Lautaro

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Lautaro
Spanish settlements in Chile from
1541 to 1553

Lautaro (* before 1535 in the forests of Tirúa; † April 29, 1557 on the Río Mataquito ) was a war chief ( Toqui ) of the Mapuche in the Arauco War in Chile .

In the Mapuche ( Mapudungun ) language, his name is pronounced Leftraru (<  lef "fast" + traru " Schopfkarakara ").

Life

In 1546 Lautaro was captured by the Spanish. He was given the name Felipe, became the stable master of Pedro de Valdivia and learned about Spanish military tactics and strategy. After six years in captivity, he managed to escape on a horse.

Pedro de Valdivia tried from 1546 to penetrate areas south of the river Río Bío Bío and build a fortress, which initially failed due to the resistance of the Mapuche. In 1550 he made a second advance and founded the fortresses Concepción and Andalién at the mouth of the river. The first Mapuche attacks on the Andalién fortress on March 3, 1550 failed.

The Spaniards penetrated deeper and deeper into the region south of the Río Bío Bío and founded the city of Villarrica . The fortresses of Tucapel , Purén and Angol followed.

The scattered Mapuche communities met in late 1553 and formed a Vutanmapu Confederation . Lautaro was elected their first war chief. On December 25, 1553, Lautaro attacked Tucapel fortress. Pedro de Valdivia was captured, tortured and finally cruelly killed.

Together with the leaders Caupolicán and Colo Colo , he attacked Concepción in 1554. Francisco de Villagra then launched a campaign against the Mapuche, which failed miserably. Lautaro then overran town after town with his warriors. After the fall of Concepción in 1555, he marched towards Santiago de Chile . The Mapuche, however, surprisingly withdrew after the destruction of the fortress Peteroa , as they expected a stronger Spanish attack.

On April 1, 1557, Pedro de Villagra , the commander of the Imperial Fortress , managed to surprise the Mapuche in their night camp on the Río Mataquito, and Lautaro was also killed.

Lautaro was succeeded as war chief by Caupolicán.

literature

  • Kurt Kauter : Lautaro, the Araucan. 2nd edition. Kinderbuchverlag, Berlin (GDR) 1987, ISBN 3-358-00387-6 ( adventures around the world ).
  • Pablo Matus L., Emilio Novoa A .: Enciclopedia regional del Bío Bío ( Colección de enciclopedias regionales. 8). Pehuén Editores, Santiago de Chile 2006, ISBN 956-16-0387-X , p. 41 ( books.google.de )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Lautaro - Mapuche leader . In: Encyclopædia Britannica . ( britannica.com ).
personal data
SURNAME Lautaro
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Mapuche war chief (1553–1557)
DATE OF BIRTH around 1535
PLACE OF BIRTH Forests of Tirúa
DATE OF DEATH April 29, 1557
Place of death on the Río Mataquito