The Defense of the Spanish Empire and the Agency of Nature: Araucanía, Patagonia and Pampas during the Seventeenth Century

The article analyzes the defense of the Spanish Empire in South America and the agency of nature. Spain was the most powerful Atlantic empire of the seventeenth century on the continent, but in South America only Caracas and Buenos Aires were on the Atlantic rim. Portugal controlled the coast of Brazil, Patagonia was neglected, and Peruvian settlements were Pacific-oriented. Both the defense strategy and natural events will provide us with explanations for some major episodes in the evolution of this segment of the empire in the seventeenth century