Philippi, Bernhard Eunom b. September 19, 1811; Charlottenburg, Prussia d. Early November (?), 1852; Cabeza de Mar, Chile
German explorer, colonial agent, and lieutenant colonel in the Chilean army. Bernhard Eunom Philippi was the second son of Prussian auditor Johann Wilhelm Eberhard Philippi and his wife Marianne (nee Krumwiede).
Like his older brother Rudolph Amandus, he was initially taught by his mother, before the family moved to Yverdon in Switzerland in 1818, where he was educated at Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi’s school. Back in Berlin, Bernhard Eunom, the more adventuresome of the brothers, attended the Realschule (modern secondary school), which had just recently been founded. Following his inclinations, he set out in 1830, after graduation, on his first trip as an ordinary sailor on board the ship Prinzess Louise of the Royal Prussian Maritime Company. The trip took him to Chile for the first time in 1831. In 1832 he continued his education as a naval cadet in Danzig at the navigation school so that he would be able to return to Chile, this time as a navigator. On this trip he availed himself of the opportunity to explore the island of Chiloe. Beginning in 1841 he resided in Chile, with only brief interruptions. During a trip through southern Chile made in 1842, he rediscovered Lago Llanquihue and recognized the suitability of the region for colonization. He produced reports of his trip for the Chilean government. He attached sketched maps to the reports on which he indicated the areas of possible colonization.In 1843 Philippi voluntarily accompanied an expedition to the Strait of Magellan, which was meant to take possession of the area for the Chilean government. Philippi successfully negotiated, in the days following, with a French legation that had arrived in the meantime and was likewise asserting a claim to possession of the region. He achieved political recognition for his diplomatic accomplishment, which allowed him to organize and promote colonial settlements in the region of Lago Llan- quihue.
The first independent attempt, in connection with financial backers, failed, but finally in 1848 he obtained a commission from the Chilean government to recruit German Catholic families. For this purpose Philippi traveled to Germany, where, in 1851 and 1852, he drew up three prospectuses with the requisite information about the land. Philippi was involved in the selection of suitable applicants. He was helped by his brother Rudolph Amandus in Kassel. However, because the bishops of Fulda and Paderborn refused their support, he was able to recruit only Protestants. At any rate, these applicants underwent a strict selection process. A decisive criterion was the furnishing of proof of an acquired craft, that, in addition to a readiness for the agricultural cultivation of the new settlement area, was regarded as important for survival and as an economic foundation. Upon his return to Chile in 1852, Philippi found the position of commissioner of the German colony, intended for him, already occupied by Vicente Perez Rosales. The fact that he had not been able to recruit Catholic applicants may have been the chief reason for his ouster. Instead of this post, the Chilean government offered him the administration of the Province of Magellan. He traveled there immediately to diplomatically settle unrest that had broken out between settlers and Indians. He set out for the interior of the country from the base of Punta Arenas with some escorts at the end of October 1852 to negotiate with the Indians, but he was attacked and murdered by them. It was only some months later that investigations producedthe testimony of an Indian youth who was an interpreter and was present at the incident. Philippi is considered the father of German colonization in southern Chile. His importance lies in his correct assessment that the uninhabited regions around Lago Llanquihue could be made arable by a select group of settlers.
Wolfgang Crom
See also Chile; Philippi, Rudolph Amandus
References and Further Reading
Held, Winkler Emil. “Bernhard Eunom Philippi und die deutsche Besieldung Sudchiles.” In 100 Jahre deutsche Siedlung in der Provinz Llanquihue. Santiago de Chile: Verlag Condor, 1952, pp. 13-34.
Perich Slater, Jose. Bernardo E. Philippi K. Su vida y sus obras. Punta Arenas: Marangunic, 1980.
Schwarzenberg, Georg. “Oberstleutnant Bernhard Eunom Philippi. Sein Leben und sein Werk.” Geschichtliche Monatsblatter (Osorno) 1, no. 5 (1916): 37-52.
Young, George F. “Bernardo Philippi, Initiator of German Colonization in Chile.” The Hispanic American Historical Review 51, no. 2 (1971): 478-496.