Real de alerce or real de madera (Spanish for " real of Fitzroya" and "real of wood") was a

local currency In economics, a local currency is a currency that can be spent in a particular geographical locality at participating organisations. A regional currency is a form of local currency encompassing a larger geographical area, while a community curren ...

consisting in Fitzroya wood that was used during colonial times in

Chiloé Archipelago The Chiloé Archipelago (, , ) is a group of islands lying off the coast of Chile, in the Los Lagos Region. It is separated from mainland Chile by the Chacao Channel in the north, the Sea of Chiloé in the east and the Gulf of Corcovado in the s ...

. It was the

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

s, established in Chiloé since the 17th century that established Fitzroya as a major export product towards the

Viceroyalty of Peru The Viceroyalty of Peru (), officially known as the Kingdom of Peru (), was a Monarchy of Spain, Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in ...

. Real de alerce was also used by some

encomenderos The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish labour system that rewarded conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. In theory, the conquerors provided the labourers with benefits, including military protection and education. In pr ...

to pay their taxes.

Sources

*Otero, Luis.
La huella del fuego
page 73. {{Chile-hist-stub History of the Captaincy General of Chile History of Chiloé Local currencies History of forestry Forestry in Chile

See also

Sources