Don José Patricio Larraín Gandarillas (1817-1902), a landowner

progressive in the modernization of agriculture in Central Chile.

Introduction

This research will analyze the contribution of individuals to irrigation in Chile.

Central to the development of agriculture, focusing primarily on the

initiatives promoted by Don José Patricio Larraín Gandarillas (1817-1902)

for the modernization of the Chilean countryside during the second half of the century

XIX. The largest work of Larraín—and one of the most important irrigation works in the

country - was the construction of the Mallarauco Canal and Tunnel that took twenty

years in taking place (1873-1893).

Patricio Larraín is part of a sector of 'progressive landowners' that

they contributed with their vision, effort, and investment to improve the conditions

for the development of the Chilean countryside. The historian Claudio Robles explains the

modernizing project of progressive landowners 'combined a series

of initiatives aimed at modernizing agriculture as an activity

1
economic, develop agricultural institutions and transform society

rural popular in the conception of its hierarchical social conception.1

The Mallarauco Canal irrigated more than 7,500 hectares that were 'dry as

yesca2, as historian Gonzalo Vial points out. In other words, it turned a

important area of agriculture in Central Chile of a dryland area at

an irrigation zone.

As a result of the preliminary investigation, it has been discovered that historiography

Information about the construction of irrigation canals in Chile is very scarce. The only

who has worked the most on this topic was the former Minister of Agriculture and member

from the National Society of Agriculture, Mr. Luis Correa Vergara in his book

Chilean Agriculture. Therefore, this work aims to make a contribution to

study of the topic to determine the impact of the construction of channels

irrigation by individuals in the progress and development of Chilean agriculture in

the 19th century, specifically taking the construction of the Canal of

Mallarauco, as a sample of the great challenge undertaken by a farmer.

progressive like Larraín Gandarillas.

1Robles Ortiz, Claudio Ramón. Progressive landowners p. 37

Chile: five centuries of History

2
It is also relevant to examine the contribution of progressive farmers.

to the development of Chile because in light of the research conducted, a bias is observed

negative in the analysis of this sector of Chilean society that they make

many historians. At first glance, the image that emerges is that of the

landlord of a background who mistreats and exploits his tenants and keeps them in the

poverty. From that perspective, it is interesting to attempt to demystify whether it is

what corresponds after the research that excessively look

disqualifying. So far, most of the historiography that can be

finds answers to research that portrays the situation of the

tenants, the laborers and the small farmers.

This article has three sections:

1) Irrigation in Chile, a work of private individuals

2) Don José Patricio Larraín Gandarillas, a progressive farmer and

3) The great work of Patricio Larraín and the creation of the Canal Association

Mallarauco.

The first section will establish the situation of irrigation in Central Chile.

in the second half of the 19th century and it will also describe the important

contribution made by the private sector to the development of the channels in the

Central Chile and its impact on agricultural development. The main objective of the
3
the second section is to show the characteristics of Larraín Gandarillas as

progressive landowner, their main contributions to the modernization of the

agriculture and the development of new economic activities such as for

example. Contributed to the introduction of new machinery in the field

(Reapers and threshers, compressed air drill for making tunnels)

he created the beekeeping industry in Chile and Argentina and was also a pioneer in the use

the dynamite for tunnel construction in Chile. And finally in the third

and the last section will describe the situation of the Mallarauco Valley, prior to the

construction of the canal, the construction of the canal (1873-1893) and the formation

from the Mallarauco Canal Association in 1911 and its continuous contribution to

develop agricultural activity.

4
I- Irrigation in Chile, the work of private individuals.

In the first section of the research work, the work will be explained.

carried out by private entities in the construction of irrigation channels in Chile

Central. Some examples will be given and it will conclude with the law of 1914, which

it grants fiscal financing for the development of irrigation.

19th century farmers and the first decade of the 20th century had a

fundamental role in the development of the irrigation infrastructure of the area

central. They built the main irrigation canals that allowed

convert those dry territories into productive areas. In other words, the

the initiative for the development of an irrigation system in the country was the work of

particular and not of the State at that time. The intervention of the State only

began to be strongly appreciated in the 20th century, under the government of Mr. Ramón

Barros Luco (1910-1915), when on December 9, 1914, it was dictated the

first water law.

5
At the beginning of the 19th century, central Chile was an arid dryland that during

the following hundred years, it became an irrigated valley thanks to the work

from the farmers. As the engineer and professor of the universities of

Chile and Catholic Miguel Letelier Espínola in Solution of a problem of

In 1913, "Chile is the country that has the greatest proportion in the world."

of its cultivable surface subjected to the benefits of irrigation.3

Thanks to the initiative and funds of the farmers between 1830 and 1880, it

they built around four hundred irrigation canals4(among giants,

medium and small). This is reflected in the data provided by Silvia.

Hernández on technological transformation in agriculture of central Chile.

Nineteenth century. What increased the irrigated area to 440 thousand hectares in

1875, nearly double in 1900 and more than 1,100,000 hectares in 19305.

Between September 22 and 24, 1919, the Assembly was held.

Farmers "called by the National Society of Agriculture to

to know, to opine, and to address the attitude of farmers regarding the projects of

Letelier, Miguel. Solution to an irrigation problem, Impr. Lithography and Binding Barcelona,
1913 p. 3.

According to Silvia Hernández and Gonzalo Vial Correa.

Cited in Fontaine Aldunate, Arturo. The Earth and Power p. 11

6
laws presented to Congress6In the records of El Agricultor, bulletin of the

It was necessary to know the general situation of agriculture,

their progress and their deficiencies (...)7. Regarding irrigation, it expressed the

The irrigated area of the territory currently reaches one million of

Hectares and well-founded calculations suggest that there is another million.

susceptible to being watered8

As the American historian Arnold J. Bauer points out in The Society

Chilean Rural, 'Already in the 1930s, irrigation was mainly the work

of individuals or associations of landowners, only about 10 percent of

all channels were realized with state support9

The historian Gonzalo Vial Correa argues that "for the country, those investments

of irrigation were a gigantic legacy of the landowning class, whose

benefits have been perceived and taken advantage of by all Chileans

they will continue to be collected indefinitely, generation after generation, perhaps

for how many centuries. But for the personal profit of those who built them, the

6The Farmer (BSNA), number 50, 1919 p. 198

7The Farmer (BSNA), number 50, 1919 p. 198

8Anabalón and Urzúa, Colonel Indalecio. Agricultural Chile p. 282

9Bauer, Arnol J. p. 131

7
channels were already a very questionable business prior to the agricultural crisis, and

this turned them into an economic nonsense.10

To demonstrate what Vial holds, the historian Francisco Antonio Encina

Armanet in his book "Our Economic Inferiority" (1912) argues that

about the results of the channeling companies, over the forty years

previous ones. From it, it is inferred (statistic carried out by Encina) that in the

