The Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia ( es, Reino de la Araucanía y de la Patagonia; french: Royaume d'Araucanie et de Patagonie, sometimes referred to as ''New France'') was an

unrecognized state A number of polities have declared independence and sought diplomatic recognition from the international community as sovereign states, but have not been universally recognised as such. These entities often have ''de facto'' control of their ...

declared by two ordinances on November 17, 1860 and November 20, 1860 from Antoine de Tounens, a French lawyer and adventurer, who claimed that the regions of Araucanía and eastern

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...

did not depend of any other states and proclaimed himself king of Araucanía and Patagonia. He had the support of some

Mapuche The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who s ...

lonko A lonko or lonco (from Mapudungun ''longko'', literally "head"), is a chief of several Mapuche communities. These were often ulmen, the wealthier men in the lof. In wartime, lonkos of the various local rehue or the larger aillarehue would gather in ...

s around a small area in Araucanía, who thought they could help maintain independence from the Chilean and Argentinian governments. Arrested on January 5, 1862 by the Chilean authorities, Antoine de Tounens was imprisoned and declared insane on September 2, 1862 by the court of Santiago and expelled to France on October 28, 1862. He later tried three times to return to Araucania to reclaim his "kingdom" without success.

History

In 1858, Antoine de Tounens, a former lawyer in

Périgueux Périgueux (, ; oc, Peireguers or ) is a commune in the Dordogne department, in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Périgueux is the prefecture of Dordogne, and the capital city of Périgord. It is al ...

, France, who had read the book ''

La Araucana ''La Araucana'' (also known in English as ''The Araucaniad'') is a 16th-century epic poem in Spanish by Alonso de Ercilla, about the Spanish Conquest of Chile. It was considered the national epic of the Captaincy General of Chile and one of th ...

'' by

Alonso de Ercilla Alonso de Ercilla y Zúñiga (7 August 153329 November 1594) was a Spanish soldier and poet, born in Madrid. While in Chile (1556–63) he fought against the Araucanians (Mapuche), and there he began the epic poem ''La Araucana'', considered one o ...

, decided to go to Araucania, inspired to become its king after reading the book. He landed at the port of

Coquimbo Coquimbo is a port city, commune and capital of the Elqui Province, located on the Pan-American Highway, in the Coquimbo Region of Chile. Coquimbo is situated in a valley south of La Serena, with which it forms Greater La Serena with more than ...

in Chile and met some

lonco A lonko or lonco (from Mapudungun ''longko'', literally "head"), is a chief of several Mapuche communities. These were often ulmen, the wealthier men in the lof. In wartime, lonkos of the various local rehue or the larger aillarehue would gather ...

s (Mapuche tribal leaders) after arriving South to the Biobío. He promised them some arms and the help of France to maintain their independence from Chile. The Indians elected him Great

Toqui Toqui (or Toki) (Mapudungun for ''axe'' or ''axe-bearer'') is a title conferred by the Mapuche (an indigenous Chilean and Argentinian people) on those chosen as leaders during times of war. The toqui is chosen in an assembly or parliament ('' c ...

, Supreme Chieftain of the Mapuches, possibly in the belief that their cause might be better served with a European acting on their behalf. On November 17, 1860, and November 20, 1860, the self-proclaimed sovereign proclaimed via two decrees that the regions of Araucanía and eastern

did not need to depend on any other states and that the Kingdom of Araucania is founded with himself as monarch under the name King Orélie-Antoine I. He declared Perquenco capital of his kingdom, created a flag, and had coins minted for the nation under the name of ''Nouvelle France''. He writes in his Memoirs in 1863 "I took the title of king, by an ordinance of November 17, 1860, which established the bases of the hereditary constitutional government founded by me ..On November 17, I returned to Araucania to be publicly recognized as king, which took place on December 25, 26, 27 and 30. Weren't we, the Araucanians, free to bestow power on me, and I to accept it?" The supposed founding of the Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia led to the

Occupation of Araucanía The Occupation of Araucanía or Pacification of Araucanía (1861–1883) was a series of military campaigns, agreements and penetrations by the Chilean army and settlers into Mapuche territory which led to the incorporation of Araucanía into Ch ...

by Chilean forces. Chilean president

José Joaquín Pérez José Joaquín Pérez Mascayano (; 6 May 1801 – 1 July 1889) was a Chilean political figure. He served as the president of Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the so ...

authorized Cornelio Saavedra Rodríguez, commander of the Chilean troops, to arrest Antoine de Tounens on January 5, 1862. Tounens was then imprisoned and declared insane on September 2, 1862, by the court of Santiago and expelled to France on October 28, 1862.

Attempts to return and fears of French intervention

In a 1870 meeting of Saavedra with Mapuche lonkos at

Toltén Toltén is a Chilean commune located at the lower flows Toltén River at the southern coast of Cautín Province which is part of Araucanía Region. The commune is administered by the municipality Nueva Toltén, the main harbour and town within t ...

