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Arauco War

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The Arauco War was a long conflict between colonial Spaniards and the Mapuche people of the region of Araucania, of modern Chile. The beginning of the conflict is usually placed at the Battle of Reynoguelen, which occurred in 1536 between an expedition of Diego de Almagro and a well organized and numerous group of Mapuche soldiers, near the confluence of the Nuble and Itata rivers. Its end however, is more difficult to pin down. Since 1609, each governor of Chile held "Parlamentos" with the Mapuche chiefs, in which they discussed the maintenance of a treaty between both parties, violations of which were quite frequent. However, it was not until 1881 that these finally ended, with a process known as the Pacification of Araucania.

Campaigns of Pedro de Valdivia (15461553)

With the goal of securing the city of Santiago, which had been destroyed on September 11, 1541 by Mapochoes under the direction of their chief, Michimalonco, and also with the hope of enlarging the territory under his jurisdiction, the Spanish conquistador, Pedro de Valdivia, resolved to take personal command of a land expedition into Araucania.

In 1544, he sent a naval expedition comprised by the barks, San Pedro and Santiaguillo, under the command of a Captain Pastene, to reconnoiter the southwestern coast of South America. The expedition set sail from Valparaiso, entered the bay of San Pedro, and made landings at what is now known as Concepcion and at Valdivia, which was later named in honor of the commander. It then returned to Valparaiso.

Valdivia himself set out in 1546, with sixty horsemen plus native guides and porters, and crossed the Itata River and were attacked by Mapuche warriors in the Battle of Quilacura near the Bio-Bio River. Realizing that it would be impossible to proceed in such hostile territory with so limited a force, Valdivia wisely elected to return to Santiago after finding a site for new city at Penco.

Founding of Concepcion, Imperial, and Valdivia

In 1550, a new expedition was launched, consisting of a naval force under Pastene, and a land force of 200 Spaniards mounted and foot and a number of Mapocho auxilleries under Valdivia. They planned to reunite on the shores of the Bay of Concepcion. The land column advanced beyond the Itata River and Laja River, to the shores of the Bio-Bio River. Along the way they had several battles with groups of Mapuches as they explored the region killing many with little loss to themselves. After spending over a week in the area and encountering increasing opposition, the Spanish marched toward the Sea through the valleys of the Laja and Bio-Bio rivers, towards the coast at Penco. On the banks of the Andalien River, they camped for two days near a lake, where they were attacked on the second night by a large force of Araucanians under their toqui Ainavillo in the Battle of Andalien. The night attack was defeated, the Spaniards suffering one killed and many wounds to men and especially their mounts. After a day treating their wounds they continued onward towards their rendezvous at the Bay of Concepcion. Valdivia, Carta 15 de octubre de 1550 ; Vivar, Cronica Capitulo XCIV and XCV ; Marmolejo, Historia Capitulo X ; Lobera , Cronica Capitulo XXXI There Valdivia began building fort at what is now Penco.

On February 23rd, the naval force under Pastene anchored in the bay, and provided materials to finish the fort, brought supplies and replaced his casualties. Valdivia, Carta 15 de octubre de 1550 On March 1 Valdivia founded here the city of Concepcion del Nuevo Extremo. On March 3rd of that year, the fort was completed and was attacked nine days later by the largest force of Mapuches yet seen in the Battle of Penco. This force was broken and routed despite the small size of the Spanish forces. Valdivia, Carta 15 de octubre de 1550 ; Vivar, Cronica Capitulo XCVII ; Marmolejo, Historia Capitulo XI ; Lobera , Cronica Capitulo XXXIII Valdivia sent an emissary to the Viceroy of Peru, asking for additional forces; he knew that it would not be possible to complete the conquest of Arauco with only the forces at his disposal. After reinforcement at Concepcion in 1551, he organized another expedition to establish the fort La Imperial on the banks of the Imperial River. He then returned to Concepcion to prepare another expedition and await the reinforcements the Viceroy had promised to send by sea.

