Industrialization Processes of Marine Production Media on The Northern Coasts of Chile (1935-1938). The Case of the Fishing Plan in Tarapacá

Abstract

This article analyzes the role of the "Instituto de Desarrollo de Tarapacá" and its Fishing Plan in the conformation of the fishing industries in the coasts of northern Chile. It is inferred from the analysis of historical sources of the time and contemporary sources, that this process was possible to implement due to the critical situation brought about by the global crisis of capitalism that began in 1929 and the decline of the nitrate industry in Tarapacá. In this context, it is argued that industrial fishing activity, marine resources and halieutic means of production were priorities for the new economic logic directed by the State. And that these elements were a concrete pole of development that enhanced the strategic importance of the maritime territory and its national sovereignty, opening up a national and international market for industrial capitalism in fishing.