In 80% of the cases, the business incurred losses; in about 45% it ruined the

initiators, and that 40%... could only be saved thanks to substantial

inherited or acquired resources in another sphere of activity.11

Some of the channels that were built with private initiative were:

Waddington Canal, by Josué Waddington; Culiprán, by Ladislao Larraín

Gandarillas; Mallarauco, by Patricio Larraín Gandarillas; Viluco by José

Rafael Larraín Moxó; Pirque, by Ramón Subercaseaux Mercado; Channel of

Limache by José Tomás Urmeneta García-Abello; Las Mercedes, by

Domingo Matte Messía, Domingo Matte Pérez, Manuel Montt Torres, and José

Manuel Balmaceda Fernández; Cumpeo Channel, by Vicente Correa Albano;

Galpón, por José Manuel Donoso Vergara; Purísima, por Javier Larraín

10Vial Correa, Gonzalo. History of Chile p. 442

11Encina Armanet, Francisco Antonio. "Our economic inferiority", Santiago, 1986 p. 39.

8
Aldunate12, Zañartu, by Manuel A. Zañartu Zañartu, among many others

examples.

The only channel provided by the State was the Maipo Canal that began to

projects in colonial times in 1725. In its construction, according to

Gonzalo Vial Correa, the State spent around 300,000 pesos between 1802 and

1827.

An attempt to regulate the construction of channels and the easement of waters was

submitted as a bill to the Senate on November 19, 1819, but

the regulation did not progress.

After an earthquake in 1822, the canal was severely damaged. Then, the

The state sold it and in 1827 it was handed over to private individuals for its repair.

Don Domingo Eyzaguirre Arrechavala (1775-1854) - who was the first

President of the National Society of Agriculture obtained a tax loan

of 20,000 pesos, which aimed to repair the canal, and managed to get the State to.

would yield to individuals in exchange for the obligation of maintenance,

In addition to this, public, educational, and infrastructure works had to be carried out.

charity. Thus the Maipo Canal Society was born in 1827.

12Apey Rivera, María Angélica..History of the National Society of Agriculture. (Book no
published) P. 50

9
The private sector continued to develop a series of channels during the century.

XIX. Among them are the following: The Mercedes Canal, the Canal

from Cumpeo, the Waddington Canal, the Viluco Canal, the Culiprán Canal, the

from Pirque (La Sirena), Zañartu Canal. The following paragraphs will explain

briefly each of these works.

La Sirena Canal or Pirque Canal13was the first channel built by the

private initiative. Before the construction of this canal, Pirque was a dry area.

desert (intended for livestock), which thanks to the initiative of Mr. Ramón

Subercaseaux Mercado (1790-1859) became a sector in 1834.

cultivable. His son-in-law Don Melchor de Santiago-Concha y de Toro-Zambrano

brought the winemaking activity to Pirque, founding Viña Concha y Toro in

1883.

Waddington Canal14built by the Englishman Josué Waddington (1792-

1874), who used his fortune made in trade to invest in the construction of

canal. Started in 1843, its objective was to reach from the Aconcagua River to the

surroundings of Valparaíso, but its resources only reached for 60

kilometers and even could not pay the debts incurred to carry out the work

and spent a short time in jail. In any case, he built a tunnel in

13 Correa Vergara, Luis p.

14Vial, Gonzalo. Patricio Larraín p. 7 Correa Vergara, Luis pp. 53-55.

10
the San Pedro hill in Limache and was able to irrigate his estate San Isidro (750

hectares), the estates Pochocai, Las Palmas, Lliu-Lliu, La Trinidad, among

others.

The Canal of the Merceds15(Santiago), was made in partnership by Mr.

Domingo Matte Messía (1808-1879) and Don Manuel Montt Torres (1809-1881).

Its construction began in 1854 and was completed 30 years later, in 1884.

The goal of this channel was to irrigate the Las Mercedes estates (of Mr. Manuel

Montt) and Ibacache (of Don Domingo Matte) and the valleys Lo Prado, Lo

Bustamante and Curacaví. The canal had a length of 120 kilometers, watered

12,000 hectares, it has three tunnels (300, 1,200, and 1,500 meters in length) and

a 700-meter bridge over the Puangue River to reach Curacaví. In 1874

Don Manuel Montt ceded his water rights to Don José Manuel Balmaceda.

Fernández (1840-1891), who along with Mr. Domingo Matte Pérez (1847-1902)

they completed the canal in 1884, after the initiators had died. Luis Correa Vergara

indicates that 'the company constructing the Mercedes canal can

Gonzalo. History of Chile p.442; Fontaine, Arturo p. 11; Correa Vergara, Luis p. 57-61

11
considered as one of the most ambitious carried out by the initiative

particular.16

The Culiprán Channel17, it was initiated by Don Ladislao Larraín Gandarillas

(1833-1901) around 1870. Don Ladislao bought the Culiprán Estate.

in $50,000, in it she mainly dedicated herself to exploitation and planting of

fruit trees. The problem - just as his brother Patricio had.

Mallarauco - this estate belonged to Rulo and he decided to equip it with good irrigation, with this

finally traced the Culiprán Canal with a length of 94 kilometers to absorb the

waters of the Maipo River. It also faced technical difficulties in drilling.

the hills and managed to bring to Chile the drilling machines used in the

Simplon Tunnel in the Alps, as pointed out by Carlos Larraín de Castro. For the

the construction of the Larraín canal had to resort to bank loans and

he finally had to sell his estate to pay his debts. Because of that

During that time, the French-Chilean mining engineer and businessman Charles visited Chile.

S. Lambert, who had met Don Ladislao in Europe, and bought from him in

In 1881, the Culiprán estate was at $1,000,000 and he completed the canal.

