The Jesuit missions through the sources on the financing of the Royal Army of the Border of Chile (17th century)

Abstract

This paper examines how sources on the financing of the Royal Army of Chile in the 17^th century provide information regarding the Jesuit missions established in the forts and “presidios” of the mapuche frontier, Buena Esperanza, and Chiloé. These missions received an annual salary–known as the "synod"–charged to the army’s budget–the "real situado"–which was financed by the Royal Treasury of Lima. In this way, the Crown assumed responsibility for the evangelization of the Reche-Mapuche communities in the Biobío borderline, as well as that of the soldiers themselves. Considering this, the first objective of this study is to identify information about the missions found in the real situados written by the officials of the Royal Treasury of Lima and in the “account letters” prepared by officials from the Treasury of Concepción or inspectors sent from Lima. Secondly, other non-accounting sources related to the distribution of the synod are analyzed. These include provisions on how the situado was to be allocated and its amount; memorials, and reports on the fairness of the distribution; and letters from other religious orders opposing payments to the Jesuits. This examination sheds light on economic and moral judgments concerning the payments received by the missionaries: their fairness, adequacy, or moral value. This dual analysis reveals key aspects of missionary culture on the Chilean frontier, including forms of negotiation and economic subordination of soldiers, tensions with different religious orders, the importance of economic control over missions, and the moral economy of the missionaries themselves, which intertwined economic survival with spiritual salvation. These aspects complement, from an economic perspective, the broader understanding of the confessional nature of Jesuit military missions.