La Frontera (geographical region)
Encyclopedia
La Frontera is name given to a geographical region in Chile
, between the Bío-Bío
and Toltén River
s, now part of the administrative regions of Bío-Bío
and Araucanía
. It was the frontier of the Kingdom of Chile
(a part of the Spanish Empire
and later the Republic of Chile) with Araucanía, the lands of the Mapuche
nation following their great revolt in 1598.
Following the 1598 revolt and subsequent loss of the cities and forts south of the Bio Bio, the Spanish Empire established a system of forts and fortified towns between the Bio Bio and the Itata River
and some within the Mapuche lands of Araucanía itself. This system continued through the 18th century and into the 19th century.
and its city Santa Cruz de Coya
, the cities of Santa María la Blanca de Valdivia
, San Andrés de Los Infantes
and San Bartolomé de Chillán y Gamboa
, was the reconstruction of the city of Chillán by the interim Governor
Francisco de Quiñónez
.
built Fort Talcahuano to defend remaining Spanish settlements near Concepción
and Fort Lonquén
on the Lonquén River
to secure estancias that provided food to the army.
In 1602 Ribera rebuilt the small Fort Colcura
and Fort Guanaraque
and built a new fort, Santa Fe
near the conflunce of the Bio Bio and Vergara Rivers. On the coast Ribera sent captain Francisco Hernández Ortiz to establish a fort Valdivia
on the site of the ruined city but it had to be abandoned by the starving remnant of its garrison after a terrible two year siege.
In 1603 Ribera built Fort Chepe
and Fort San Pedro
to cover the crossing at the mouth of the Bio Bio River. He rebuilt San Felipe de Araucan
and Santa Margarita de Austria
on the coast between the aillarehue
s of Arauco and Tucapel and a fort at Tucapel
and Paicavi
on the Paicavi River
. Also in the same year to the east along the Bio Bio River facing the aillarehues of Catirai
and Purén
, he rebuilt Santa Lucia de Yumbel
and built the forts of Nuestra Señora de la Buena Esperanza
, San Rosendo
, Nuestra de Senora de Halle
, Nacimiento de Nuestro Señor
and San Francisco de Borja
. The refugees from the abandoned city of Osorno
under captain Francisco Hernández founded Fort Calbuco on a channel between the Reloncaví Sound
and the Gulf of Ancud
.
In 1606, Alonso García de Ramón
built Fort San Ignacio de la Redención
near Boroa
but it was abandoned soon after the ambush of most of its garrison.
In 1607 García de Ramón rebuilt Fort Puren
and San Jerónimo de Millapoa
but as a result of a peace agreement with the Moluche
of Catirai he soon dismantled the later.
In 1611 Luis Merlo de la Fuente
built fort San Luis de Angol
a little to the south of the old city of Angol.
In 1613 Alonso de Ribera built Fort Virguenco
in the upper part of the Rehue River and rebuilt the fort at Puren again.
In 1621, Cristóbal de la Cerda y Sotomayor
rebuilt the fort of Yumbel the same year it was destroyed. He also built fort San Cristóbal de La Paz
and fortified the town around the fort San Bartolomé de Chillán.
In 1622, Pedro Osores de Ulloa
built Fort Negrete
.
March 8, 1626, Luis Fernandez de Cordova
established Santa Juana de Guadalcazar
.
In 1637, Francisco Laso de la Vega
established fort San Francisco de la Vega
near the ruined site of the city of Angol, abandoning fort San Luis de Angol.
In 1641, all the Spanish forts south of the Bio Bio were abandoned under the terms of the Peace of Quilín.
In 1647, Martín de Mujica y Buitrón
as a result of the Parliament of Quilín (1647) was able to reestablish forts at Valdivia
, Santa Juana
in 1648, and at Boroa
in 1649.
In 1657 Pedro Porter Casanate
restored the city of San Bartolomé de Chillán following its destruction at the beginning of the Mapuche Insurrection of 1655. He also built forts San Rafael de Coelemu
and San Fabián de Conueo
northeast of Concepcion. Meanwhile captain Alonso de Cordova y Figueroa
built Fort Tolpán
at the confluence of the Renaico
and Vergara River
s.
In 1661 Governor Porter Casanate built fort San Miguel Arcángel de Colcura near modern Lota
and a fort at Talcamávida
.
