Chono people

Scholar Alberto Trivera considers that there is no continuity between the human culture seen in the archaeological site of Monte Verde and any historical group.[8] According to archaeologist Ricardo E. Latcham the Chono people along other sea-faring nomads may be remnants from more widespread indigenous groups that were pushed south by "successive invasions" from more northern tribes.[9]

The Chono people are believed to be Chiloé Archipelago's first ethnically identifiable inhabitants.[10] This has led to the assumption that the Chonos were the people who left behind most of the abundant shell middens (Spanish: conchales) of Chiloé Archipelago, yet this claim is unverified.[4] There are various place names in Chiloé Archipelago with Chono etymologies despite the main indigenous language of the archipelago at the arrival of the Spanish being Veliche.[11] A theory postulated by chronicler José Pérez García holds the Cuncos settled in Chiloé Island in Pre-Hispanic times as a consequence of a push from more northern Huilliches who in turn were being displaced by Mapuches.[12][13] As such, some historians consider that places as far north as the coast of Osorno and Llanquihue Lake were once within the range of Chono nomadism.[14]

Archaeologist and ethnographer Ricardo E. Latcham built upon these notions and held the Chono arrived to Guaitecas Archipelago from Chiloé Archipelago after these were invaded by groups of Mapuche culture (Huilliche, Cuncos, etc.) from the mainland in the 13th century.[15]

The Chono people met Europeans for the first time when the naval expedition of Francisco de Ulloa arrived at their lands in 1553.[16]

In the late 16th-century and early 17th-century there were various Spanish incursions aimed to bring Chonos to the Spanish dominions of Chiloé.[17][18] These incursions turned into outright slave raids following the 1608 decree of King Philip III of Spain that legalized slavery of "indigenous rebels".[18] This was an abuse of the law since the Chonos, in contrast to the Mapuche that had destroyed seven Spanish cities in their 1598–1604 uprising, had never rebelled.[18] The Chono people were not the only ones to suffer from the slave raids organized by the Spanish from Chiloé; so did also the Huilliche of Valdivia, Osorno and indigenous groups from Nahuel Huapi Lake across the Andes.[18] Some Chono slaves may have been exported north to the Spanish settlements of Central Chile[19] which was becoming a melting pot for uprooted indigenous peoples.[20] The Spanish not only obtained the Chono people as slaves during raids but also from other Chono people who sold their own people.[19] While some Chono people were turned into outright slaves other ended up in the encomienda system of servitude.[21]

Spanish interest in the lands of the Chono appear to have declined after the 1675 Antonio de Vea expedition.[22] Nevertheless, in 1710 a large group of Chonos arrived voluntarily to the Spanish settlement of Calbuco escaping from internal conflicts. The Spanish decided to settle this group in Guar Island.[22]

Interest in the Chono lands arose again in the 1740s when the Spanish learned about the wreckage of HMS Wager in the coasts of Patagonia.[22] As a result of a corsair and pirate menace the Spanish authorities ordered to depopulate the archipelagos of Chonos and Guaitecas to deprive their enemies of any eventual support from the native populations.[11] This the led to the transfer of population to Chiloé Archipelago in the north while some Chonos moved south of Taitao Peninsula effectively depopulating the territory.[11] The Chonos in Chiloé ended up being absorbed by the mestizo and indigenous Huilliche population there.[11]

Chonos served as maritime pilots in many of the expeditions undertaken by the Spanish to the Patagonian archipelagoes.[23] Yet it was noted by some Spanish like José de Moraleda y Montero that the Chonos did not always tell the truth and sometimes misled the navigators.[23] Indeed, the Chonos managed to keep Spanish explorers away from Presidente Ríos Lake so effectively that it became officially known to Chileans only in 1945.[23][upper-alpha 1]

As a consequence of the proximity to the Spanish settlements in Chiloé the Chonos were the canoe-faring peoples of Patagonia with the most intense contact with the Spanish.[25] Anecdotal evidence shows that the Chonos became increasingly acculturated into Spanish culture over the 17th and 18th centuries.[25] For example Cristóbal Talcapillán who was interviewed by the Spanish authorities in the 1670s understood the difference between the Spanish and the English.[25] In the 1740s Martín Olleta was able to understand the importance of the wreckage of HMS Wager and profited from it by handing over the survivors to the Spanish authorities while keeping valuable metal objects obtained from the wreck.[25] The proficiency in Spanish of the Chonos led by Martín Olleta was good enough to communicate with the Spanish-speaking surgeon of the British party.[25]

The Chonos largely disappear from the historical record after the 18th century, but sporadic references remained.[3] Thomas Bridges reported having met Chonos in the late 19th century.[3] Alberto Achacaz Walakial, himself a Kawésqar born around 1929, claimed to have met Chonos when young.[3] Writer Benjamín Subercaseaux visited Taitao Peninsula in 1946 reporting having seen footsteps and fresh human feces he thought indicated that nomadic Chonos, as known from the historical record, still existed.[26] Ricardo Vásquez led an expedition in 2006 to remote parts of Taitao Peninsula partly motivated by possible indications that Chonos were still living in isolation there.[27]

In 1743 members of the cabildo of Castro explained the decline of the Chonos that had settled in Jesuit missions as caused by a shortage of women.[28] Historian Rodolfo Urbina Burgos follows up on this thought and argues the Chonos as a whole went extinct as a distinctive group because of a chronic shortage of women.[28] Urbina Burgos argues this meant Chonos were being married to indigenous women of Veliche, Caucahué or Payo stock. Thus the Chono miscegenated and assimilated into the indigenous cultures of Chiloé by replacement of women.[28] Chono women were responsible for diving in cold waters for shellfish, and this may have been the cause of a short life expectancy among them.[29] The ones who fled south of Taitao Peninsula may have ended up being miscegenated into the Kawésqar.[3][upper-alpha 2]

Inhabitants in the island of Laitec which has strong historical links to the Chonos have an indigenous genetic admixture averaging 80%.[14] It is not known to which extent miscegenated descendants of Chonos in this island retain aspects of Chono culture.[31] The custom of the inhabitants of Melinka to bring dogs on board in their travels may be rooted in Chono traditions.[24][32]