Abstract

This article makes a comparison between various texts that were published in various periodicals, both historical-fictional prose and journalistic-essay type, in the Chilean cities of Copiapó, La Serena, Valparaíso and Santiago between the mid-19th century and the first half of the 20th. We will mainly analyse the permanence of observable ideas in this founding century of the national. We will follow the notions that appear regarding classes, races, castes or adjacent concepts such as civilization or nation in these texts through two axes: representations of Indians, blacks and mulattoes, and social criticism / social differences and power abuse. The research hypothesis is that, although these authors are from different social classes and different cities of origin, there is a certain continuity and relation in the understanding of socio-racial differences, obeying to national-republican constructs of greater scope, that cover the entire scriptural experience of the epoch.