
O t h e r s again practice the liberal professions and
h a v e qualified in Chile as doctors, dentists, l a w y e r s ,
architects D accountants. S o m e are s t o c k b r o k e r s
B exchange b r o k e r s . A few h a v e been ordained
both Protestant b Roman Catholic., S o m e h a v e
settled in the countryside E
3 become f a r m e r s : but
the rnGority live an urban life.
T h e l a r g e prosp e r o u s communities in the northern nitrate ports
have mostly dispersed; and t h e great mJority of
the Community live today in b a r o u n d Santiago,
a d Valparaiso (with its r e s i d e n t i d suburb, V i n a
del M a r ) , with smaller nuclei i n the south at
Concepcion and P u n t a A r e n a s .
iv)
Again in this restricted s e n s e , t h e Community
possesses, within t h e corporate body of the Chilean
nation, a n undoubted s e n s e of group personality,
that finds expression in its Community organizations,
s o m e of which have already been mentioned. T h e
old "Burying Ground for F o r e i g n e r s " at Valparaiso
(see para. H.v) h a s now b e c o m e the 'Cementerio
de Disidentes" (and shared about equally by British
b G e r m a n dead).
Besides the Union C h u r c h
( s e e para. K.ii) , t h e r e are three main A n g l i c m
Churches: St. P a u l ' s , at Valparaiso; St Peter's,
at Vina; and St A n d r e w ' s at Santiago,
The
f o r m e r British-American Hospital at Vatparaiso
was closed about 20 y e a r s ago, and its p l a c e
taken by the 'Clinica Miraflores' a British n u r s Of schools: at
ing home n e a r Vina del Mar.
Valparaiso, besides ( f o r b o y s ) MacKay 1s ( s e e
para. K.ii) t h e r e i s St. M a r g a r e t ' s (for g i r l s ) ;
and at Santiago, T h e G r a n g e S c h o o l (see IV.3.
e.ii) was founded 1929 f o r boys, b there is Colegio
Dunalastair (see IV. 3 4 ) f o r Girls. T h e C h a m b e r s
of C o m m e r c e are traditional. T h e Sociedad Chilona
de Cultura Inglesa provides a focal point for the
artistic and dramatic interests of Anglo-Chileans ,
besides its principal function of teaching the English
T h e "South
language t o the public generally.
Pacific Mail", an English language weekly paper,
was first published in Valparaiso in November
1909, and is still in circulation (published s i n c e
1950 in Santiago, and s i n c e then tending to reflect
'
American r a t h e r than British interests!.
,
v)
T w o other Community bodies serve to coordinate an$ focalise communal interests. In 1910,
the Canning Club (named after George CANNING:
see para. H.i) w a s founded in London, and h a s
next
its p r e m i s e s at 1, Hamilton Place, W.l.
door to the Chilean Embassy.
Whilst it is not
exclusively "Chilean" , being described
"social
(South American) b non-political",
its m e m b e r s
include Anglo-Chileans and British businessmen
with interests in Chile.
In 1944, T h e AngloChilean Society was founded in London, u n d e r t h e