Abstract

In this paper, we present a series of novel antecedents that concern two hunting incursions, dedicated to the hunting of fur seals (fur sealing), which carried out their activities near the coasts of Chile and Peru. It is suggested that the presence of these American crews is part of the process of exploitation of nature and territorial appropriation of the American coasts. Methodologically, this study analyses two unpublished documentary sources through the lens of micro-history: the logs of the brigantine Alabama Packet (1819-1824) and of the barkentine Penguin (1829-1831). This paper aims at evidencing the various motives behind these hunting incursions: commercial, exploratory and scientific.