16Correa Vergara, Luis. P. 58-59

17Correa Vergara, Luis p. 57 ; Larraín de Castro, Carlos p. 279

12
Like his brother Patricio Larraín Gandarillas, who at that time started

the construction of the Mallarauco canal was also a progressive and tenacious

farmer, who among other innovations, introduced the silkworm to Chile.

Cumpeo Canal18built by Don Vicente Correa Albano (1825-1884). His

the goal was to irrigate the lands of the hills of Cumpeo and part of the

Pangue Dam. With a length of 40 kilometers, it allowed the irrigation of 5,000

hectares and took 18 years to build.

Viluco Canal19built by Don Rafael Larraín Moxó (1813-1892)

for its estate of the same name. It covered 3,000 blocks, having the channel

300 watering cans, that is, it generated between 4,500 and 4,600 liters of water per

second.

Zañartu Canal20built by the Minister of Finance of Balmaceda, Mr.

Manuel Arístides Zañartu Zañartu (1840-1892) for the Colicheo estate

of 15,000 hectares. Unlike the previous ones, this 25-kilometer canal

It was excavated in the sand and took 30 years to be ready. His sons Héctor and

18Vial, Gonzalo. Five centuries of History p.877; Correa, Luis p. 63-65

19Menadier, Julio. Agriculture and the Progress of Chile. Library of Construction Foundations
Chile. Chilean Chamber of Construction, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, National Library.
General editor Rafael Sagredo Baeza, Santiago, 2012. P. 226

20Vial, Gonzalo. Five Centuries of History p. 877

13
Enrique Zañartu Prieto finished the work of "Loco Zañartu," as they called him.

those who thought it was an impossible task to make the canal in the sand.

All these irrigation works, as noted by Luis Correa Vergara, author of

Chilean Agriculture and Minister of Agriculture in 1925, illustrate the spirit

entrepreneurs of these farmers. In his book, he pays tribute "to the

men of past generations, who with tenacity and a

detachment now not sufficiently recognized, were imposed the

obligation to increase the national wealth by a million

hectares.21The magnitude of the effort, according to him, is evident in the

fact that many of these men spent their resources on the channels,

point that states that "in Chile there are very few lands that still"

they are kept in the hands of those who built canals, or their descendants22

The state's intervention in the development of irrigation began in the 20th century.

with Law No. 2,953 of 1914 which was enacted on December 9, 1914,

under the government of Don Ramón Barros Luco (1835-1919) who governed between

1910 and 1915. With this law, what the government of the time was seeking was

21Correa Vergara, Luis. P. 74-75.

22 Correa Vergara, Luis.P.75

14
"absorb the unemployment caused by the shutdown of the saltpeter mines in the North"

Big23, as noted by Julio Sandoval Jeria, author of The Irrigation in Chile.

Through this law, the investment of sixteen million pesos is authorized.

($16,000,000) for the execution of four irrigation channels (Maule Canal;

Mauco Canal in Aconcagua; Melado in Linares and Laja in Bío-Bío). With the

with the aim of making it operational, the General Inspection was created in 1915

Irrigation, an organization that depends on the Public Works Directorate,

in charge of the study and construction of the irrigation works that were

authorized.

Deputy Mr. Wenceslao Sierra Mendoza in the session of the Chamber of

Congressmen in 1928 argue that 'the financing of these works resulted in

too burdensome for farmers, because it was about selling bonds

that depreciated up to 75 percent of their value, and they had to be sold

new bonds to pay the interest and the amortization.24

23Sandoval Jeria, Julio. Irrigation in Chile p. 20

24 21 Ordinary Session, held on July 17, 1928 p. 904

15
II- Don José Patricio Larraín Gandarillas (1817-1902), a farmer

progressive.

In this second section of the work, a biographical profile of Mr. will be developed.

Patricio Larraín, as a progressive farmer and his contributions to agriculture

Chilean.

The first trip to Europe made by José Patricio Larraín Gandarillas25

during his long life it was due to the Independence of Chile. In 1838,

at just 21 years old, he was part of a delegation headed by General José

Manuel Borgoño Núñez to negotiate with Spain the terms of the

emancipation of the country from the Spanish crown. Until then, Larraín was studying

laws at the National Institute with the prominent Venezuelan jurist Andrés

Beautiful, that on November 19, 1842, he founded the University of Chile. He,

Patricio Larraín had received the typical education that the children of the

Don José Patricio Larraín Gandarillas was born in Santiago on March 18, 1817. He was
son of Don Juan Francisco Larraín y Rojas and Doña Mercedes Gandarillas Aránguiz.

16
families of the Chilean oligarchy. The National Institute was the place where

it formed the elite of the country. But upon returning from this trip, he decided to leave the

studies of Law and dedicating oneself to agriculture on the land that existed

belonged to his family for decades. The American historian

Arnold J. Bauer points out that 'The Larraín family represents better than any other

another to the 19th century Chilean oligarchy (...) was primarily a family

landowner26.

Due to his status as the firstborn, he had inherited in 1837 from his grandmother, Mrs.

Agustina Rojas and Gamboa27the mayorazgo founded by don José Basilio de

Rojas and Corbalán, which included a manor house in Santiago and its estates

de Peñaflor, in Talagante; Mallarauco, in Melipilla, and El Puesto, in

Colchagua. In addition to the Aculeo estate - together with his brother Francisco - that

he inherited from his father in 1836.

This trip to Europe was the first of several that I would take to the Old World.

Continent, driven by its progressive vision to develop and enhance the

Chilean agricultural productivity. Each trip allowed this innovator

landlord see the news in machinery and the application of science to

26Bauer, Arnold J. The Rural Society of Chile From the Spanish conquest to the present day.
Santiago: Editorial Andrés Bello, 1992. P. 216.

Don Patricio inherited the Majorat of his grandmother Doña Agustina Rojas y Gamboa in 1837.
because his father Don Juan Francisco died on January 28, 1836, that is, a year before Doña
Agustina who died on July 31, 1837.

17
the activities of the field. That gave him various ideas that he tried to develop in

Chile. For example, introducing new species that were not cultivated in the

national territory. He was also a pioneer in importing machinery from Europe.

like the new Ransomes harvesters and the Hornsby mowers, which he tested in

their funds of Peñaflor and Pelvín.28

He introduced various agricultural species that did not exist in the country on his estates.

importing seeds, plants, and trees. In the latter, the standout is the

oaks and acacias. He also brought cattle and thoroughbred horses.

