| History: |
1860 - Date of foundation.
Was an ephemeral political entity established in the 19th century by a French lawyer and adventurer named Orelie-Antoine de Tounens in southern South America. At the time the local indigenous Mapuche population of Araucanía and Patagonia were engaged in a desperate armed struggle to retain their independence in the face of hostile military and economic encroachment by the governments of Chile and Argentina, who coveted the Mapuche lands for their agricultural potential. |