In 1662 Ángel de Peredo
established a new city of Santa Maria de Guadalupe
and repopulated Arauco
lost in 1655.
In 1663 Paredo rebuilt fort San Cristóbal de La Paz.
In 1665 Francisco de Meneses Brito
established fort San Carlos de Virhuenco
on the upper Rehue River and rebuilt forts Nacimiento de Nuestro Señor and Puren.
In 1666 Meneses built fort Santa Fe
and Fort de la Encarnación
in Repucura. He also rebuilt San Carlos de Austria de Yumbel
.
In 1693 Tomás Marín de Poveda
rebuilt fort Buena Esperanza de Rere
.
In 1694 Marín de Poveda restored Fort de la Encarnación and a Mission in Repucura.
In 1695 Marín de Poveda built fort Santo Tomás de Colhué
.
rebuilt forts Nacimiento, Santa Juana de Guadalcázar
and Santo Tomás de Colhué. He transferred from Arauco Province
the garrison and inhabitants of Plaza de San Diego de Tucapel
to the bank of the Laja River near the Andes where a new fort of the same name was built.
In 1739, José Antonio Manso de Velasco
founded fort Nuestra Señora de Los Ángeles
.
In 1749 fort Nacimiento was moved to the present site of the modern town of Nacimiento
.
In 1756, Manuel de Amat y Juniet
founded fort Santa Bárbara
and established the towns of San Rafael de Talcamavida
and San Juan Bautista de Gualqui
In 1757 Amat y Juniet made Nacimiento a town.
In 1764 Antonio de Guill y Gonzaga
established Fort Repucura
and a mission at Repucura once again.
In 1777, the then military engineer Ambrosio O' Higgins
, constructed for Agustín de Jáuregui y Aldecoa, a fort San Agustín de Mesamávida
.
In 1788 Governor Ambrosio O'Higgins built Fort Príncipe Carlos on the Duqueco River
.
In 1792 the forces of Governor Ambrosio O'Higgins under Tomás de Figueroa took possession of the site of the city of Osorno
ruined in 1602, and constructed a fort there. O'Higgins reestablished it as a city in 1796.
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, between the Bío-Bío
Bío-Bío River
The Biobío River is the second largest river in Chile. It originates from Icalma and Galletué lakes in the Andes and flows 380 km to the Gulf of Arauco on the Pacific Ocean....
and Toltén River
Toltén River
Toltén River is a river located in the Araucanía Region of Chile. It rises at Villarrica Lake, close to the city of the same name. Its major tributary is Allipén River...
s, now part of the administrative regions of Bío-Bío
Bío-Bío Region
The VIII Biobío Region , one of the fifteen first-order administrative divisions in Chile, comprises four provinces: Arauco, Biobio, Concepción, and Ñuble.The capital of the Region is Concepción...
and Araucanía
Araucanía Region
The IX Araucanía Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions and comprises two provinces: Malleco in the north and Cautín in the south....
. It was the frontier of the Kingdom of Chile
Kingdom of Chile
The General Captaincy of Chile or Gobernacion de Chile, was an administrative territory of the Viceroyalty of Peru in the Spanish Empire from 1541 to 1818, the year in which it declared itself independent, becoming the Republic of Chile...
(a part of 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....
and later the Republic of Chile) with Araucanía, the lands of the Mapuche
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...
nation following their great revolt in 1598.
Following the 1598 revolt and subsequent loss of the cities and forts south of the Bio Bio, the Spanish Empire established a system of forts and fortified towns between the Bio Bio and the Itata River
Itata River
The Itata River flows in the Bío-Bío Region, southern Chile.Until the Conquest of Chile the Itata was the natural limit between the Mapuche, located to the south, and Picunche, to the north.-References:* . - External links :*...
and some within the Mapuche lands of Araucanía itself. This system continued through the 18th century and into the 19th century.
Forts and settlements of La Frontera
The first fortress rebuilt following the 1599 destruction of the forts in CatiraiCatirai
Catirai or Catiray is the region of the Moluche Aillarehue of Catiray in old Araucanía. It is now the Santa Juana commune of the Concepción Province and the Nacimiento commune of the Biobío Province of the Biobío Region, of Chile...
and its city Santa Cruz de Coya
Santa Cruz de Coya
Santa Cruz de Coya was a city established by the governor of Chile Martín García Oñez de Loyola on the site of the fort of Santa Cruz de Oñez, in 1595. It was named for his wife Beatriz Clara Coya, a member of the royal Incan house...
