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O'Higgins Region
The '''VI O'Higgins Region''' is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. Its capital is Rancagua. It is subdivided into three provinces. It is named in honour of Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme, one of Chile's founding fathers.
The O'Higgins Region is bordered to the west by the Pacific Ocean, to the east by the Republic of Argentina, to the north by the Valparaiso and Santiago Metropolitan Regions, and to the south by the Maule Region. It extends approximately between the parallels of 3351 and 3501 south latitude, and between the meridian of 7002 west longitude and the Pacific Ocean. The surface area, calculated by the Chilean Military Institute of Geography, is 16,387 square kilometres.
Early inhabitants
From 9000 BCE to 300 BCE (the Archaic Period), the humans who inhabited the region moved between the coast and the valley as well as the Andes. At sites such as Pichilemu, Cahuil and Bucalemu, they left trash deposits or shell middens bearing testimony to their raids . During the Agroalfarero Period (300 BCE - 1470 CE), the inhabitants experienced changes in their way of life, the most important being the cultivation of vegetables and the manufacture of clay objects. From 600 CE onwards, they started cultivating beans, maize, squashes, pumpkins and Quinoa. All of these except Quinoa and some types of maize required irrigation, which prompted them to move to the banks of creeks and rivers. During this period, groups of people lived in Quincha houses with straw roofs, in the vicinity of irrigation channels and horticulture crops, a style of life attributable to the Promaucaes or Picunches and to the Chiquillanes. During the Colonial Period (1541 CE to 1811 CE), the region became dominated, like the rest of the country, by the Spanish, and a system of ranching became predominant .
Government and Administration
For purposes of interior administration, the O'Higgins region is divided into three provinces:
Cachapoal Province, capital: Rancagua,
Colchagua Province, capital: San Fernando,
Cardenal Caro Province, capital: Pichilemu.
For the purposes of local administration, the provinces are divided into 33 communes.
The O'Higgins electoral region corresponds to 9th Senatorial Constituency and is grouped with Districts 32, 33, 34 and 35.
Government
The region is governed by an intendant, who
is appointed by the president. Hector Huenchullan is the current intendant (2007).
The government and administration of the provinces are in the hands of three governors, who are named by the president.
Administration
The administration of the region rests with the regional government, which is headed by the intendant and the regional council (Consejo Regional de Chile). The latter comprises sixteen regional administrators, who are elected indirectly .
The local administration of each commune is in the hands of its municipality.
Demographics and cities
The O'Higgins region contains a large part of the rural population (surpassed only by the Maule Region). Amongst the highly populated cities, Rancagua stands out for having been transformed, in recent times, into an outskirt of Santiago. According to the census of 2002, other densely populated cities are: San Fernando ; Rengo ; Machali ; Graneros ; San Vicente de Tagua Tagua ; Santa Cruz ; Chimbarongo ; San Francisco de Mostazal ; Pichilemu .
Regional Festivals
| Date | English Name | Spanish Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-2 October | Disaster of Rancagua | Desastre de Rancagua | In memory of the Battle of Rancagua which occurred in 1814 |
External links
English language links
"The Libertador Bernardo OHiggins Region" at the Chilean government website
Regional government of the O'Higgins Region
Spanish language links
VI.cl: Portal de la Sexta Region (Portal for the Sixth Region)
Portal turistico de Pichilemu, Region de O'Higgins
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article O'Higgins Region
