Immigration and Entrepreneurship in Chile during the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

ABSTRACT

Based on census records (both of total population and commercial-industrial), and an extensive review and synthesis of the secondary literature, this article analyses the importance and impact of immigration on the economic development of Chile, in particular on entrepreneurship and the changing composition of the main business groups of the country. We provide a sketch of the main entrepreneurs among the immigrant groups, according to countries of origin and sectors in which they operated, who emerged as influential modern entrepreneurs in the country during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. We also show how some of these foreign entrepreneurs (and their descendants) contributed to the renewal of the economic elites of Chile during these two centuries, by focussing on some case studies of the leading members of the most successful family business groups.

KEYWORDS:

• Immigration
• entrepreneurship
• Chile

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Primary Sources

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Chile. Resultados del X Censo de la población [Results of the X Population Census]. Santiago: Impr. Universo, 1931.

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Notes

1. Bértola and Ocampo, “América Latina Economía Mundial”.

2. Bértola and Ocampo, “América Latina Economía Mundial”; Sánchez-Albornoz, Población de América Latina”; Sánchez-Alonso, “Labor and Immigration”; Pérez-Brignoli, “América Latina transición demográfica”; and Klein, “Integration Portuguese Immigrants Brazil”.

3. Bértola and Ocampo, “América Latina Economía Mundial”; Cerutti, “Propietarios, Empresarios y Empresa”; Dávila, “Empresariado en Colombia” Fernández and Lluch, “Familias empresarias empresas familiares”; and Llorca-Jaña and Miller, “Historia Empresarial de Chile”.

4. Bértola and Ocampo, “América Latina Economía Mundial”, 167.

5. Aldrich, and Waldinger, “Ethnicity and Entrepreneurship”.

6. Berghoff and Spiekermann, “Immigrant Entrepreneurship”.

7. Godley, “Jewish Immigrant Entrepreneurship”; and Godley, A. “Jewish Soft Loan Societies”.

8. McCraw, “Immigrant Entrepreneurs in US”.

9. Waldinger, Aldrich, and Ward, “Ethnic Entrepreneurs”.

10. Hanlon, “Skilled Immigrants American Industrialization”.

11. Hirschman and Mogford, “Immigration American Industrial Revolution”.

12. A few exceptions for Latin American countries are Galindo, “French Migrant business Network”; Gómez-Galvarriato, “Networks and Entrepreneurship”; and less specific studies such as Barbero and Lluch, “Capitalismo familiar en Argentina”; Discua et al., “Grandes empresas familiares Honduras”; and Monsalve, “Gran empresa familiar peruana”.

13. Dabić et al. “Immigrant Entrepreneurship”.

14. Aliaga-Isla and Rialp, “Immigrant Entrepreneurship Literature”.

15. Ibid.

16. Dabić et al., “Immigrant Entrepreneurship”.

17. Immigrant entrepreneurship is generally understood to be the undertaking of entrepreneurial activities by people born abroad, while an immigrant’s child is a “second generation” immigrant. Dabić et al., “Immigrant Entrepreneurship”.

However, we should differentiate between expatriates, people who live in the host country for several years but return to their home country taking their profits home before they die, and “permanent” immigrant business entrepreneurs, who remain and accumulate profits within the host economy. We are grateful to a referee for his/her comments on this.

18. Llonch-Casanovas, “Immigrant Entrepreneurs, Technology Transfer”; Gómez-Galvarriato, “Networks and Entrepreneurship”; Baten and Llorca-Jaña, “Inequality, Immigration, Human Capital”; and Baeza, Britons Chileans Independence era.

19. Aliaga-Isla and Rialp, “Immigrant Entrepreneurship Literature”, 822.

20. Norambuena, “Inmigración Intelectualidad chilena”; Norambuena, La Araucanía el proyecto modernizador; Harris, Inmigración emigración en Chile; Harris, Emigrantes e inmigrantes Chile; and Estrada, “intentos estatales factor humano”.