As a member and director of the National Agricultural Society, I conceived and was

the main organizer of the Quinta Normal de Agricultura, founded in 1842.

An innovative initiative that, in the words of René Le Fevre, first director

from the Agricultural Institute, it was about: 'first of all, an educational establishment;'

its purpose is the dissemination of agricultural and scientific knowledge

"technological through the means available." The Quinta Normal de Agricultura

it was under the directive of the 'Fifth Normal Council'. It was ensured that the

The eucalyptus park of Quinta Normal was gifted by Larraín.

The persistence of character that he exhibited during his 85 years of life, also

it could be seen in one of its progressive ventures. In another of its

trips to the Old Continent in 1844, Mr. Patricio Larraín bought and imported the

28The Pioneers, “A 19th Century Farmer: Patricio Larraín Gandarillas” p. 54

18
first hives, which until then were not produced in the country. The first

A batch of 30 hives was shipped from Bordeaux, France, to Valparaíso.

they did not arrive. While crossing the Strait of Magellan on a sailing ship, through the

climatic conditions and a long stay at Cape Horn, the entirety

the bees died. For this reason, Larraín Gandarillas had to commission

another shipment larger than the previous one. About 40 hives were shipped in

Genoa, coming from Lombardy, Italy. Bad luck pursued him once.

more. All, except one of the hives were lost along the way, the one that

Thanks to the work of the beekeeper technician Carlos Bianchi, he was able to reach his destination.

Fifty bees arrived in good condition and their adaptation and

Multiplication in the Peñaflor farm marked the beginning of beekeeping in Chile.

In September of that year (1844), they reproduced extraordinarily for

obtain five swarms as it was believed that Chile met all the conditions

favorable for their development.

The editor of the Bulletin of the National Society of Agriculture between 1869 and

1885, Julio Menadier recounts the contribution made by Larraín: "He will not fail to

to cause deep satisfaction to this deserving farmer if one observes the

extraordinary development that this important industry has taken so far

and that will undoubtedly have to be taken even in the coming years29For your

29Menadier, Julio. Agriculture and the progress of Chile p. 246

19
contribution to the development of this activity, the Government of Chile it

awarded with a gold medal and a diploma, according to the historian

Virgilio Figueroa. This is how the president of the National Society

Agriculture (SNA) Álvaro Covarrubias Ortúzar in a speech in the

National Agriculture Exhibition of 1869, where machinery was exhibited

other products for the sector, stated the following: "Beekeeping has won in

no time in such terrain in Chile, that its enlightened promoter will not stop

feel an intimate satisfaction when observing the extraordinary development that

this important industry has taken so far, and will undoubtedly take

still in the country." 30Also, in the July issue of 1935, El Campesino,

the magazine of the National Society of Agriculture recognized the contribution of

progressive hacendado: " (...) we all know that the bees that populate the

most of our beehives, here in Chile, are descendants of the

two imported colonies from Italy, by Don Patricio Larraín more than

eighty years31. Likewise, Larraín entrusted Bianchi with carrying some

hives -the exact number is unknown- to Mendoza, Argentina,

30Covarrubias Ortúzar, Álvaro. General report submitted to His Excellency the President of the Republic
about the work of the executive committee of the National Agricultural Exhibition held in
Santiago de Chile in May 1869 by its President Álvaro Covarrubias. Valparaíso: Printing Press of
Mercury, 1869

31Javet, Guillermo. 'Creole and Italian Bees' in El Campesino Volume 67 July 1935. P. 262.

20
thus becoming the driver of this economic activity as well in

Argentina.

At the First Beekeeping Congress held in Santiago on May 21

In 1926, the name of Don Patricio Larraín GAndarillas was remembered with gratitude.

and he was considered the Father of National Beekeeping.

As was customary in the upper class of that time, to their tasks in the field,

Larraín had a long political career. His family was linked to the

politics his father, Juan Francisco Larraín Rojas was a deputy in 1823, 1824 and

1831 and signed the Constitution of 1833. His brothers also held

seats in Congress, Joaquín Larraín (1822-1897) stands out who was

deputy and first rector of the Catholic University; Ladislao Larraín (1833-

Francisco de Borja Larraín (1901), builder of the Culiprán Canal and deputy.

(1824-1887), farmer, deputy and senator (1879-1885), and Juan Francisco,

He also served as a deputy. Mr. Patricio was a member of the Conservative Party and

She also presided over it. Inés Echeverría Bello de Larraín, her daughter-in-law, recalls in

his memories, Larraín's relationship with politics: "Since he was a senator,

he grew to hate politics. He clashed with his strong individuality, alien to curves.
32
morals and bastard commitments However, he was a senator in

repeated opportunities (1855-1876), elected for the first time in 1855 and

Echeverría Bello de Larraín, Inés. Memories of Iris 1899-1925. Aguilar, 2005. p. 181-182

21
participated in the constituent Congress to reform the Constitution of

183333.

Criticizing Larraín's performance in politics, Deputy Justo Arteaga

Alemparte (1834-1882), contemporary of Don Patricio Larraín and member

from the Liberal Party, reaffirms what his daughter-in-law said earlier: 'Although the gentleman

Larraín Gandarillas is a high-ranking official in politics, as he has held almost

perpetually a seat in the Senate, its influence has not been felt in the

march of public businesses (...)34.

In the Civil War of 1891, the landowner was already very old, and he did not have a

direct action. It is known that he was anti-Balmacedist, because his closest environment...

close, his children Patricio, Enrique, and Joaquín Larraín Alcalde and his son-in-law

Joaquín Walker Martínez had a prominent participation in the Army.

during the Civil War and the governments after 1891.

