Abstract

This article addresses the intense and relevant commercial trade carried out in the old Tarapaca province by traders and indigenous Aymara muleteers coming from both sides of the Andean border area of Chile and Bolivia during the saltpeter cycle. In addition to emphasizing the impacts and characteristics of this style of commercial trade and its ethnic component, the attention is focused on the complex relationship with the Chilean fiscal officers considering that the chilenization process was already underway.