# Royal decree allows enslavement of Mapuche (1608)

URL: https://allhistories.com/chile/timeline/1608-royal-decree-allows-enslavement-of-mapuche
Location: Concepción, Biobío
Themes: Society

King Philip III issues a decree permitting the enslavement of Mapuche captured in war, legalising a practice already common on the frontier. Slave raids, known as malocas, become a source of profit for soldiers and settlers, and captives are sold to work on estates in central Chile and Peru. The measure is suspended during the Defensive War and later revived.

## Why it matters
Legal slavery of war captives deepened Mapuche hostility and became a major driver of violence on the frontier for much of the seventeenth century.

Ruler at the Time: [Philip III](https://allhistories.com/chile/rulers/philip-iii)

Royal Governor of Chile: Alonso García de Ramón (1605–1610)
Viceroy of Peru: Juan de Mendoza y Luna

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Arauco War](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arauco_War)
- [Wikipedia — Mapuche](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mapuche)