Abstract

This article examines the Chinese presence in Chile from 1880 to 1930, mainly in the Antofagasta and Tarapacá Regions. It analyses three components of the Chinese presence in northern regional society: the term “coolies” and whether it is appropriate to refer to Chinese immigration before 1884 using the term; how Confucianism constituted an ethical and spiritual orientation in Chinese communities; and the role that opium played as a sign of ancestral culture or as a negative sign for the immigrant community itself and northern society.