Ancient trees and missional churches. Territorial change and occupation in the forests of Araucanía, in the context of the Bavarian Capuchin missional work, late 19th and early 20th centuries

Abstract

The present article will explore the presence and representation of Araucanía's forests in a mission chronicle and in the photographic record of the Bavarian Capuchin fathers, as well as the process of territorial change documented in these documents. The mission activity of the Bavarian Capuchins, who arrived to work on the Christianization and education of the indigenous population, evangelizing and educating boys and girls in boarding schools, mission schools, and workshops, was extensively documented in written documents, books, magazines, and other printed materials, as well as in countless photographs. Specifically, the article will address their relationship with the work and utilization of the forests and wood, as they built and erected schools, boarding schools, and churches, the infrastructure that enabled and sustained their work. Mission chronicles, photographic records, and the churches themselves, present in archives and in the territory, account for the activity of the Capuchins, while also allowing us to visualize changes in landscape and territory. This material reflects the pursuit of progress and modernization, constituting a specific heritage present in Araucanía.