How did Peru control trade in colonial Chile?

During the colonial period, trade in Chile was tightly controlled by merchants based in Peru. Under the Spanish colonial system, the bulk of legitimate trade to and from Chile was required to pass through these merchants, who operated out of the viceregal capital of Lima and its principal port, Callao.123

This monopolistic arrangement was part of a broader economic structure where Lima served as the primary entrepôt for trade between Europe and various commercial centers across South America. Because Chile was considered a poor colony with limited mineral wealth, it remained economically dependent and insular for much of the colonial era, with its administrative and economic development significantly restricted by the Spanish crown and the influence of the Roman Catholic Church. These restrictive trade policies remained in place until they were eventually relaxed in the late colonial period.312