Sara Braun

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Sara Braun (17 December 1862 – 22 April 1955) was a Latvian-born Chilean businesswoman who became one of the principal employers in Patagonia. After emigrating with her family from the Russian Empire to escape persecution because of their Jewish heritage, the family toured Europe and then looked for work in Argentina and Paraguay, before moving to Magallanes, now known as Punta Arenas, in 1874. Educated in the public school system, Braun soon joined her father to help administer the naval warehouse of the Portuguese shipping magnate José Nogueira, whom she married in 1887. The two worked together to build a business empire. When Nogueira died in 1893, Braun took over his leases to land in Tierra del Fuego and took control of his commercial, industrial and shipping interests. She also established an import trading house and group of warehouses, becoming one of the first women to run a business in the area. With the help of her brother, Mauricio Braun, she established the Sociedad Explotadora de Tierra del Fuego (Society for the Exploitation of Tierra del Fuego) in August 1893 to engage in sheep farming. Through family ties and astute trading, they created a monopolistic company which controlled sheep production in the region and significantly influenced the development of southern Chile. Involved in many charitable endeavors, Braun was celebrated for her benevolence. Later scholarship has uncovered the history of the Braun family and their business partners in the Menéndez family in the genocide of the Selkʼnam people. Her mansion is preserved as a museum in Punta Arenas, and the Sara Braun Foundation, established at her death, provides scholarship funds to students for higher education.