, the cities of Santa María la Blanca de Valdivia
Valdivia, Chile
Valdivia is a city and commune in southern Chile administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder Pedro de Valdivia and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia and Cau-Cau Rivers, approximately east of the coastal towns of Corral and Niebla...
, 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...
and San Bartolomé de Chillán y Gamboa
Chillán Viejo
Chillán Viejo is a city and commune in the Ñuble Province of Chile's eighth region of Biobío . According to the 2002 census, the population of the commune was 22,084 and it has an area of .-History:...
, was the reconstruction of the city of Chillán by the interim Governor
Royal Governor of Chile
The Royal Governor of Chile ruled over the Spanish colonial administrative district known as the Kingdom of Chile. This district was also called the Captaincy General of Chile, and as a result the Royal Governor also held the title of a Captain General...
Francisco de Quiñónez
Francisco de Quiñónez
Francisco de Quiñónez ; Spanish soldier who was appointed as governor of Chile for thirteen months, between May 1599 and June 1600....
.
17th century
In 1601 Alonso de RiberaAlonso de Ribera
Alonso de Ribera de Pareja was a Spanish soldier and twice Spanish royal governor of Chile .-Early life:...
built Fort Talcahuano to defend remaining Spanish settlements near Concepción
Penco
Penco is a Chilean city and commune in Concepción Province, Biobío Region on the Bay of Concepción. Founded as the city of Concepción del Nuevo Extremo on February 12, 1550 by Pedro de Valdivia, it is the third oldest city in the country after Santiago founded first in 1541 and La Serena second...
and Fort Lonquén
Fort Lonquén
Fuerte de Lonquén was a fort built in 1602 by Governor Alonso de Ribera on the south bank of the Lonquén River nine kilometers from the Itata River. It was established to protect the grain fields and cattle of the local estancias that fed Ribera's Spanish army on La Frontera. Years later a town...
on the Lonquén River
Lonquén River
Lonquén River in the Nuble Province of the Biobío Region of Chile. It forms at the confluence of the esteros Pichimávida and Colomávida that originate in the mountains in the east of the province...
to secure estancias that provided food to the army.
In 1602 Ribera rebuilt the small Fort Colcura
Fort Colcura
Fort Colcura was a small fort that was the first Spanish settlement that existed in the commune of Lota, Chile. It was on a small height on the edge of the Bay of Arauco, a little more than two kilometers to the southeast of the modern city of Lota...
and Fort Guanaraque
Jesus de Huenuraquí
Jesus de Huenuraquí was a Spanish fort on heights to the north of the north bank of the Bio Bio River, next to the site of the modern rail station of Huenuraquí, in the commune of San Rosendo...
and built a new fort, Santa Fe
Santa Fe (fort)
Santa Fe de la Ribera was a fort constructed in 1602, by Alonso de Ribera at the confluence of the Biobio River and Vergara River, near the island of Diego Diaz. Its first garrison was two companies of soldiers, under the captains Francisco de Puebla and Alonso González de Nájera, who was in...
near the conflunce of the Bio Bio and Vergara Rivers. On the coast Ribera sent captain Francisco Hernández Ortiz to establish a fort Valdivia
Valdivia, Chile
Valdivia is a city and commune in southern Chile administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder Pedro de Valdivia and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia and Cau-Cau Rivers, approximately east of the coastal towns of Corral and Niebla...
on the site of the ruined city but it had to be abandoned by the starving remnant of its garrison after a terrible two year siege.
In 1603 Ribera built Fort Chepe
Fort Chepe
Fort Chepe was a fort established in 1603 by Governor Alonso de Ribera on Cerro de Chepe west of Concepcion, Chile on the north bank of the Bio Bio River. It was built for defense of the crossing of the Bio Bio River at this point near the mouth of the river, and of the road to old Concepcion...
and Fort San Pedro
San Pedro de la Paz
San Pedro de la Paz is a Chilean city and commune located in the Concepción Province, Biobío Region. It has some 80,447 inhabitants according to the 2002 national census. In 2005, the Pedro Aguirre Cerda avenue, the main avenue in the city, was completed. Most of the inhabitants of this comuna...
to cover the crossing at the mouth of the Bio Bio River. He rebuilt San Felipe de Araucan
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...