33He was elected substitute senator in the period of 1855-1864 who replaced José Tadeo Mancheño Laso.
de la Vega. In August 1857, he left office, in accordance with the Law of January 5, 1852. Elected senator.
subrogating for the period of 1861-1870; for six years, in 1864 replaced the holder senator
Eugenio Domingo Torres de Velasco. He was a substitute senator for the period 1861-1870. He participated in the
Constituent Congress of 1870, whose objective was reforms to the Constitution of 1833. Elected senator.
substitute for the period of 1870-1879. He joined on December 1, 1873. The period ended in 1876,
by virtue of the provisions set forth in Article 1 Transitory of the constitutional reform of October 24, 1874.
Valencia Avaria, Luis. Annals of the Republic T. II p. 188, 216, 237, 247. Consulted on September 15th.
2014. http://historiapolitica.bcn.cl/resenas_parlamentarias/wiki/Patricio_Larra%C3%ADn_Gandarillas

34Arteaga Alemparte, Justo and Domingo. The Chilean Constituent Assembly in 1870. La Imprenta
Liberty, 1870 p. 402

22
In fact, as noted in several texts, it was difficult for a man of his

status withdraw from political activity, but it was clear that their true

passions were going along another course. He was above all an entrepreneur. For the

construction of the Mallarauco Canal, which will be explained in the following

section, Luis Correa Vergara, former Minister of Agriculture, of the government of

Arturo Alessandri Palma is remembered as one of the

the most hardworking men that have ever existed in the country35.

As Claudio Gay explains, he was among the greats and philanthropists.

Chilean landlords who tried to modify the tenancy system with

News from Europe. Introduced the party wall and some reforms by Lord

Georges Hill. He established a 'fair' grocery store until he improved his preparation to

through providing training for their crops. The agricultural workers

they were a concern for Don Patricio Larraín. This attitude remains

reflected in an anecdote of him with his son Joaquín, as told by Inés Echeverría

In his memoirs: Don Joaquín Larraín Alcalde recounted that at the age of five

his father made him feel respect for the inferiors, on the occasion that he (Joaquín)

he struck Juan Aguilar, a thirty-five-year-old man, with a stick.

35 Correa Vergara, Luis. Chilean Agriculture Vol. II., Nascimiento Printing, Santiago, 1938 p. 63.

23
He worked in the houses. Don Patricio grabbed the rod and hit him (...) saying:

Learn to treat those who feed you and work for you.36

Despite his long political career and as a union leader; his great work, and due to the

what is remembered is the construction of the Mallarauco Canal, which was made

to make a dry and barren valley flourish. Its lands included the estate

Mallaraucode 8,000 hectares (of which 3,368 were irrigated and the rest of

(dry) and the lands of Pelvin, Pahuilmo and Mallarauquito and it took almost 20

years in building the canal that started in 1873 and was inaugurated in 1893.

Various events marked this difficult task in which Larraín spent himself.

a good part of his fortune, for he built it with his own means, without

no help from the State.

Don José Patricio Larraín Gandarillas died on July 15, 1902.37at 85

years old in her summer house at the corner of Catedral and García Reyes.

obituary in the Bulletin of the National Society of Agriculture remains of

I manifest the character of Larraín that led him to undertake the titanic task of

Channel, as will be seen in the next chapter: "(...) they were taking down the tenacity

(…) and the vigorous breath to begin and continue works whose impetus had

beaten down the most energetic spirits, and whose realization will be an eternal example
36 Echeverría Bello de Larraín, Inés. Memoirs p. 185

37 Civil Registry, Portals, Deaths 1902 Registration No. 1572

24
of what a man can do who wants to put his activity at the service of his

homeland.38

The obituary concluded as follows: "he was an enthusiastic and progressive farmer (...)

patriotism that drove him to promote anything that meant progress

for the Republic, he brought it to this Institution (SNA), of which he was a member

founder, in which he left imperishable marks.39

III- The great work of Patricio Larraín and the creation of the Association

Mallarauco Canal.

38 Bulletin of the National Society of Agriculture No. 30 vol. XXIII p. 723.

39 Bulletin of the National Society of Agriculture No. 30 vol. XXIII p. 725.

25
In this third section of the research paper, the situation will be explained.

from the Mallarauco Valley, the construction of the canal and the formation of the

Mallarauco Canal Association in 1911, its founding members and the

functions performed to keep Patricio Larraín's work continuing and

modernizing up to our days.

The Mallarauco Valley, as mentioned earlier, came to Don Patricio by

inheritance of the Rojas mayorazgo. It was an area of 8,000 hectares of land.

plains and the double of hills and knolls, located in the department of Melipilla,

María Pinto commune, just over 70 kilometers from Santiago de Chile.

The Mallarauco hill separated the Larraín Gandarillas property in two.

haciendas: Pelvín and Mallarauco, one irrigated and the other rainfed,

respectively. The main production of the Mallarauco Estate was wheat.

of rulo. It was also a cattle ranch: it produced milk, tallow for candles,

jerky, meat, butter, cheese, and hides40.

As noted by Carolina Castro, an Architecture student at the University of

Chile the location of Mallarauco was as follows: “Around 1861, a large part of

the current communal jurisdiction was part of the Third subdelegation of

María Pinto, whose districts were: District No. 1 of María Pinto, property of

various owners; District No. 2 of Las Mercedes, property of Don Manuel

40 Information provided by the Mallarauco Channel Association.

26
Balmaceda; District No. 3 of Ibacache, property of Don Domingo Matte;

District No. 4 of Pahuilmo, owned by Don Juan Osorio and District No. 5 of

Mallarauco, property of Don José P. Larraín41

The Mallarauco estate had little value because it lacked water for irrigation.

although it did have good weather for fattening animals. That is what

describe the author of Chile Agrícola, Colonel Indalecio Anabalón y Urzúa:

"high brambles, thistles, and thorns populated it and made passage difficult; not to

to be on the only path that crossed it in its length. The animals of

They lose themselves there like in a wild jungle.42Don Patricio Larraín

he said that if they grew thistles there, that "was a sign of good land, flat and

deep, that the only thing it was missing was water43This was the reason why

he decided to build the Mallarauco canal. For that, he requested the governor of

the Victory (currently San Bernardo) which granted her a concession of twenty meters

cubic meters per second in the Mapocho river, which was granted on July 3

from 1871.

41Castro, Carolina. Center for Diffusion and Rural Development. Maria Pinto Commune-Province of
Melipilla. Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, University of Chile, 2005 p. 20

42Anabalón and Urzúa, Colonel I. Chile Agricultural. Modern Printing, Lithography, and Binding. Santiago,
1922. p. 282

43 Information provided by the Mallarauco Canal Association.

27
Thus, began the company that would take him more than two decades and a huge

amount of human and economic resources. To bring water to

Mallarauco, it was necessary to excavate a 40-kilometer channel and cross the slope.

with a tunnel three and a half kilometers long. This was a huge challenge because

In Chile, there was no technology to do it. Patricio Larraín studied this topic.

for about two years –from the granting of the mercy in 1871 until the start

from the work in 1873 - and during that time he was mainly advised by the

engineer Javier Larraín Aldunate. He already had experience in the field,

Well, by mandate of Don Ladislao Larraín, brother of Patricio, there was

built the Adelaida canal through which they channeled the waters of the Maipo

to the Culiprán Valley which was his property.

