Orélie-Antoine de Tounens
| Orélie-Antoine de Tounens | |
|---|---|
| King of Araucania and Patagonia | |
 |
|
| Reign | 1860-1878 |
| Predecessor | Position created |
| Successor | Achille I |
| Born |
May 12, 1825 Chourgnac, France |
| Died | September 17, 1878 (aged 53) Tourtoirac, France |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
Orélie-Antoine de Tounens (May 12, 1825 – September 17, 1878) was a French lawyer, and adventurer, who assumed the title of King of Araucanía and Patagonia. It is disputed whether Tounens was a self-proclaimed king or was elected in a national assembly (called Futa Kollog) by more than 3,000 indigenous Mapuche delegates; and the highest Mapuche authorities of the time, including the most important Loncos (Mapuche chiefs) and Toki (Mapuche war chiefs).
Orélie-Antoine de Tounens was born May 12, 1825 in Chourgnac, Dordogne. He moved to Coquimbo in Chile in 1858 and spent two years in Valparaíso and Santiago, studying Spanish and forming social connections. Later he moved to Valdivia where he met two French merchants, Lachaise and Desfontaines. He explained his plans to them about founding a French colony in the Araucanía. 1860 he moved to Araucanía among the Mapuche who, at the time, were de jure and de facto an independent nation.
Based on his experience as a lawyer, de Tounens claimed that the area did not belong to recently independent Chile or Argentina, so he wanted to create an independent state south of the Biobío River. On November 17, 1860 he signed a declaration of Araucanían independence in the farm of French settler F. Desfontaine, who became his "foreign minister", and at an assembly of the chieftains of the various tribes of the territory known as "Araucanía" was voted a constitutional monarch by the tribal leaders. He created a national hymn, a flag, wrote a constitution, appointed ministers of agriculture, education, and defense (among other offices), and had coins minted for his kingdom.
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