THE LAND QUESTION AND COLONISATION 



99 



Wholesale and Retail Prices of Various Vegetables on the Market of Val- 

 paraiso in the Winter of 191 3. 



Number 

 per Load 



Price of Load 

 Wholesale 



Cauliflowers . 



BroccoJii . . 



Turnipt. . . 



Lettuce . . . 



Celery . . . 



Gourds . . . 



Carrot? . . . 



900 



700 to 1,900 



1,000 



3,000 



1,200 



150 



10,000 



Wholesale [ Retail 



Price per Piece | P»ice per Piece 



100.00 

 70.00 

 30.00 



120.00 

 30.00 

 90.00 

 80.00 



O.II 



O.IO 



0.03 



0,04 

 0.07 

 0.60 

 0.008 



0.75 



0.60 



0.30 



0.20 



0.25 

 1.30 



0.07 



§ 7. Rural Land 



I. Land System. — The present land system of Chili originated at the 

 time of the Spanish conquest. The general, Pedro Valdivia, distributed 

 among his companions in arms the territory conquered in the first half of 

 the XVIth century. The portion of land assigned to each was called 

 a repartimient') and the native (indios) population inhabiting it was called 

 encomienda. He who had a share in the distributed lands had the right 

 to make the people of the repartimiento work for his profit, but on his part 

 he was obUged to keep them in subjection, and have them instructed 

 in the Christian rehgion. 



The bestowal of the land was made in a very rough and ready manner. 

 As an instance, the conqueror, said to a favourite, " All the valley through 

 which this river runs is yours". As land had no value whatever, for it 

 was not cultivated and the yield from it was very Uttle, there was no 

 opposition made by the inhabitants. In this way, vast agricultural 

 estates were formed, some of them extending from the Cordilleras down to 

 the sea. 



This system of concessions of land continued under the viceroys. 

 Grants were made to men not only for their own Uves but also to their 

 immediate descendants, who, in their turn, obtained new concessions and 

 so the concentration of large estates in the hands of single families 

 continued. 



About the end of the XVIIth century, some of these enriched 

 colonists l)egan to acquire titles of iiobiHty and entail their estates 

 undivided on their eldest sons to whom they transmitted their titles. 



On the other hand, certain religious bodies, more especially the 

 Jesuits, little by Uttle, became very extensive proprietors through donations 

 and purchase. Later, when the Jesuits were expelled (1767), their lands 