Leaving orders that the new troops should disembark on the Tierras de Valdivia that Pastene had discovered earlier, Valdivia left with two hundred soldiers in the direction of Fort Imperial. Once he had passed it on his way south, he ordered Jeronimo de Alderete to drive inland and establish a fort, with the goal of securing his eastern flank. To this end, Alderente reached Lake Villarrica and established a fort there. Meanwhile, Valdivia's column advanced southwards and joined the reinforcements sent from Peru, under the command of Francisco de Villagra. There, Fort Valdivia was established. After garrisoning the new forts, Valdivia returned to his base at Concepcion in 1552.

The Toqui Lautaro and the Battle of Tucapel

With the goal of securing the lines of communication with the southern forts, Valdivia launched a third expedition which established forts at Tucapel, Puren, Confines(now called Angol), Arauco, and Lebu. The Araucanians didn't offer any resistance to the conquistadors in their fort-building.

In 1553, the Mapuches held a council at which, because of the growth of Spanish forces in their territory, they resolved to make war. They chose as "toqui" (wartime chief) a man called Lautaro, who had served as an auxiliary to the Spanish cavalry. Because of his experiences with the Spanish, he had some insight into the best methods for fighting the conquistadors.

With six thousand warriors under his command, Lautaro attacked the fort at Tucapel. The Spanish garrison was unable to withstand the assault and retreated to Puren. Certain that the Spaniards would attempt to retake it, Lautaro seized Tucapel. Valdivia, with a reduced force, mounted a counter-attack, but he was quickly surrounded and his army was massacred by the Mapuches. The Battle of Tucapel was Pedro de Valdivia's last; he was captured and later killed in captivity.

Campaigns of Lautaro (15541556)

After the defeat at Tucapel, the Spanish hurriedly reorganized their forces, reinforcing fort Imperial for its defence and abandoning Confines and Arauco in order to strengthen Concepcion. However, Araucanian tradition dictated a lengthy victory celebration, which kept Lautaro from exploiting the weakness of the Spanish position as he desired. It was only in February of 1554 that he succeeded in putting together an army of 8,000 men, just in time to confront a punitive expedition under the command of Francisco de Villagra at the Battle of Marihuenu.

Despite this new victory, Lautaro was again unable to pursue the opportunity due to the celebrations and beliefs of his people. By the time he arrived at Concepcion, it was already abandoned. After burning it, he could not continue the offensive with his remaining forces, and the campaign came to an end as the warriors demobilized.

In Santiago, Villagra reorganized his forces, and that same year of 1554, he departed again for Arauco and reinforced the strongholds of Imperial and Valdivia, without any interference from the Mapuches, who were dealing with their first epidemic of smallpox, which was brought by the Spanish. In 1555, the Real Audiencia in Lima, ordered him to reconstruct Concepcion, which was done under the command of Capitan Alvarado.

Lautaro attacked Concepcion when he learned that it was being rebuilt, with 4,000 warriors. He put the town under siege, which Alvarado attempted to break unsuccessfully. Only 38 Spaniards managed to escape by sea the second destruction of the city.

Peteroa and the Hills of Caune

After this action, Lautaro planned an assault on Santiago, for which he drew scant support from his troops, who soon dwindled to only 600. In October of 1556 he reached in his northward march the Mataquito River, where he destroyed a fortified camp at Peteroa. From there he launched feelers towards Santiago.

In Peteroa he repulsed small attacking Spanish forces, first under the command of Diego Cano and later Francisco de Villagra himself. Lautaro retreated towards the Itata River, with the Spaniards in pursuit. Instead of confronting them, he gave them the slip, and left for Santiago.