21. Rivero-Cantillano and Llorca-Jaña, “Population, Welfare and Human Capital”.

22. Matus, “trayectoria salarios chilenos”.

23. See: Agar, “Migraciones externas en Chile”; Agar and Rebolledo, “inmigración árabe en Chile”; Almonacid, Industria valdiviana; Baeza, Britons Chileans Independence era; Blancpain, Les allemands au Chilli; Crispi, Inmigrar en Chile; Mires, Constitución clases medias chilenas; Harris, Inmigración emigración en Chile; Harris, Emigrantes e inmigrantes Chile; Estrada, Presencia italiana en Chile; Estrada, “inmigración industrialización SOFOFA”; Martinic, inmigración croata en Magallanes; Mazzei De Garzia, “Inmigración clase media Chile”; McCraw, “Immigrant Entrepreneurs in US”; Norambuena, “Política legislación inmigratoria Chile”; Norambuena, “Inmigración Intelectualidad chilena”; Salinas, “perfil demográfico inmigración italiana”; Zavala, “colonos escuela La Araucanía”; and Zlatar, Raíces croatas Antofagasta.

24. Almonacid, Industria valdiviana; Bernedo, “industriales alemanes de Valdivia”; Mires, Constitución clases medias chilenas; Estrada, Presencia italiana en Chile; Estrada, “inmigración industrialización SOFOFA”; Matus, “Emprendimientos tempranos judíos Valparaíso”; Mazzei De Garzia, “Inmigración clase media Chile”; and Norambuena, “Política legislación inmigratoria Chile”.

25. See above 14.

26. See above 5.

27. There are many other sources that can be used, such as commercial registers, notarial archives, chambers of commerce records, telephone directories, patent registers, records of supervisory agencies of insurance companies, corporation archives and stock exchange records.

28. See above 13.

29. Pérez-Brignoli, “América Latina transición demográfica”; Sánchez-Albornoz, Población de América Latina; and Sánchez-Alonso, “Labor and Immigration”.

30. Pellegrino, “Migración América Latina Caribe”; and Agar, “Migraciones externas en Chile”.

31. Collier, “Chile”; Mellafe, “historia censal del país”; Cussen, Llorca and Droller, “Prices Santiago de Chile”; and Cussen, “formación actual pueblo chileno”.

32. Between the 1860s and the 1960s, around 60% of all foreigners that arrived in Chile came from Europe. The high shares of Peruvian and Bolivians in the censuses of 1885 and 1907 was due to the incorporation of the provinces of Antofagasta (formerly Bolivian) and Tarapacá (formerly Peruvian) into Chilean territory after the War of the Pacific (1879–1883), which was won by Chile, as well as be new arrivals from both Peru and Bolivia after the war to remedy labour shortage in the nitrate districts. Monteón, “Enganche Chilean Nitrate Sector”.

33. Figure 1 also shows that this share started to decline dramatically from 1907 to 1970, to reach around 1% of total population only, almost the same share as before the 1880s.

34. Baten and Llorca-Jaña, “Inequality, Immigration, Human Capital”.

35. Gutiérrez, “inmigración española, italiana y portuguesa”.

36. González Llanos and Lufin, “inmigración China en Chile”.

37. Blancpain, Les allemands au Chilli; Marínez, “Migración y colonización”.

38. On the importance of immigrants to foster industrialisation, see Pollins, “Immigrants & Minorities”; and Kirsch, Industrial Development Traditional Society.

39. Llorca-Jaña and Miller, “Historia Empresarial de Chile”.

40. Gutiérrez, “inmigración española, italiana y portuguesa”; and Marínez, “Migración y colonización”.

41. Estrada, “Españoles en Valparaíso”.

42. Monteón, “Enganche Chilean Nitrate Sector”.

43. Sutulov, Minería chilena.

44. On this, see Hyuland, Arabic-Speaking Immigrants Argentina for Argentina; and Lesser, “Arabs and Jews Brazil” for Brazil, where Arab/Levantine immigration was also important.

45. Agar and Rebolledo, “inmigración árabe en Chile”.

46. Chou, Chile y China.

47. Kirsch, Industrial Development Traditional Society.

48. See note 1 above.

49. Pérez, “Transformation of Chilean Population”.

50. Rivero-Cantillano and Llorca-Jaña, “Population, Welfare and Human Capital”; and Pérez, “Transformation of Chilean Population”.