and Santa Margarita de Austria
Lebu, Chile
Lebu is a port city and commune in central Chile administered by the Municipality of Lebu. Lebu is also the capital of Arauco Province in Bío-Bío Region...
on the coast between the aillarehue
Aillarehue
Aillarehue or Ayllarehue Aillarehue or Ayllarehue Aillarehue or Ayllarehue (from the (mapudungun: ayllarewe/ayjarewe: " nine rehues"); a confederation of rehues or familiar clans (lof) that dominated a region or province. It was the old administrative and territorial division of the Mapuche,...
s of Arauco and Tucapel and a fort at Tucapel
Tucapel
Tucapel is a town and commune in the Arauco Province, Biobío Region, Chile. It was once a region of Araucanía named for the Tucapel River. The name of the region derived from the rehue and aillarehue of the Moluche people of the area between the Lebu and the Lleulleu Rivers, who were famed for...
and Paicavi
Paicavi(fort)
Fort Paicavi or Plaza de Paicavi, a fort at a ford where the main road from Arauco, to the south crossed the Paicavi River established by Alonso de Ribera in 1603. Later destroyed it was rebuilt again in 1665 by Francisco de Meneses Brito.- Sources :* **...
on the Paicavi River
Paicavi River
Paicavi River is a river of the Bío-Bío Region of Chile....
. Also in the same year to the east along the Bio Bio River facing the aillarehues of Catirai
Catirai
Catirai or Catiray is the region of the Moluche Aillarehue of Catiray in old Araucanía. It is now the Santa Juana commune of the Concepción Province and the Nacimiento commune of the Biobío Province of the Biobío Region, of Chile...
and Purén
Purén
Purén is a city and commune in Malleco Province of Araucanía Region, Chile. It is located in the west base of the Nahuelbuta mountain range . The economical activity of Purén is based in forest exploitation and agriculture...
, he rebuilt Santa Lucia de Yumbel
Yumbel
Yumbel is a town and commune of the Province of Bío-Bío in the region of the same name, Chile.-History:Yumbel originated from the small fort of San Felipe de Austria, raised in 1585 by Governor Alonso de Sotomayor, on the cerro del Centinela...
and built the forts of Nuestra Señora de la Buena Esperanza
Rere, Chile
Rere is a town in the commune of Yumbel, Province of Biobío, in the Biobío Region of Chile. It takes its name from the Moluche aillarehue that occupied both sides of the Claro River and was part of the Butalmapu between the Itata and Bio Bio Rivers...
, San Rosendo
San Rosendo
San Rosendo is a Chilean city and commune in Biobío Province, Biobío Region.The city of San Rosendo lies on the gentle slopes of a hill overlooking the confluence of the rivers Biobío and Laja, which respectively bound the city to the west and south...
, Nuestra de Senora de Halle
Nuestra de Senora de Halle
Nuestra de Señora de Halle was a fort in the modern Biobío Region of Chile established in 1603 by Governor Alonso de Ribera, situated on the south bank of the Bio Bio River in Catirai, along the upper part of its confluence with the Rele River. It was a little up river from the confluence of the...
, Nacimiento de Nuestro Señor
Nacimiento, Chile
Nacimiento is a Chilean city situated in the Biobío Province, Biobío Region, south of Santiago, and from the closest major city in the region, Concepción....
and San Francisco de Borja
Negrete
Negrete is a Chilean town and commune in Biobío Province, Biobío Region. It is bordered by the commune of Los Ángeles to the north, Renaico to the south, Mulchén to the east and Nacimiento to the west....
. The refugees from the abandoned city of Osorno
Osorno, Chile
Osorno is a city and commune in southern Chile and capital of Osorno Province in the Los Lagos Region. It had a population of 145,475, as of the 2002 census...
under captain Francisco Hernández founded Fort Calbuco on a channel between the Reloncaví Sound
Reloncaví Sound
Reloncaví Sound or Seno de Reloncaví is a body of water located immediately south of Puerto Montt, Chile. It is the place where the Intermediate Depression falls into the Pacific Ocean. There are several islands in the sound including Tenglo Island, Maillén Island and Huar Island...
and the Gulf of Ancud
Gulf of Ancud
Gulf of Ancud is a large body of water separating the Chiloé Island from the mainland of Chile. It is located at .-External links:*...
.
