State, Colonization, and Elites: The Case of Germans in Araucanía, Chile (1880–1925)

This article examines the emergence of a colonizing elite in the Global South. Despite the relevance of colonization processes, state formation, and the development of economically privileged groups, these phenomena have not been sufficiently connected from a historical perspective. Drawing on a database of life trajectories, genealogical ties, and commercial networks of 123 German settlers in the Araucanía Region in southern Chile between 1880 and 1925, the article shows how they rapidly transitioned from an immigrant colony into a local economic elite. This process is explained through the articulation between elite formation and the State: on the one hand, the settlers' capacity for organization and adaptation; on the other, the Chilean state's limited ability to establish effective control over recently annexed territories. The article concludes that German settlers were able to navigate this context in a cohesive and strategic manner, and that their relationship with the State was central to processes of accumulation, opportunity capture, and territorial influence.