The Mallarauco canal was financed by Patricio Larraín Gandarillas without

no support from the State at the time. It was a private investment, which, although it

it benefited him, allowing access to water for other inhabitants of this area

Central Chile. In 1873, the works began, with the workers only

armed with shovel and pickaxe, because in Chile explosives were not used for the

tunnel construction, nor were there drilling machines. Shortly after

time, this progressive farmer realized that the task of digging the

The mountain was impossible to accomplish with those tools. The work of

the excavation of the slope was very difficult and the workers faced

28
problems such as landslides and lack of air inside the tunnel. Even, they

it reports that a landslide buried several workers, but that finally

They were able to be rescued without any casualties.

While I was looking for ways to solve these problems and be able to continue the

construction of the canal and the tunnel, Patricio Larraín, began to see how it

I did this in other parts of the world. He spoke with engineers and technicians and in one

from his travels to Europe, he dedicated himself to visiting works similar to the ones he was

developing. Thus, he was able to see on-site how the tunnels were being built.

from Frejus and San Gotthard in the Swiss Alps. The San Gotthard tunnel located

in Switzerland it had a length of 15 kilometers. On this trip, Larraín discovered

the machines that had been used to make that tunnel and imported drilling machines

from compressed air and learned some techniques that were used in the

construction such as the use of drainage backchannels and internal walls

masonry to reinforce the walls and prevent leaks

they would loosen the land and cause landslides. In addition, they taught him the use

dynamite for making tunnels. All these techniques were implemented in the tunnel.

of Mallarauco.

Around that time, the San Gottardo tunnel had finished being constructed.

Switzerland, which was considered a model for technological advancements

European. In the Frejus tunnel, also in Switzerland, which had started to

29
the same year that Mallarauco had been perfected the

compressed air drills.

In the year 1882, Patricio Larraín bought the Dubois drilling machines.

that had been used for the construction of the Gotthard tunnels

and that had ended in 1881. In Europe, he also hired the engineer

Swiss Francisco Küpfer and German engineer Alfredo Schatzman, so that

they will install and make the imported machines work. The results of

this innovation was impressive. With shovel and pickaxe, the daily progress of

the excavation was barely 25 centimeters. With the new drills, the

advance multiplied by 20 times. Now, the tunnel was growing at a rate of 4.5

daily meters.

Patricio Larraín installed a hydraulic pump in the Mapocho River to generate

compressed air. But how it had to be opened simultaneously on both sides

from the tunnel, it was necessary to take the compressed air to the other end by a

3,500 meters of piping. A group of workers were dedicated to the

review and repair of the plumbing day and night to prevent it from happening again

to demolish, according to what Colonel Anabalón and Urzúa recount.

Advancing from both extremes, from west to east, at one moment the

two shafts were supposed to meet but this did not happen. The engineer who was at

30
Cargo told Mr. Patricio that there was an error in the calculations and that they should be

to undertake new studies that would take between two or three months to fix

the deviation. Larraín's response was: "They will coincide eventually." That same

At night, both sections coincided. It is said that early in the morning he

they went to inform Don Patricio Larraín, while he was having breakfast in his

house in Peñaflor. Happy and excited, one of its tenants arrived with the great

news: Boss, the water has arrived through the tunnel! And Larraín's response was:

"I did it for that" and continued having breakfast.44

The construction of the Mallarauco canal was fraught with difficulties. The two

decades that the construction took were due to, according to what the former reports

Agriculture Minister Luis Correa Vergara 'to a countless number of

setbacks, such as: the machinery fire, the acute crisis

economic situation that the country experienced at that time and many other difficulties,

The work began in 73 and was completed twenty years later.

afternoon.45

But Larraín's tenacity was greater. The problems he faced did not

they were not only technical but also political and economic. Among the politicians,
44Vial Correa, Gonzalo. Five Centuries of History; From the first pre-Hispanic settlers
until the year 2006. Volume II, Santiago: Zig-Zag, 2010 p. 939

45Correa Vergara, Luis. Chilean Agriculture T. II., Nascimiento Printing, Santiago, 1938 p. 61-
62

31
the two wars of the last years of the 19th century. The Pacific War

(1879-1883) and the Civil War of 1891 led to a lack of labor.

for construction tasks, many peasants were recruited. To this

it was added that the war disrupted the family's life as their children fought

in the two conflicts. Luis and Patricio Larraín Alcalde fought in the War

from the Pacific. Then in the Civil War of 1891, they were on the front three

of his children: Patricio, Enrique, and Joaquín Larraín Alcalde and his son-in-law Joaquín

Walker Martínez.

As the work took much longer than expected and the setbacks were

Even older, Larraín Gandarillas ran out of resources to continue.

spending them on the construction of the tunnel. In order to continue the work, he had to

sell some of its most valuable properties: the house of the Rojas mayorazgo

on Estado street with Moneda; its property "La Laguna" in Aculeo, which

sold in 1881 to the Letelier Sierra brothers and Valeriano Pinochet. The

construction costs of the Mallarauco Canal, according to some

estimates made by the Mallarauco Canal Association were

1,450,000 of 48 pence, that is, 290,000 pounds of gold46.

Larraín's concerns did not end in 1893, when after

twenty years of hard work, water came out of the western mouth of the tunnel. Now,
Information provided by the Mallarauco Canal Association.

32
the challenge was to distribute water to irrigate the land. In this activity

Don Patricio -at 75 years old- and his children were busy until 1902 (the year of

the death of the pioneer). As historian Gonzalo Vial points out,

Don Patricio's obsession had been that the water of the Mapocho would be distributed in

Scientifically Mallarauco, with frameworks that will precisely delineate the

amount of water due, and not using the imprecise 'tacos' but instead

"goat legs", so common in the country.47

The work significantly increased the value of the land. According to the

Association data, in 1893 the fiscal value of Patricio's property

Larraín Gandarillas reached a million pesos. The Mallarauco estates,

Mallarauquito and Pahuilmo were valued at $600,000, $200,000 and

$200,000 respectively. It is worth noting that the tax value is lower than the

economic; therefore the commercial value was substantially higher and more

now that there was water to irrigate. The value of the property, now irrigated,

he rose and with it, managed to recover almost double what they had paid him

1881 for the property "La Laguna" of the Aculeo estate, which should have

alienate to finance the works of the canal.