, Mapuche chiefs revealed to Saavedra that Antoine de Tounens was once again at Araucanía.Bengoa 2000, pp. 227-230. Upon hearing that his presence in Araucanía had been revealed Orélie-Antoine de Tounens fled to Argentina, having however promised Quilapán to obtain arms. There is some reports that a shipment of arms seized by Argentine authorities at

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

in 1871 had been ordered by Orélie-Antoine de Tounens.Bengoa 2000, p. 187. A French battleship, ''d'Entrecasteaux'', that anchored in 1870 at

Corral A pen is an enclosure for holding livestock. It may also perhaps be used as a term for an enclosure for other animals such as pets that are unwanted inside the house. The term describes types of enclosures that may confine one or many animal ...

, drew suspicions from Saavedra of some sort of French interference. Accordingly there may have been substance to these fears as information given to

Abdón Cifuentes Abdón Cifuentes Espinoza, GCSG (16 May 1835 - 14 April 1928) was one of Chile's most significant Catholic politicians in the nineteenth century. He was the son of José Maria Cifuentes Olivares and Paula Espinoza Pinto born in San Felipe, Chile. ...

in 1870 an intervention in favour of the Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia against Chile was discussed in

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

's ''Conseil d'Êtat''.Cayuqueo 2020, p. 59 On August 28, 1873, the Criminal Court of Paris ruled that Antoine de Tounens, first "king of Araucania and Patagonia", did not justify his claim to the status of sovereignty. He died in poverty on September 17, 1878, in Tourtoirac, France, after years of fruitlessly struggling to regain his kingdom.

After de Tounens (1873–present)

Historians Simon Collier and William F. Sater describe the Kingdom of Araucanía as a "curious and semi-comic episode".Collier, Simon; Sater, William F.: ''A history of Chile, 1808–2002.'' Cambridge University Press, 2004,
p.96
According to travel writer Bruce Chatwin, the later history of the "kingdom" belongs rather to "the obsessions of bourgeois France than to the politics of South America." A French champagne salesman, Gustave Laviarde, impressed by the story, decided to assume the vacant throne as Aquiles I. He was appointed heir to the throne by Orélie-Antoine. The pretenders to the throne of Araucania and Patagonia have been called monarchs and sovereigns of fantasy, "having only fanciful claims to a kingdom without legal existence and having no international recognition". Therefore the "throne of Araucania" is sometimes the subject of disputes between "pretenders", some journalists wrote : "The memory of the French adventurer Orélie-Antoine, self-proclaimed king in 1860, and the defense of the rights of the Mapuches guide the action of this strange symbolic monarchy" and "The intensification of the

Mapuche conflict The Mapuche conflict ( es, conflicto mapuche) involves indigenous Mapuche communities located in Araucanía and nearby regions of Chile and Argentina. It is often referred to as a conflict between the Mapuche and the Chilean government or state. ...

in recent years has given a new purpose to the Kingdom of Araucania and Patagonia, long considered an absurdity by French society." Mapuche writer Pedro Cayuqueo considers the kingdom a lost opportunity and speculates that, in a French-ruled Araucanía, the Mapuche would have rights similar to that of the

Kanak people The Kanak (French language, French spelling until 1984: Canaque) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, indigenous Melanesians, Melanesian inhabitants of New Caledonia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southwest Pacific Ocean, Pacifi ...

, who were given the possibility of independence from France in a 2018 referendum.Cayuqueo 2020, p. 55Cayuqueo 2020, p. 60

Pretenders to the throne after Antoine de Tounens

Antoine de Tounens had no children, but since his death in 1878, some French citizens without any familial relations to him declared to be pretenders to the "throne of Araucania and Patagonia". Whether the Mapuche themselves accept this or are even aware of it, is unclear.

In popular culture

Television

*1990: ''Le Roi de Patagonie'', TV mini-series directed by Georges Campana and Stéphane Kurc *1991: ''Le Jeu du roi'', TV film directed by

Marc Evans Marc Evans (born 1963) is a Welsh director of film and television, whose credits include the films '' House of America'', '' Resurrection Man'' and '' My Little Eye''. Biography Evans was born in 1963 in Cardiff, Wales. He studied for a histor ...

*2017: '' Rey'' is based on this incident.

Novel

Jean Raspail Jean Raspail (, 5 July 1925 – 13 June 2020) was a French author, traveler, and explorer. Many of his books are about historical figures, exploration and indigenous peoples. He was a recipient of the prestigious French literary awards Grand Pri ...

, ''Moi, Antoine de Tounens, roi de Patagonie'' (I, Antoine of Tounens, King of Patagonia) (1981)

References

;Bibliography * *

External links

North American Araucanian Royalist SocietyWebsite of the Kingdom of Araucanía and PatagoniaMapuche view
{{DEFAULTSORT:Araucania And Patagonia, Kingdom Of History of Patagonia Former political divisions related to Argentina 1860s in Chile Araucanía Region Mapuche history Former monarchies Former unrecognized countries 19th-century colonization of the Americas States and territories established in 1860 1860 establishments in South America States and territories disestablished in 1862 1862 disestablishments in South America