51. Pozo, “Chilenos en el exterior”.

52. La Tercera.

53. Aninat and Vergara, Inmigración en Chile.

54. See above 5.

55. Dabić et al., “Immigrant Entrepreneurship”; Agar, “Migraciones externas en Chile”.

56. It is fairly common that immigrants enjoy higher rates of self-employment than locals (Godley, ‘Jewish Soft Loan Societies’; and Pécoud, ‘Self-Employment and Immigrants’), which is in line with the ‘disadvantage theory’, according to which ‘immigrants set up their own businesses as this is practically the only way that they can earn a living in a new country; it is, therefore, a form of necessity’ (Dabić et al. ‘Immigrant Entrepreneurship’, 28). Language barriers (i.e., inability to speak the language of the host country fluently) may also promote self-employment.

57. Immigrant entrepreneurs often occupy special niches unattended by local entrepreneurs. Pollins, ‘Immigrants & Minorities’.

58. According to Baeza from 1813 Chilean authorities ‘stressed the need to attract skilled Britons to Chile … [and] began to invite Britons to travel to Chile in order to collaborate in different economic activities’. Baeza, Britons Chileans Independence era, 60–61.

59. See above 41.

60. Pollins, ‘Immigrants & Minorities’.

61. Cavieres, Comercio chileno comerciantes ingleses; Nazer, ‘Renovación elites empresariales Chile’; Llorca-Jaña, ‘British Textile Exports’; LLorca-Jaña and Navarrete, ‘Independence and Nitrate Era’; Ortega, ‘Chile capitalismo’; and Cariola and Sunkel ‘Century Economic History Chile’.

62. It is difficult to state how many stayed in Chile and how many returned to their home countries.

63. Cariola and Sunkel ‘Century Economic History Chile’; and Kirsch, Industrial Development Traditional Society.

64. Nazer, ‘Errázuriz Urmeneta Edwards Mac Clure’.

65. Couyoumdjian, ‘comercio Valparaíso casas extranjeras’.

66. Wessel, Anuario Wessel deuda pública.

67. ^{Couyoumdjian,}Chile y Gran Bretaña.

68. Chile, Censo industria manufacturera comercio.

69. Those classified as foreigners were born abroad, although we are not able to state how many of them stayed in Chile for good.

70. Muñoz, empresarios industrialización Chile; Badia-Miró and Ducoing, ‘Desarrollo industrial en Chile’.

71. Lüders, ‘Introducción’; Martínez, ‘familias empresarias en Chile’.

72. Cavieres, Comercio chileno comerciantes ingleses; Couyoumdjian, Chile y Gran Bretaña; Llorca-Jaña, British textile South America.

73. See above 67.

74. Llorca-Jaña, ‘British Textile Exports’.

75. Llorca-Jaña, ‘British Textile Exports’; Llorca-Jaña, British textile South America.

76. Araya and Llorca-Jaña, ‘Joint Stock Companies Chile’.

77. See above 65.

78. Blakemore, Gobierno chileno salitre inglés; Rees, Carlos Lambert industria cobre; Nazer, ‘Errázuriz Urmeneta Edwards Mac Clure’; Araya, ‘Josué Waddington’.