In the Chamber of Deputies of 1916, which reflected the increase in value

from the property of Mr. Patricio after the construction of the canal: "Those
47Vial Correa, Gonzalo. Patricio Larraín Gandarillas and the Mallarauco Canal, 1993 p. 19

33
lands (Those of Mallarauco) that used to be worth a hundred or two hundred pesos the

hectare, the day after the canal was built they were worth two thousand or three

one thousand pesos.48

On the same day in the session of the House of Representatives, it was ruled that

Well then, within the criteria accepted by the Chamber of Deputies

and by the Minister of the Interior, to this farmer who has spent a fortune

and has put their energies into a work that the State should stimulate, they are

he says today: it raises your property value ten or twenty times more, because it has

contributed to the wealth and well-being of the country.49

Before he died, Don Patricio divided his lands. The properties remained

crosswise passages with respect to the valley, that is, from hill to hill.

The Mallarauco estate has 8,000 hectares (of which 3,368 were irrigated).

and the rest of the dry land) was divided into Santa Elisa de Mallarauco, for Elisa

Larraín de Walker. This property was located right next to the pit and exit.

from the tunnel; Santa Teresa de Mallarauco, for Juan Francisco Larraín; Santa

Victoria de Mallarauco, for Enrique Larraín; Santa Clara de Mallarauco,

for Bernardo Larraín; Pahuilmo, for Joaquín Larraín and for Ayberto

48th Extraordinary Session on April 6, 1916. Presided by Mr. Charme p. 1831

49th Extraordinary Session on April 6, 1916. Presided by Mr. Charme p. 1831

34
Larraín, Mallarauquito. The other estates that did not belong to the Hacienda

Mallarauco, were Pelvin, for Amelia Larraín de Vial (1,050 hectares of

of which 525 were irrigated); The Post, for Mercedes Larraín de Iñíguez (of

10,000 hectares and 236 irrigated) and for General Patricio Larraín, the estate

from the Lilies in Tutuquén, with 408 irrigated hectares50.

On December 23, 1902, the Larraín Alcalde succession agreed to divide

all the available water flow in 463 actions, of which: 338

they belonged to the five parcels of Pelvín and Mallarauco51and 125 shares to

Mallarauquito, before the notary of Santiago Mariano Melo.52Two years later

In 1904, the shareholders agreed to hold an annual ordinary meeting in the

first half of June. The distributions of the shares have been agreed upon

Canal, Judge Alberto González Errázuriz appeared before Notary Mariano.

It was necessary to legalize a regulation by which the shareholders were to be governed.

This procedure was carried out on October 26, 1904. These statutes established

indispensable duties for shareholders, especially regarding

the payment of installments or expenses. It was also penalized that a shareholder would alter

The information was extracted from the article by Carlos Celis Atria 'Chilean Landowners in the Late'
of the Parliamentary Republic” published in the Journal of Historical Studies in the year 2006.

51 shares
Joaquín Larraín, 78 shares and José Ramón Montes with 125 shares.

Documentation in the Mallarauco Canal Association

35
some starting frame to deceitfully extract waters. This one is

I would punish him by depriving him of water while the repair was being made.

should finance.

The Association began to operate without there being any legislation that

regulate the issue of channels. It was not until 1908 that a law was enacted regarding the

Republic regarding these organizations. And on that basis, further regulations were established.

Afternoon of the Mallarauco Channelists Association. The board of the channel

met on July 17, 1910 in Santiago and its provisional president was

Bernardo Larraín and directors Francisco and Joaquín Larraín. There it was agreed

open an office and appoint Francisco Javier Sánchez as secretary

accountant, in addition to being responsible for drafting the bylaws and adapting them to the law

No. 2,139.

It was of vital importance that the new organization had a legal character.

among other things to be able to request loans from the banks. The ordinary board

In 1910, he focused on studying the proposed reforms of the statutes in the session.

from the directory of August 2. In this session, it was agreed to divide the actions or

Waterers in 918, remaining for Elisa Larraín, 120; Francisco Larraín, 140;

116

Montes widow of Montes, 250. It was reiterated that no shareholder

It will be able to extract water from the canal only through frames. The shareholders appointed a

36
its authorities to Joaquín Walker Martínez, president and to Bernardo and

Francisco Larraín Alcalde as directors. As of July 19, 1911, the list

53
of Shareholders of the Mallarauco Canal Association

Owner Property name Actions

Elisa Larraín de Walker Saint Elisa 120 shares
Francisco Larraín Santa Teresa 140 shares

Mayor
Enrique Larraín Mayor Saint Victoria 116 shares
Bernardo Larraín Mayor Santa Clara 136 shares
Joaquín Larraín Mayor Pahuilmo 156 shares
Rosario Montes de Mallarauquito54 250

Mountains actions

The first directory was as follows: first president of the Canal Association

Mallarauco was Joaquín Eduardo Walker Martínez and the directors: the

farmer Bernardo Larraín Alcalde, Francisco Larraín Alcalde, and Joaquín

Larraín Alcalde. In 1911, seven channels affiliated with the canal were recognized: the

Pelvín Trunk, the Northern Branch, Southern Branch, Higuerillas, the Apple Tree,

the Italian and the Reform. There were 918 irrigators who came from the concession

what did Don Patricio obtain in 1871. In 1992, the following had been added:

Documentation in the Mallarauco Channel Association

54 Heirs Mallarauquito Ayberto Larraín, then sold it to his brother Joaquín and he sold it.
in 1903 for 300,000 pesos to José Ramón Montes Vascones (c.c. Rosario Montes).

37
Sur Reform, Centro Reform, and Retamo. These ten channels, managed

by the Association covered an area of 217.1 kilometers55.

The directors lasted a year in office and were elected at the general meeting.

annual ordinary session and in that session the president was elected. From 1911 to 1913

Joaquín Walker Martínez was president, and in 1913 he was succeeded by Bernardo.

Larraín Alcalde, then from 1914 to 1917 it was Joaquín Larraín Alcalde.