In 1606, Alonso García de Ramón
Alonso García de Ramón
Alonso García de Ramón was a Spanish soldier and twice Royal Governor of Chile: first temporarily from July of 1600 to February of 1601, and then from March of 1605 to August of 1610. He was born in Cuenca, Spain in 1552....
built Fort San Ignacio de la Redención
San Ignacio de la Redención
San Ignacio de la Redención was a fort established in 1606 by the Governor Alonso García de Ramón in a plain, located in the region of Boroa on the north bank of the Cautín River. In forty days he constructed a large fort, surrounded by a wide ditch, defended by a solid and thick wood palisade, and...
near Boroa
Boroa
Boroa, is a town in Araucanía, Chile on the shores of Cautín River. The region near the town south of the Cautin River between the Boroa and Quepe Rivers was the Moluche aillarehue of Boroa...
but it was abandoned soon after the ambush of most of its garrison.
In 1607 García de Ramón rebuilt Fort Puren
Puren
Puren may refer to:*Purén, city in Chile*Jin Youzhi, brother of Puyi, the last Emperor of China...
and San Jerónimo de Millapoa
San Jerónimo de Millapoa
San Jerónimo de Millapoa was a fort founded by Alonso de Sotomayor in 1585. It dominated the small valleys of the eastern slopes of the Nahuelbuta Range of Catirai, in the upper part of the Culenco River, in the mountainous area 25 kilometers south of the modern commune of Santa Juana...
but as a result of a peace agreement with the 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...
of Catirai he soon dismantled the later.
In 1611 Luis Merlo de la Fuente
Luis Merlo de la Fuente
Luis Merlo de la Fuente Ruiz de Beteta was a Spanish colonial official who briefly served as the Royal Governor of Chile, in 1610–11.He was born in Valdepeñas, Spain to Luis Merlo de la Fuente and Maria Ruiz de Betena. He went to America, specifically Panama, in 1588 in the capacity of an oidor or...
built fort San Luis de Angol
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...
a little to the south of the old city of Angol.
In 1613 Alonso de Ribera built Fort Virguenco
Fort Virguenco
Fort Virhuenco was a Spanish fort located in what is now Araucanía Region of southern Chile. It was first established by Alonso de Ribera in 1613 as part of his system of frontier forts. It was located in the valley of Virhuén southeast of the city of Angol and in the upper part of the Rehue River...
in the upper part of the Rehue River and rebuilt the fort at Puren again.
In 1621, Cristóbal de la Cerda y Sotomayor
Cristóbal de la Cerda y Sotomayor
Cristóbal de la Cerda y Sotomayor, ; Spanish Oidor, lawyer of the Real Audiencia of Chile. Before the death of governor Lope de Ulloa y Lemos, assumed the temporary government of Chile for eleven months, between December of 1620 and November of 1621.-Sources:...
rebuilt the fort of Yumbel the same year it was destroyed. He also built fort San Cristóbal de La Paz
San Cristóbal de La Paz
San Cristóbal de La Paz was a fortress in Chile that was established in 1621 by Governor Cristóbal de la Cerda y Sotomayor. It was located five or six kilometers to the southwest of Yumbel on the west shore of the Claro River to the north of its confluence with the Laja River. In 1646 a mission and...
and fortified the town around the fort San Bartolomé de Chillán.
In 1622, Pedro Osores de Ulloa
Pedro Osores de Ulloa
Pedro Osores de Ulloa was Royal Governor of the Kingdom of Chile from November 1621 to September 1624. He replaced Cristóbal de la Cerda y Sotomayor. On his death bed Osores appointed his brother-in-law Francisco de Álava y Nureña as temporary governor of the Kingdom of Chile on September 1624...
built Fort Negrete
Negrete
Negrete is a Chilean town and commune in Biobío Province, Biobío Region. It is bordered by the commune of Los Ángeles to the north, Renaico to the south, Mulchén to the east and Nacimiento to the west....
.
March 8, 1626, Luis Fernandez de Cordova
Luis Fernández de Córdova
Luis Fernández de Córdova was a Spanish military general and diplomat.Hhe was the elder brother of Fernando Fernández de Córdova...
established Santa Juana de Guadalcazar
Santa Juana, Chile
Santa Juana is a city and commune of the Concepción Province in the Biobío Region of Chile. It lies south and west of the Biobío River in the valley of Catirai and is 48 kilometers from Concepcion, Chile.- History :...
