Juan de Lebú was a Moluche

Moluche

Moluche or Nguluche is a dialect of the Mapuche language Mapudungun that is also the ethnic description of the Mapuche peoples speaking that language. At the beginning of the Conquest of Chile by the Spanish Empire the Moluche lived in what came to be known as Araucanía...

 cacique

Cacique

Cacique is a title derived from the Taíno word for the pre-Columbian chiefs or leaders of tribes in the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles...

 or Ulmen

Ulmen(Mapuche)

Ulmen a Mapudungun word meaning "rich man". In Mapuche society the wealthy men usually were the lonco's and would often be the influential leaders of their rehue and aillarehue and if skilled in war like Caupolicán were sometimes elected toqui.-Source:...

 of the Lebu

Lebu River

Lebu River an important river of the Arauco Province. It has his sources in the western slope of the Nahuelbuta Range to the east of the city and port of Lebu, captital of the province and named for the river....

 region, captured by the Spanish sometime before 1568. He was sent to Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

 and the Spaniards had baptized him with the name of Juan. He returned in 1568, with the new Governor Melchor Bravo de Saravia

Melchor Bravo de Saravia

Melchor Bravo de Saravia y Sotomayor was a Spanish conquistador, interim viceroy of Peru, and Royal Governor of Chile.-Early career:...

. When he had the chance he escaped and returned to his people to help them in the war against the Spanish Empire

Spanish Empire

The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....

. Because he had become familiar with European tactics like Paineñamcu

Paineñamcu

Paineñamcu or Paynenancu or Alonso Diaz, was the Mapuche toqui from 1574 to 1584. Alonso Diaz was a mestizo Spanish soldier offended because the Governor of Chile did not promote him to the officer rank of alféres, who subsequently went over to the Mapuche in 1572...

 (Alonso Diaz), they became close collaborators in the war.

During Governor Rodrigo de Quiroga

Rodrigo de Quiroga

Rodrigo de Quiroga López de Ulloa was a Spanish conquistador of Galician origin. He was twice the Royal Governor of Chile.-Early life:...

's first campaign in 1578, there was a raid that attempted to burn down the Spanish winter camp at Arauco

Arauco, Chile

Arauco is a city and commune in Chile, located in Arauco Province in the Biobio Region. The meaning of Arauco means Chalky Water in Mapudungun. The region was a Moluche aillarehue...

. Juan de Lebú and seven other lonkos were captured in a retaliatory raid against the perpetrators by the Spanish under Rodrigo the nephew of Quiroga. To punish them as an example the seven lonkos were hanged from trees while Juan de Lebú suffered the same punishment as Caupolican

Caupolican

Caupolicán was a Toqui, the military leader of the Mapuche people of Chile, that commanded their army during the first Mapuche rising against the Spanish conquistadors from 1553 to 1558....

, impalement

Impalement

Impalement is the traumatic penetration of an organism by an elongated foreign object such as a stake, pole, or spear, and this usually implies complete perforation of the central mass of the impaled body...

.