Despite the stealth under which the Mapuches moved, the city leaders knew of the advance, and sent a small expedition to detain them, buying time for word to be sent to Villagra to return to the city. The Spanish forces met in the field, and, presumably by the treason of a fellow Araucano, found out about the disposition of Lautaro's camp. On April 29, the conquistadors launched a surprise attack from the hills of Caune, obtaining a decisive victory in the battle of Peteroa in which Lautaro was killed.

Campaigns of Caupolican (1557)

Garcia Hurtado de Mendoza, Marquis of Canete was designated the interim governor of Chile in 1557, and immediately ordered the reconstruction of Concepcion, this time with a much stronger force than before: 600 soldiers, 6 pieces of artillery, and 1,000 horses.

After the death of Lautaro, and before the new Spanish expedition, the Mapuches chose Caupolican as a new Toqui. He attacked Concepcion with 3,000 warriors but was soundly defeated. Although he was able to escape immediately after the battle, as the Spanish cavalry did not arrive in time to pursue, he would not remain indefinitely out of their clutches. He was eventually captured and sentenced to death by impaling through the rectum.

End of the Spanish conquest (15581604)

Despite having founded cities and forts in Mapuche territory, all further Spanish conquest attempts failed. The Kingdom of Chile became a problematic region which the Spaniards would possibly have abandoned if they not feared colonization by another European nation in the region. Several Spanish generals and nobles were assigned posts in Chile.

In September of 1592, Martin Garcia Oyez de Loyola was appointed as General Captain directly by Felipe II, king of Spain. He insisted in penetrating the Mapuche territory with an army with soldiers coming directly from Panama. Later, the 21 December of 1598 Onez de Loyola became the second governor of Chile to die in war with the Mapuches after the Battle of Curalaba. The battle became the beginning of a general uprising that finished with all Spanish settlements south of the Bio-Bio River with the exception of Chiloe Island and Valdivia, which was later rebuilt.

Mapuche Uprising of 1598

Main article: Destruction of Seven Cities

17th-century

Creation of the Army of Chile

Defensive War

Resumption of Offensive War

The Begining of Parliaments

The govenment of Antonio de Acuna y Cabrera

The last major uprising came by 1655 when Mapuche armies overwhelmed the Spaniards and came to the shores of the Maule River. After that, the Spanish tactics varied from a "defensive war" proposed by Jesuit missionaries, and parliaments with loncos to make agreements with the Mapuche in so called parliaments. This allowed the grow of commerce and increased the mestization.

Campaigns of the Mestizo Alejo and Misqui

The later Seventeenth Century

18th-century

After 30 years of peace the War of Arauco continued with a Mapuche uprising in 1723.

Chilean War of Independence and Guerra a muerte

During the Chilean War of Independence many Mapuche chiefs allied with the Royalist Spanish that fought for reestablishing the old colonial order in Chile. The Royalist brigadier Gabino Gainza negotiated with Mapuche chiefs during the Parlament of Quilin in 1814 and gained their support against the Chilean patriots.

In 1817 and 1818 the royalists had suffered many defeats, but continued resistance in south Central Chile together with the Mapuches. Jose de San Martin who had liberated north-central Chile with Bernardo O'Higgins launched a series of actions against armed bands in the mountains, consisting of assorted outlaws, royalists, and Indians who had taken advantage of the chaos of military expeditions and forced recruitments to pillage and sack the countryside. This time of irregular warfare was later called the Guerra a muerte (Fight to the death) for its merciless tactics, as neither the guerillas nor the government soldiers took prisoners. Only after the band of Vicente Benavides was liquidated in 1822 was the region around Concepcion finally pacified.

Occupation of Araucania

Background

Main article: Occupation of the Araucania, Conquest of the Desert.

In 1860 Chilean president Jose Joaquin Perez Mascayano decided to incorporate the territory between the Bio-Bio River and Tolten River (the Araucania). With the proclamation of the Kingdom of Araucania and Patagonia by Orelie-Antoine de Tounens it became a priority to incorporate the Araucania even if Orelie Antonie never was a serious threat.