.
In 1637, Francisco Laso de la Vega
Francisco Laso de la Vega
Francisco Laso de la Vega y Alvarado was a Spanish soldier who served as Royal Governor of Chile from December of 1629 to May of 1639. Victor in many battles against the Mapuche in the Arauco War....
established fort San Francisco de la Vega
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...
near the ruined site of the city of Angol, abandoning fort San Luis de Angol.
In 1641, all the Spanish forts south of the Bio Bio were abandoned under the terms of the Peace of Quilín.
In 1647, Martín de Mujica y Buitrón
Martín de Mujica y Buitrón
Martin de Mujica y Buitrón, also known as Martin de Mogica or Muxica ; Spanish Basque military man who was named by king Philip IV of Spain, to be Captain General and Royal Governor of Chile, besides president of its Real Audiencia. His government was from May 1646 and April 1649, when he died,...
as a result of the Parliament of Quilín (1647) was able to reestablish forts at Valdivia
Valdivia, Chile
Valdivia is a city and commune in southern Chile administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder Pedro de Valdivia and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia and Cau-Cau Rivers, approximately east of the coastal towns of Corral and Niebla...
, Santa Juana
Santa Juana, Chile
Santa Juana is a city and commune of the Concepción Province in the Biobío Region of Chile. It lies south and west of the Biobío River in the valley of Catirai and is 48 kilometers from Concepcion, Chile.- History :...
in 1648, and at Boroa
Boroa
Boroa, is a town in Araucanía, Chile on the shores of Cautín River. The region near the town south of the Cautin River between the Boroa and Quepe Rivers was the Moluche aillarehue of Boroa...
in 1649.
In 1657 Pedro Porter Casanate
Pedro Porter Casanate
Admiral Pedro Porter y Casanate was a Spanish sailor, soldier, explorer of California and Royal Governor of Chile from 1656 to 1662.-Early life:...
restored the city of San Bartolomé de Chillán following its destruction at the beginning of the Mapuche Insurrection of 1655. He also built forts San Rafael de Coelemu
Rafael, Chile
Rafael is a town in the commune of Tomé, in Concepción Province, in the Biobío Region of Chile.- History :Originally a crossroads on the Camino Real between Concepcion and Chillan and Santiago. It was first the site of a mill on the Pingueral River...
and San Fabián de Conueo
San Fabián de Conueo
San Fabián de Conueo a fort four kilometers south of the town of Rafael, Chile. It was first established by governor Alonso de Sotomayor in 1584 to secure control of the Coelemu region between the Itata River and Concepcion. Destroyed, it later was restored in 1657 by order of governor Pedro...
northeast of Concepcion. Meanwhile captain Alonso de Cordova y Figueroa
Alonso de Cordova y Figueroa
Alonso de Cordova y Figueroa Spanish soldier born in Concepción, Chile, son of Alonso de Figueroa y Córdoba and father of the historian Pedro de Cordova y Figueroa...
built Fort Tolpán
Fort Tolpán
Fort Tolpán was built in 1657, by order of governor Pedro Porter Casanate by captain Alonso de Cordova y Figueroa on the Tolpán or Trolpán River. The Tolpán River was the name at that time for what is now the lower part of the Renaico River and then the Vergara River from the confluence with the...
at the confluence of the Renaico
Renaico River
Renaico River is a Chilean river that, along all its length, straddles the border between the regions of Biobío and Araucanía.Renaico River rises from the northwest flank of Cordillera de Pemehue, a western spur of the Andes Mountains, north of Tolhuaca volcano. In its upper course, the river...
and Vergara River
Vergara River
Vergara River is a river located in the Intermediate Depression of Chile. The river rises at the junction of the Malleco and Rehue rivers, close to the city of Angol.Nahuelbuta Range barrier forces the river to flow northward. At the latitude of the town of Renaico, the Vergara is joined by its...
s.
In 1661 Governor Porter Casanate built fort San Miguel Arcángel de Colcura near modern Lota
Lota, Chile
Lota is a city and commune located in the center of the Chile on the Gulf of Arauco. It lies within the Concepción Province of the Biobío Region.-History:...
and a fort at Talcamávida
Talcamávida
Talcamávida is a town in the commune of Hualqui in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is located on the north bank of the Bio Bio River across from Santa Juana on the opposite shore. It occupied a plain along the river 42 kilometers from the Pacific Ocean that is part of a small valley surrounded by...
