Report of the delegate in inspection visit to easter island by the Lieutenant Commander (ms. sm.) Jorge Tapia de la Barra, january 1950

Authors

  • Rolf Foerster G. Departamento de Antropología. Universidad de Chile

Abstract

The long 1950 report of Lieutenant Commander Jorge Tapia de la Barra about Easter Island allows us to gather a series of precedents and “signs” of what was happening there, as well as the degree of complexity that had been generated in the relationships between the Rapanui society, the Navy, the Easter Island Exploitation Company and the civil society. When reading them, we can appreciate the factors that will trigger the changes that will take place in 1953 and that will lead to the “nationalization of the island”.

Keywords:

Rapa Nui, Easter Island, Williamson Balfour, Compañía Explotadora de Isla de Pascua