The authorities decided to apply the plan proposed by General Cornelio Saavedra Rodriguez which included a mix of military and cultural penetration together with agreements with local chiefs. The plan also included the foundation of cities, building of roads and other public infrastructure such as schools and hospitals.

The occupation

Cornelio Saavedra advanced in relatively short time to the Malleco River and founded the city of Angol, together with the forts of Mulchen and Lebu in 1862. From Valdivia in the south the troops also succeeded in advancing along the coast into the Tolten River. This first phase of occupation was carried out with relatively low levels of resistance, but soon after the lonco Quilapan started a revolt near Malleco River.

When the War of the Pacific started in 1879 much of the troops in the south of Chile were moved north to fight Peru and Bolivia. In 1880 several Mapuche tribes took advantage of this situation and launched a series of spontaneous attacks on to the Chilean forts established in the frontier.

With a victorious Chilean army returning from the War of the Pacific, the government of Domingo Santa Maria launched the final campaign to incorporate the heartland of the Mapuches into Chile. Colonel Gregorio Urrutia was chosen for this task.

The old Spanish town of Villarrica was refounded and the forts of Carahue, Lautaro, Pillanlelbu, Temuco, Nueva Imperial and Pucon where founded. The tribes living close to this forts their territory, and about 10,000 Mapuche Indians were killed in skirmishes by the Chilean army. Many of the survivors escaped to mountains where they joined with the Pehuenches and other tribes escaping from Argentine territory. Some indigenous remnants were placed into reductions and their land was given to Chilean and foreign settlers. Some historians consider the occupation of the Araucania to be the end of a 300-years long War of Arauco.

Aftermath

Araucania was not fully "pacified" after the campaigns, and it remained an insecure land, in spite of military efforts. Even nowadays some Mapuche groups continue "pillaging" haciendas in their ancestral lands. With the construction of the Malleco viaduct in the 1890s, the region became more accessible and colonization southward in Chile increased even more.

Sources

Pedro de Valdivia, Cartas de Pedro de Valdivia (Letters of Pedro Valdivia), University of Chile: Diarios, Memorias y Relatos Testimoniales: (on line in Spanish)

Geronimo de Vivar, Cronica y relacion copiosa y verdadera de los reinos de Chile (Chronicle and abundant and true relation of the kingdoms of Chile)ARTEHISTORIA REVISTA DIGITAL; Cronicas de America (on line in Spanish)

Alonso de Gongora Marmolejo, Historia de Todas las Cosas que han Acaecido en el Reino de Chile y de los que lo han gobernado (1536-1575) (History of All the Things that Have happened in the Kingdom of Chile and of they that have governed it (1536-1575)), University of Chile: Document Collections in complete texts: Cronicles (on line in Spanish)

Marino de Lobera, Pedro, Cronica del Reino de Chile , escrita por el capitan Pedro Marino de Lobera....reducido a nuevo metodo y estilo por el Padre Bartolome de Escobar. Edicion digital a partir de Cronicas del Reino de Chile Madrid, Atlas, 1960, pp. 227-562, . Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes (on line in Spanish)

Jufre del Aguila, Melchor, Compendio historial del Descubrimiento y Conquista del Reino de Chile(Historial compendium of the Discovery and Conquest of the Kingdom of Chile), University of Chile: Document Collections in complete texts: Cronicles (on line in Spanish)

Diego de Rosales, Historia General del Reino de Chile, Flandes Indiano, 3 tomos. Valparaiso 1877 - 1878.

* Historia general de el Reyno de Chile: Flandes Indiano Vol. 1

* Historia general de el Reyno de Chile: Flandes Indiano Vol. 2

* Historia general de el Reyno de Chile: Flandes Indiano Vol. 3

Carvallo y Goyeneche, Vicente, Descripcion Historico Geografia del Reino de Chile (Description Historical Geography of the Kingdom of Chile), University of Chile: Document Collections in complete texts: Cronicles (on line in Spanish)

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