Illangulién
Encyclopedia
Illangulién, Quiromanite, , Queupulien or Antiguenu, was the Mapuche
toqui
(war leader) elected to replace Lemucaguin
or Caupolicán the younger
in 1559 following the Battle of Quiapo
to his death in battle in the Battle of Angol
in 1564.
After the campaign of García Hurtado de Mendoza that culminated in the Battle of Quiapo, many of the Mapuche warriors were dead or wounded and the population had been decimated by the effects of war, starvation and epidemic disease. Elected to by the remaining leaders shortly after the battle of Quiapo, Illangulién decided to let the nation offer apparent submission to the Spanish while he and a few warriors secretly retreated into the marshes of Lumaco. There they constructed a base where they would gather their strength and train a new generation of warriors for a future revolt.
After the murder of the hated encomendero Pedro de Avendaño
in July 1561 triggered a new general rising of the Mapuche greater than the previous ones. Illangulién after several years of hiding his activities in the swamps began to lead his forces out on raids on Spanish territory to season his newly trained warriors and live off the lands of their enemy. His forces clashed with those of the Spanish Governor Francisco de Villagra
and defeated them several times in the next few years. After the death of Francisco de Villagra they fought the forces of his successor Pedro de Villagra
around the city of San Andrés de Los Infantes
. During the Battle of Angol
in a series of moves and counter moves between Illangulién and the garrison commander Lorenzo Bernal del Mercado
, the Toqui was able to blockade the town from impregnable fortresses as he moved his blockade closer and closer to the town. At last the garrison commander was able to catch a detachment of his opponents army in an awkward position along the bank of a nearby river and by driving them over a steep slope into the river killed over a thousand of them including the toqui Illangulien in 1564.
Mapuche
The Mapuche are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina. They constitute a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who shared a common social, religious and economic structure, as well as a common linguistic heritage. Their influence extended...
toqui
Toqui
Toqui is a title conferred by the Mapuche to those who are chosen as their leaders during times of war. The toqui is chosen in an assembly or parliament of the chieftains of the various clans or confederation of clans , allied during the war in question...
(war leader) elected to replace Lemucaguin
Lemucaguin
Lemucaguin a native of Andalicán was the successor to Turcupichun as toqui of the Moluche Butalmapu north of the Biobío River in 1558. He organized a detachment of arquebusiers from weapons captured in the Battle of Marihueñu. He continued the war against García Hurtado de Mendoza after the...
or Caupolicán the younger
Caupolicán the younger
Caupolicán the Younger according to Juan Ignacio Molina was the son of the toqui Caupolicán. He was made toqui following the capture and execution of his father in 1558...
in 1559 following the Battle of Quiapo
Battle of Quiapo
Battle of Quiapo in the Arauco War was the final battle in the campaign of García Hurtado de Mendoza against the Mapuche under the toqui known as Lemucaguin or Caupolicán the younger...
to his death in battle in the Battle of Angol
Battle of Angol
Battle of Angol was a battle fought between the Mapuche and the Spanish conquerors in March 1564.-History:In Los Infantes captain Lorenzo Bernal del Mercado had discovered that the rebels had constructed a pucará close by, establishing a blockade of the city...
in 1564.
After the campaign of García Hurtado de Mendoza that culminated in the Battle of Quiapo, many of the Mapuche warriors were dead or wounded and the population had been decimated by the effects of war, starvation and epidemic disease. Elected to by the remaining leaders shortly after the battle of Quiapo, Illangulién decided to let the nation offer apparent submission to the Spanish while he and a few warriors secretly retreated into the marshes of Lumaco. There they constructed a base where they would gather their strength and train a new generation of warriors for a future revolt.
After the murder of the hated encomendero Pedro de Avendaño
Pedro de Avendaño
Pedro de Avendaño a Spanish soldier that had arrived in Chile with the army of García Hurtado de Mendoza in 1557. He distinguished himself in the Battle of Millarapue. He later served in the garrison of Cañete under captain Alonso de Reinoso. Reinoso eventually found an Indian who betrayed the...
in July 1561 triggered a new general rising of the Mapuche greater than the previous ones. Illangulién after several years of hiding his activities in the swamps began to lead his forces out on raids on Spanish territory to season his newly trained warriors and live off the lands of their enemy. His forces clashed with those of the Spanish Governor Francisco de Villagra
Francisco de Villagra
Francisco de Villagra Velázquez was a Spanish conquistador, and three times governor of Chile.-Early life:Born at [Santervás de Campos], he was the son of Alvaro de Sarría and Ana Velázquez de Villagra, who were not married. For this reason he took the name of his mother...
and defeated them several times in the next few years. After the death of Francisco de Villagra they fought the forces of his successor Pedro de Villagra
Pedro de Villagra
Pedro de Villagra y Martínez was a Spanish soldier who participated in the conquest of Chile, being appointed its Royal Governor between 1563 and 1565....
around the city of San Andrés de Los Infantes
Angol
Angol is a commune and capital city of the Malleco Province in the Araucanía Region of southern Chile. It is located at the foot of the Nahuelbuta Range and next to the Vergara River, that permitted communications by small boats to the Bío-Bío River and Concepción. This strategic position explains...
. During the Battle of Angol
Battle of Angol
Battle of Angol was a battle fought between the Mapuche and the Spanish conquerors in March 1564.-History:In Los Infantes captain Lorenzo Bernal del Mercado had discovered that the rebels had constructed a pucará close by, establishing a blockade of the city...
in a series of moves and counter moves between Illangulién and the garrison commander Lorenzo Bernal del Mercado
Lorenzo Bernal del Mercado
Lorenzo Bernal del Mercado was a Spanish captain who was one of the more successful soldiers in the Arauco War in Chile rising to the rank of Maestre de Campo and temporary Capitán General of the Captaincy General of Chile....
, the Toqui was able to blockade the town from impregnable fortresses as he moved his blockade closer and closer to the town. At last the garrison commander was able to catch a detachment of his opponents army in an awkward position along the bank of a nearby river and by driving them over a steep slope into the river killed over a thousand of them including the toqui Illangulien in 1564.
Sources
- Juan Ignacio MolinaJuan Ignacio MolinaFr. Juan Ignacio Molina was a Chilean Jesuit priest, naturalist, historian, botanist, ornithologist and geographer...
, The Geographical, Natural, and Civil History of Chili, Volume II , Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, Paternoster-Row, London, 1809 - Alonso de Góngora MarmolejoAlonso de Góngora MarmolejoAlonso de Góngora Marmolejo was a Spanish conquistador and chronicler of the early conquest and settlement of the Kingdom of Chile, and the start of the Arauco War.-Biography:...
, 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)), Edición digital a partir de Crónicas del Reino de Chile, Madrid, Atlas, 1960, pp.75-224, (on line in Spanish) - Diego de RosalesDiego de RosalesDiego de Rosales was a Spanish chronicler and author of Historia General del Reino de Chile.He studied in his hometown, where he also joined the Society of Jesus. He came to Chile in the year 1629, without having taken his last vows still being sent to the residence that the Jesuits had in Arauco...
, “Historia General del Reino de Chile”, Flandes Indiano, 3 tomos. Valparaíso 1877 - 1878.