Writer is prince of land twice as large as France
A Toulouse writer on heraldry has been elected prince of a South American kingdom that is twice the size of France.
Frédéric Luz, 54, is prince of Araucania and Patagonia, part of Chile and Argentina, and heads more than a million Mapuche tribespeople.
The kingdom has existed since 1860 when the Mapuche people in Araucania declared a French explorer, Orélie-Antoine de Tounens, their king. They did so because of a prophecy, which said a white man would come to lead them.
However, it has never been recognised as an independent country and de Tounens was later captured by Chilean soldiers and eventually sent back to France where he died at Tourtoirac, Dordogne in 1878.
Today the Mapuches still fight for independence and the right to continue a traditional way of life as their territories in southern Chile at the southern tip of South America have shrunk due to being taken over for mineral extraction and forestry for paper.
Mr Luz, who is now Prince Frédéric I, says his role is to keep the memory of the extraordinary Orélie-Antoine de Tounens alive. “The Mapuches feel the only time they had their own country was when he was their king and before he was sent into exile. “My other goal is to help the Mapuches fight to gain recognition from the United Nations.”
There is a museum dedicated to the Kings of Araucania and Patagonia at Tourtoirac. The Mapuches have continued to fight for international recognition for their nation, and chosen a series of kings and princes to push their cause, with the last, Prince Antoine IV, dying in December 2017.
Mr Luz was chosen from eight contenders after a secret ballot. A delegation of Mapuches from Puerto Montt in Chile was at the ceremony, held in Paris.
