Why did mestizo communities grow rapidly in colonial Chile?

The rapid growth of the mestizo population in colonial Chile was primarily driven by the colony's economic conditions and the resulting social dynamics.12

Because Chile lacked significant mineral wealth, it was considered a poor colony that failed to attract large numbers of Spanish settlers; by the end of the 16th century, there were no more than 5,000 Spanish settlers in the entire region. Consequently, settlers turned to agriculture and often had to work the fields themselves because the Indigenous population proved to be an unreliable source of labor.12

This environment facilitated widespread intermixing between the European settlers and the Indigenous people. Over time, this process of ethnic and cultural blending became the most significant social development in the colony after 1600. By the end of the colonial period, mestizos constituted the majority of the population, forming the basis of Chile's homogeneous ethnic character. This integration was further supported by the fact that legal marriage between Iberians and Indigenous people was often tolerated or permitted, despite the existence of a highly structured social hierarchy.312