General Capitol of Chile

General Capitol Chile c. 1796

The General Capitanate of Chile existed from 1609 to 1818 and was part of the Spanish viceroyalty of Peru . The capital was Santiago del Nuevo Extremo .

geography

The size of the General Capitanate was greater than today's Chile . It included the areas from the Atacama Desert to the Río Bío Bío , the island of Chiloé , the city of Valdivia and the provinces of Tucumán and Cuyo . The areas south of the Río Bío Bío and Patagonia remained settlement areas for the Mapuche Indians living there due to the Arauco War .

history

On February 12, 1541, Pedro de Valdivia founded the city of Santiago de Chile , then still Santiago del Nuevo Extremo . This was followed by the cities of Concepción in 1550, La Imperial in 1551, Villarrica and Valdivia in 1552. Then the construction of fortresses began in the places Arauco , Purén and Tucapel , as well as the city of Santiago del Estero in Tucumán .

After the death of Pedro de Valdivia in Tucapel a number of other cities were founded, e.g. B. La Serena , Mendoza , San Luis , San Juan , Cañete , Castro and Osorno .

However, many fortresses fell victim to the Mapuche attacks in the Arauco War. The areas south of the Río Bío Bío were populated exclusively by Indians from 1602 due to the Arauco War, with a few exceptions (e.g. the island of Chiloé ).

In 1609 the General Capitanate of Chile was founded, which remained subordinate to the Viceroyalty of Peru. In 1778 Chile became an independent general captainate with freedom of trade within the Spanish kingdom.

In 1810 the first military junta dissolved the general captaincy of Chile for a short time. However, the independence fighters around Bernardo O'Higgins lost the battle of Rancagua on October 1 to October 2, 1814. During the Reconquista from 1814 to 1818, the General Capitanate of Chile existed again.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Luis de Cartagena: Actas del Cabildo de Santiago de 1541 a 1557 . In: Colección de historiadores de Chile y de documentos relativos a la historia nacional . Part 1. Impr. Del Ferrocarril, Santiago de Chile 1861 ( Memoria Chilena - Documentos ). P. 67.