The Arauco War was a long-running conflict between colonial Spaniards and the Mapuche people, mostly fought in the Araucanía region of Chile. The conflict began at first as a reaction to the Spanish conquerors attempting to establish cities and force Mapuches into servitude. It subsequently evolved over time into phases comprising drawn-out sieges, slave-hunting expeditions, pillaging raids, punitive expeditions, and renewed Spanish attempts to secure lost territories. Abduction of women and war rape was common on both sides.
The royal governor of Chile ruled over the Spanish colonial administrative district called the Captaincy General of Chile, and as a result the royal governor also held the title of a captain general. There were 66 such governors or captains during the Spanish conquest and the later periods of Spanish-centered colonialism. Since the first Spanish–Mapuche parliaments in the 17th century it became an almost mandatory tradition for each governor to arrange a parliament with the Mapuches.
Francisco Casimiro Marcó del Pont y Ángel was a Spanish soldier and the last Governor of Chile. He was one of the main figures of the Chilean independence process, being the final Spaniard to rule as Royal Governor of Chile from 1815 to 1817, when he was deposed and captured by the patriot forces after the Battle of Chacabuco.
Tomás López Marín y González de Poveda, 1st Marquis of Cañada Hermosa was a Spanish colonial administrator who served as Royal Governor of Chile.
Gabriel Cano de Aponte was a Spanish soldier who served as Royal Governor of Chile from 1717 to 1733. His administration was the longest of all Colonial Governors and the second longest in the history of Chile after the administration of General Augusto Pinochet, who surpassed him by some eight months.
The Fort System of Valdivia is a series of Spanish colonial fortifications at Corral Bay, Valdivia and Cruces River established to protect the city of Valdivia, in southern Chile. During the period of Spanish rule (1645–1820), it was one of the biggest systems of fortification in the Americas. It was also a major supply source for Spanish ships that crossed the Strait of Magellan.
The Capture of Valdivia was a battle in the Chilean War of Independence between Royalist forces commanded by Colonel Manuel Montoya and Fausto del Hoyo and the Patriot forces under the command of Thomas Cochrane and Jorge Beauchef, held on 3 and 4 February 1820. The battle was fought over the control of the city Valdivia and its strategic and heavily fortified harbour. In the battle Patriots gained control of the southwestern part of the Valdivian Fort System after an audacious assault aided by deception and the darkness of the night. The following day the demoralised Spanish evacuated the remaining forts, looted local Patriot property in Valdivia and withdrew to Osorno and Chiloé. Thereafter, Patriot mobs looted the property of local Royalists until the Patriot army arrived to the city restoring order.
La Frontera is a name used in Chile to refer to the region around the Bío Bío River, or to the whole area between there and the Toltén River. The use of this latter definition is largely coterminous with the historical usage of Araucanía. The term was coined during the period when the region was the frontier of the Captaincy General of Chile, then a part of the Spanish Empire and later the Republic of Chile, with the Mapuche people inhabiting the Araucanía following their revolt in 1598. Subsequently, the Spanish Empire established a system of forts between the Bío Bío River and the Itata River, as well as some within the Araucanía. This system continued through the 18th century and into the 19th century.
The Destruction of the Seven Cities is a term used in Chilean historiography to refer to the destruction or abandonment of seven major Spanish outposts in southern Chile around 1600, caused by the Mapuche and Huilliche uprising of 1598. The Destruction of the Seven Cities, in traditional historiography, marks the end of the Conquest period and the beginning of the proper colonial period.
The Conquest of Chile is a period in Chilean historiography that starts with the arrival of Pedro de Valdivia to Chile in 1541 and ends with the death of Martín García Óñez de Loyola in the Battle of Curalaba in 1598, and the destruction of the Seven Cities in 1598–1604 in the Araucanía region.
The Battle of Mataquito was fought in the Arauco War on April 30, 1557, between the forces of the Spanish governor, Francisco de Villagra, and Mapuche headed by their toqui Lautaro. It was a surprise attack, carried out at dawn, on Lautaro's fortified camp between a wooded mountain and the shore of the Mataquito River. The battle is notable for ending Mapuche designs on Santiago, while also avenging the death of former governor Pedro de Valdivia, who had been killed by Lautaro's warriors four years earlier.
The royal governor of Panama ruled over the Spanish colonial administrative district known first as the colony of Darién and later as the colony of Castilla de Oro, which in 1529 was renamed Panamá. This district was subordinated to the Viceroyalty of New Granada on August 20, 1739. There were 113 such governors or presidents during the Spanish conquest and the later periods of Spanish-centered colonialism.
Juan de Balmaseda y Censano Beltrán, interim Royal Governor of Chile.
Ambrosio de Benavides Medina Liñán y Torres was a Spanish colonial administrator who served as Royal Governor of Puerto Rico, Royal Governor of Charcas and Royal Governor of Chile.
In Chilean historiography, Colonial Chile is the period from 1600 to 1810, beginning with the Destruction of the Seven Cities and ending with the onset of the Chilean War of Independence. During this time, the Chilean heartland was ruled by Captaincy General of Chile. The period was characterized by a lengthy conflict between Spaniards and native Mapuches known as the Arauco War. Colonial society was divided in distinct groups including Peninsulars, Criollos, Mestizos, Indians and Black people.
Anganamón, also known as Ancanamon or Ancanamun, was a prominent war leader of the Mapuche during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries and a Toqui from. Anganamón was known for his tactical innovation of mounting his infantry to keep up with his cavalry.
Manuel Olaguer Feliú, was a Spanish military engineer known for his role in constructing and overhauling fortifications in Colonial Chile as well as his later participation in the Chilean and Peruvian wars of independence. Upon his return to metropolitan Spain he was promoted to the rank Field Marshal and became Captain General of Galicia.
In Colonial times the Spanish Empire diverted significant resources to fortify the Chilean coast as a consequence of Dutch and English raids. During the 16th century the Spanish strategy was to complement the fortification work in its Caribbean ports with forts in the Strait of Magellan. As attempts at settling and fortifying the Strait of Magellan were abandoned the Spanish began to fortify the Captaincy General of Chile and other parts of the west coast of the Americas. The coastal fortifications and defense system was at its peak in the mid-18th century.
The Mapuche uprising of 1766 was the last major Spanish–Mapuche conflict in Araucanía.
The Mission of Río Bueno was a Franciscan mission in the Huilliche lands in Río Bueno, next to Bueno River, southern Chile.