.
In 1662 Ángel de Peredo
Ángel de Peredo
Ángel de Peredo was born in 1623, in the small town of Queveda in Cantabria, Spain, and was a Knight of the Order of Santiago.He was the President of the Real Audiencia of Chile and then temporary Royal Governor of Chile from May 1662 to February of 1664...
established a new city of Santa Maria de Guadalupe
Santa María de Guadalupe
The Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Guadalupe is a Roman Catholic monastic establishment in Guadalupe, Cáceres, a province of the Extremadura autonomous community of Spain It was one of the most important monasteries in the country for more than four centuries...
and repopulated 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...
lost in 1655.
In 1663 Paredo rebuilt fort San Cristóbal de La Paz.
In 1665 Francisco de Meneses Brito
Francisco de Meneses Brito
Francisco de Meneses Brito was Royal Governor of Chile between 1664 and 1667.-Sources:...
established fort San Carlos de Virhuenco
Fort Virguenco
Fort Virhuenco was a Spanish fort located in what is now Araucanía Region of southern Chile. It was first established by Alonso de Ribera in 1613 as part of his system of frontier forts. It was located in the valley of Virhuén southeast of the city of Angol and in the upper part of the Rehue River...
on the upper Rehue River and rebuilt forts Nacimiento de Nuestro Señor and Puren.
In 1666 Meneses built fort Santa Fe
Santa Fe (fort)
Santa Fe de la Ribera was a fort constructed in 1602, by Alonso de Ribera at the confluence of the Biobio River and Vergara River, near the island of Diego Diaz. Its first garrison was two companies of soldiers, under the captains Francisco de Puebla and Alonso González de Nájera, who was in...
and Fort de la Encarnación
Fort de la Encarnación
Fort de la Encarnación on the Repocura River was built in 1666 by the Royal Governor of Chile Francisco de Meneses Brito. It was destroyed during a Mapuche rising in 1694 and rebuilt by Tomás Marín de Poveda with a nearby mission in December of the same year. These were destroyed in the 1723...
in Repucura. He also rebuilt San Carlos de Austria de Yumbel
Yumbel
Yumbel is a town and commune of the Province of Bío-Bío in the region of the same name, Chile.-History:Yumbel originated from the small fort of San Felipe de Austria, raised in 1585 by Governor Alonso de Sotomayor, on the cerro del Centinela...
.
In 1693 Tomás Marín de Poveda
Tomás Marín de Poveda
Tomás López Marín y González de Poveda, 1st Marquis of Cañada Hermosa was a Spanish colonial administrator who served as Royal Governor of Chile.-Early life:...
rebuilt fort Buena Esperanza de Rere
Rere, Chile
Rere is a town in the commune of Yumbel, Province of Biobío, in the Biobío Region of Chile. It takes its name from the Moluche aillarehue that occupied both sides of the Claro River and was part of the Butalmapu between the Itata and Bio Bio Rivers...
.
In 1694 Marín de Poveda restored Fort de la Encarnación and a Mission in Repucura.
In 1695 Marín de Poveda built fort Santo Tomás de Colhué
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...
.
18th century
In 1724 Gabriel Cano de AponteGabriel Cano de Aponte
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...
rebuilt forts Nacimiento, Santa Juana de Guadalcázar
Santa Juana, Chile
Santa Juana is a city and commune of the Concepción Province in the Biobío Region of Chile. It lies south and west of the Biobío River in the valley of Catirai and is 48 kilometers from Concepcion, Chile.- History :...
and Santo Tomás de Colhué. He transferred from Arauco Province
Arauco Province
Arauco Province is one of four provinces of the Chilean region of Biobío . It spans a coastal area of just south of the mouth of the Biobío River, the traditional demarcation between the nation's major natural regions, Zona Central and Zona Sur...
the garrison and inhabitants of Plaza de San Diego de Tucapel
Tucapel
Tucapel is a town and commune in the Arauco Province, Biobío Region, Chile. It was once a region of Araucanía named for the Tucapel River. The name of the region derived from the rehue and aillarehue of the Moluche people of the area between the Lebu and the Lleulleu Rivers, who were famed for...
to the bank of the Laja River near the Andes where a new fort of the same name was built.