79. See above 64.

80. Nazer, ‘Los Edwards’; and Zeitlin, Ewen and Ratcliff, ‘Large Corporation Capitalist Class’.

81. Herrero, Agustín Edwards Eastman.

82. Estrada, ‘Españoles en Valparaíso’; Lefort, ‘Business Groups in Chile’.

83. Gonzalez and Lufin, ‘Alemanes Atacama siglo XX’.

84. Bernedo, ‘industriales alemanes de Valdivia’.

85. Ibid.

86. Young, ‘British Bakning Latin America’.

87. See above 41.

88. See above 83.

89. Chile, Censo industrial y comercial.

90. BCN, Historia Ley no. 20.127.

91. Barbero, ‘Multinacionales chilenas’.

92. Cencosud, memoria annual 2019; Lefort, ‘Business Groups in Chile’.

93. See above 89.

94. Del Pozo, ‘empresarios del vino Chile’.

95. García, Los Riojanos en Chile.

96. See above 41.

97. See above 89.

98. See above 41.

99. Camacoes, 100 años futuro.

100. Martinic. Méndez y Braun.

101. See above 99.

102. Nazer and Llorca-Jaña ‘Casino Industry in Chile’.

103. See above 99.

104. For the impact of Italian immigrant entrepreneurs on Argentina, see Barbero and Lluch, ‘Capitalismo familiar en Argentina’; for Perú see Monsalve, ‘Gran empresa familiar peruana’.

105. Salinas, ‘perfil demográfico inmigración italiana’; and Mazzei, ‘inmigración italiana Concepción’.

106. See above 89.

107. Estrada, Presencia italiana en Chile. By the mid-1960s, Mademsa, owned by Simonetti, ranked 17th out of the top nonfinancial corporations in Chile. Zeitlin Ewen and Ratcliff. ‘Large Corporation Capitalist Class’.

108. Ortega and Soto ‘Multitiendas en Chile’; and Lefort, ‘Business Groups in Chile’.

109. Bustamante and Caviedes, Grupo Solari; and Barbero, ‘Multinacionales chilenas’.

110. Bustamante and Caviedes, Influencia empresarial Grupo Angelini.

111. Dahse, mapa extrama riqueza Chile.

112. Lefort, ‘Business Groups in Chile’.

113. Fazio, Mapa extrema Riqueza 2005.

114. Discua et al., ‘Grandes empresas familiares Honduras’.

115. Ibid.

116. Anonymous, Guía social colonia Árabe.

117. More generally, it is believed that entrepreneurship is often promoted by social marginality, including that suffered by migrant minority group which fits with Arabs’ experience in Chile. Pollins, ‘Immigrants & Minorities’.

118. See above 45.

119. Ibid.

120. See above 89.

121. By the mid-1960s, Yarur Chilean Cottons Products and Hirmas Cottons ranked 12th and 13th, respectively, amongst the top nonfinancial corporations in Chile. Zeitlin Ewen and Ratcliff. ‘Large Corporation Capitalist Class’.

122. Anonymous, industrias colectividades árabe Chile.

123. Frías et al, Industria textil vestuario Chile.

124. Discua et al., ‘Grandes empresas familiares Honduras’.

125. Plumer, ‘Arabs and Jews Haiti’.

126. In 1966 Sumar Products ranked 4th amongst the top nonfinancial corporations in Chile. Zeitlin, Ewen and Ratcliff, ‘Large Corporation Capitalist Class’.

127. Paredes and Sánchez, Organización industrial grupos económicos.

128. Winn, Trabajadores Yarur vía chilena; and Frías et al., Industria textil vestuario Chile.

129. Universidad del Desarrollo, Ranking de grupos económicos; and Martínez, ‘familias empresarias en Chile’.

130. Martinic, inmigración croata en Magallanes; Zlatar, Raíces croatas Antofagasta.

131. See above 89.

132. Torres, Pascual Baburizza Soletic; and Islas, ‘Baburizza Grupo empresarial Chile’.

It is difficult to distinguish between Croats and Italians because of the fluidity of national, linguistic and ethnic frontiers in Northeast Italy and Northwest Croatia in the early twentieth century. For example, Baburizza and Sabioncello were Croats but have Italian surnames.

133. Islas, ‘Baburizza Grupo empresarial Chile’.

134. According to Andrónico Luksic, in the foreword of Torres, Pedro Luksic, brother of Policarpo, worked for the powerful Baburizza for many years, which can be taken as an example of how ethnic networks could be exploited by ambitious entrepreneurs. We are grateful to one of this journal’s referees for this point. Torres, Pascual Baburizza Soletic.

135. Caviedes, Grupo Luksic; and Lefort, ‘Business Groups in Chile’.

136. Caviedes, Grupo Luksic.

137. See above 16.

138. Aldrich and Waldinger, ‘Ethnicity and Entrepreneurship’.