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Battle of Curalaba

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1598 Mapuche uprising against Spanish colonists in Chile

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Battle of Curalaba
Part of Arauco War
DateDecember 23, 1598
LocationCuralaba, on the banks of the Lumaco River, 25 kilometers from Angol37°55′S 72°53′W / 37.917°S 72.883°W / -37.917; -72.883
Result Decisive Mapuche victory
Belligerents
Spanish Empire Mapuche
Commanders and leaders
Martín García Oñez de Loyola † Vice toqui Pelantaru
Strength
50 Spanish and 300 Indian auxiliaries 600 warriors
Casualties and losses
All but two Spaniards were killed, as were most of the Indian auxiliaries. ?
Arauco War
16th century
17th century
18th century conflicts

The Battle of Curalaba (Spanish: Batalla de Curalaba pronounced [baˈtaʝa ðe kuɾaˈlaβa]) was a battle and an ambush in 1598 when Mapuche people led by Pelantaru defeated Spanish conquerors led by Martín García Óñez de Loyola at Curalaba, southern Chile. In Chilean historiography, where the event is often called the Disaster of Curalaba (Spanish: Desastre de Curalaba), the battle marks the end of the conquest (la conquista) period in Chile's history, although the fast Spanish expansion in the south had already been halted in the 1550s. The battle led to a general Mapuche uprising that resulted in Destruction of the Seven Cities. This severe crisis reshaped Colonial Chile and forced the Spanish to reassess their mode of warfare.

History

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On December 21, 1598, Governor Martín García Oñez de Loyola traveled to Purén at the head of 50 soldiers and companions. At the end of the second day, they camped overnight in Curalaba, failing to take protective measures. The Mapuche were aware of their presence and Pelantaru and his lieutenants Anganamón and Guaiquimilla, leading three hundred men on horseback, shadowed the group's movements and mounted a surprise night raid. Taken by surprise, the governor and almost all of his party were killed.

This event was called the Disaster of Curalaba by the Spaniards. It not only involved the death of the Spanish governor, but the news rapidly spread among the Mapuche and triggered a general revolt, long-prepared by the toqui Paillamachu, that destroyed Spanish camps and towns south of the Bío-Bío River over the next few years.

See also

References

  1. Diego de Ocaña (1987). A través de la América del Sur. Madrid: Historia 16, pp. 105. Edición de Arturo Álvarez.
  2. The Spanish survivors were a priest, Bartolomé Pérez, who was captured, and Bernardo de Pereda, a soldier left for dead with 23 wounds who made his way to La Imperial after 70 days.

Sources


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