In 1739, José Antonio Manso de Velasco
José Antonio Manso de Velasco
José Antonio Manso de Velasco y Sánchez de Samaniego, 1st Count of Superunda was a Spanish soldier and politician who served as governor of Chile and viceroy of Peru.-As Governor of Chile:...
founded fort Nuestra Señora de Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
In 1749 fort Nacimiento was moved to the present site of the modern town of Nacimiento
Nacimiento, Chile
Nacimiento is a Chilean city situated in the Biobío Province, Biobío Region, south of Santiago, and from the closest major city in the region, Concepción....
.
In 1756, Manuel de Amat y Juniet
Manuel de Amat y Juniet
Felipe Manuel Cayetano de Amat y de Juniet was a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator. He was the Royal Governor of the Captaincy General of Chile from December 28, 1755 to September 9, 1761, and Viceroy of Peru from October 12, 1761 to July 17, 1776.-Origins and military...
founded fort Santa Bárbara
Santa Bárbara, Chile
Santa Bárbara is a Chilean city and commune in Biobío Province, Biobío Region. In 2004 a great portion of its territory was taken off to form the new commune of Alto Biobío.-History:...
and established the towns of San Rafael de Talcamavida
Talcamávida
Talcamávida is a town in the commune of Hualqui in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is located on the north bank of the Bio Bio River across from Santa Juana on the opposite shore. It occupied a plain along the river 42 kilometers from the Pacific Ocean that is part of a small valley surrounded by...
and San Juan Bautista de Gualqui
Hualqui
Hualqui is a Chilean city and commune in the Concepción Province, Biobio Region. It is also part of the Greater Concepcion conurbation, although it maintains a rural profile. It had a population of 18,768 inhabitants according to the 2002 census....
In 1757 Amat y Juniet made Nacimiento a town.
In 1764 Antonio de Guill y Gonzaga
Antonio de Guill y Gonzaga
Antonio de Guill y Gonzaga was a Spanish colonial administrator who served as Royal Governor of Panama and Royal Governor of Chile.-Arauco War:...
established Fort Repucura
Fort de la Encarnación
Fort de la Encarnación on the Repocura River was built in 1666 by the Royal Governor of Chile Francisco de Meneses Brito. It was destroyed during a Mapuche rising in 1694 and rebuilt by Tomás Marín de Poveda with a nearby mission in December of the same year. These were destroyed in the 1723...
and a mission at Repucura once again.
In 1777, the then military engineer Ambrosio O' Higgins
Ambrosio O'Higgins, Marquis of Osorno
Ambrosio Bernardo O'Higgins, 1st Marquis of Osorno born Ambrose Bernard O'Higgins , was a member of the O'Higgins family and an Irish-born Spanish colonial administrator...
, constructed for Agustín de Jáuregui y Aldecoa, a fort San Agustín de Mesamávida
Negrete
Negrete is a Chilean town and commune in Biobío Province, Biobío Region. It is bordered by the commune of Los Ángeles to the north, Renaico to the south, Mulchén to the east and Nacimiento to the west....
.
In 1788 Governor Ambrosio O'Higgins built Fort Príncipe Carlos on the Duqueco River
Duqueco River
Duqueco River is a river of the Bío-Bío Region of Chile....
.
In 1792 the forces of Governor Ambrosio O'Higgins under Tomás de Figueroa took possession of the site of the city of Osorno
Osorno, Chile
Osorno is a city and commune in southern Chile and capital of Osorno Province in the Los Lagos Region. It had a population of 145,475, as of the 2002 census...
ruined in 1602, and constructed a fort there. O'Higgins reestablished it as a city in 1796.
Sources
- 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. - Crescente ErrázurizCrescente Errázurizthumb|300px|Monsignor Crescente Errázuriz Valdivieso.Monsignor Crescente Errázuriz Valdivieso was a Chilean Dominican friar, Roman Catholic archbishop of Santiago, professor, writer and historian...
, Seis años de la historia de Chile: 23 de diciembre de 1598- 9 de abril de 1605: memoria histórica, Impr. Nacional, Sanitiago de Chile, 1881. - Atlas de Historia de Chile, Editorial Universitaria, ISBN 9561117762 pg. 54-55
- Francisco Solano Asta-Buruaga y Cienfuegos, Diccionario geográfico de la República de Chile, D. Appleton y Compania, Nueva York, 1899