This dissertation argues that, from 1862 to 1972, the state and its representatives in the Araucanía Region, Chile, interacted with the forest in a way that can be described as mutualistic rather than as dualistic. They recognized the vital role of the forest in the survival of the Chilean state and society, protecting it in order to create a “forest nation”. The forest benefited from this approach since it could survive and potentially thrive amid the growing emphasis on conservation. An environmental history approach and the ecological concept of mutualism were employed to analyse the sources. The research revealed that, although the forest retreated during the period, this was due more to a citizenry uninterested in conservation than to authorities’ intent on unrestrained forest exploitation. The Chilean state made several efforts to guarantee the survival of the forest, from administrative and legislative rearrangement to coordination with the wider society and personal sacrifices. State officers often served as brokers between parties to negotiate the presence of the state. Moreover, compassion towards the poor and the forest tended to shape their actions. The forest was an active participant in state-making in the Araucanía Region. It shaped the state through its humidity, soil protection and aspect, but also in combination with earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods and plagues. From a wider perspective, this thesis represents a move beyond the hybrid turn in environmental history, by showing that a specific actor could be pivotal in co-existing with nature, the state. The indigenous environmental knowledge could have been harnessed even more to strengthen the mutualist stance of the state towards the forest.
The Mutualist State: A History of Trees and People in the Araucanía Region, Chile, 1862-1972
Gonzalez Marilican, M. A. (Author). 17 Mar 2026
Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis › Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)