The main function of the Canal Mallarauco Association has been to take care of

to maintain and improve the channel and the tunnel. In 1913, the members of the

the organization hired the company Saavedra, Bernard and Co to

widen certain points of the canal using dynamite. Another of the

concerns of the Association have been to keep in good condition the

tunnel and channel infrastructure in good condition to operate, task

that the Association commissions the work to the firm Boetsh, Grado and Ruiz. In

In 1921, work was carried out to widen the tunnel to increase its capacity.

in charge of the company Dyckerhoff and Widmann. This company was hired because the

the canal had serious damage due to leaks and the intake had been

reduced, allowing only 5 cubic meters of water to pass through

second. The widening works were completed in March 1922.

Information provided by the Mallarauco Canal Association.

38
Francisco Sánchez wrote the request for approval of the statutes for

to give legal life to the Association, attached the public deeds and the

request for legal personality and sent it on April 19, 1911 to the

President of the Republic Ramón Barros Luco. Three months later, on the 18th of

July, the President signed the decree that said:

Legal personality is granted to the Mallarauco Channel Association and

their statutes are approved which consist of the public deeds granted

before the Notary of this city, Mr. Carlos Luis Hübner, on the thirteenth of

August nineteen hundred ten, and January nineteenth of the current year. It is

authorizes the Director of the Treasury to sign on behalf of the Treasury

the public deed, which must be reduced to the present decree. Take it

reason, communicate, publish and insert it in the Bulletin of Laws and

decrees of the Government. Barros Luco. J. Gandarillas. Santiago July tenth and

eight of nineteen eleven.56

Documentation in the Mallarauco Canal Association

39
After almost ten years of operating without legal backing,

Mallarauco Canal Association achieved legal existence and recognition.

by the State.

There are other important milestones in the history of the channel. Among them, one can.

mention that in 1949, the Mallarauco Canal Association joined the

Confederation of Canalists of Chile; the following year, the construction was completed.

intake in the Mapocho River and was unified with the Pelvín canal; in 1993 it was the

Centenary of the construction of the Mallarauco Canal and Tunnel and in 2011

the Mallarauco Hydro-Electric Plant was inaugurated.

The channel is still functioning today. Not even with the serious

political events of the 20th century that affected the property owners

land interfered with its development, such as: the economic crisis of 1929,

the triumph of the Popular Front in 1938 and the Agrarian Reform between the years 1964

and 1973.

Conclusions

The objective of this research work on Agricultural History of Chile

It was to highlight an example of a progressive farmer.

40
Thanks to the initiative of Mr. José Patricio Larraín Gandarillas and to the

construction of the Mallarauco Canal and Tunnel transformed the dry Valle of

Mallaruaco in a fertile valley.

The leftist historiography accuses many of the landowners of being

enemies of progress. But the construction of canals and their contribution to

the country's agricultural development refutes that perspective. The development of irrigation in

Chile was entirely made possible by the private sector in the 19th century.

showed great drive and vision for the future. The State only intervened from the

20th century, driven by the need to increase fiscal spending due to

the difficulties of the economy caused by the closure of the saltpeter mines.

Progressive landowners during this period are responsible for the

construction of 400 channels, among large, small, and medium ones, that

they allowed the cultivation of large hectares of land and increase production

of the country.

One of the difficulties of the research was that there is no reference about the

channel in the press and publications of the time such as: El Mercurio of

Valparaíso, The Railroad, The Independent and the Bulletin of the Society

National Agricultural. According to the historian Gonzalo Vial Correa, this

due to the lack of self-promotion that characterized our agrarian class of

41
the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. And Don Patricio was not unaware of this,

mainly because he was always a jealous person about his private life.

His interests were his family, his lands, his businesses, and progress.

national agriculture. This was the way that Don Patricio conceived it.

patriotism. This same reason also explains why there is no information in

the media about the inauguration of the canal in 1893.

After the death of Don Patricio (July 15, 1902), the press, especially the

catholic and conservative highlighted her personality and her great work for the benefit

from agriculture and in the Bulletin of the National Society of Agriculture there

he inserted an obituary.

In the twenty-first session of the Chamber of Deputies in 1928, it was...

paid tribute by saying: "But one of the men that must be noted

in this country, as a beautiful exponent of energy, putting all its interests

and will to the service of irrigation works, is Mr. Patricio Larraín

Gandarillas57.

Another tribute was held to mark the centenary of the completion of the tunnel and canal.

from Mallarauco in 1993. On that occasion, a bust of Mr. was inaugurated.

57 21 Ordinary Session, held on July 17, 1928 p. 904

42
Patricio Larraín. The bust was blessed by the Cardinal, Monsignor Juan

Francisco Fresno Larraín.

The most complex part of the research was finding primary sources.

the main reason that there is no primary information about the channel is that

the documentation and papers of the farmer were burned in a fire of

the manor house in Peñaflor in the late 1960s, according to

58
information collected in the interview. And therefore, it was necessary to carry out the

research with already published information.

To conclude the words of Larraín Gandarillas's great-grandson, Guillermo

Noguera Larraín at the inauguration of a plaque in Peñaflor in honor of Mr.

Patricio summarizes the character of this man: He was a farmer, for

antonomasia, but a farmer possessed by such spirit of innovation and

progress, which is not explained by either that vocation, nor the simple entrepreneurial drive nor

–even less– the profit motive, but a true and deep patriotism. And a

patriotism without political color. Being Catholic and a wigmaker like his father and

then a clerical conservative like his brother Don Joaquín.59

The plaque in honor of Don Patricio and his great work says the following:

Interview conducted with Pablo Miranda in Mallarauco on October 10, 2014.

59Yearbook of the Institute of Historical Commemoration of Chile No. 15, 2010, p. 22

43
 INSTITUTE OF COMMEMORATION
Historical of Chile
PATRICIO LARRAÍN GANDARILLAS
1817-1902
FARMER AND FATHER OF BEEKEEPING
IN CHILE. BUILT WITH HIS OWN MEANS,
At the end of the 19th century, the Grand Canal
40 KILOMETERS THAT IRRIGATE
THE MALLARAUCO VALLEY UNTIL
OUR DAYS, GIVING GREAT IMPULSE
TO THE PRODUCTION OF THESE FIELDS.
MINISTERIAL SECRETARIAT
OF AGRICULTURE R.M.
2010

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47
48