Abstract

This article deals with the business career of José Bunster during the occupation of the Araucania's frontier region in the south of Chile between 1860 and 1890. In particular, it highlights the role played by his agro-industrial complex of windmills and loans to promote the production of plots acquired by other agricultural landlords. This was a successful example of modernization of a dynamic agrarian market in the interior zone of the mapuche frontier, connected to trading enclaves in Talcahuano's port and the city of Concepcion.