Conquest of Chile facts for kids
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The Conquest of Chile is a period in the history of Chile that starts when Pedro de Valdivia went to Chile in 1541 and ends with the death of Martín García Óñez de Loyola, in the Battle of Curalaba in 1598 or alternatively with the Destruction of the Seven Cities.
During this period, Spaniards founded cities and they established the Kingdom of Chile. Some cities were founded after the War of Arauco: Santiago (1541), La Serena (1544), Concepción (1551), La Imperial, Valdivia, Villarrica (1552), Los Confines (1553), Cañete (1557), Osorno (1558), Arauco (1566), Castro (1567), Chillán (1580) and Santa Cruz de Oñez (1595).
This period ended with the death of Loyola and the loss of their seven cities in Araucanía. The War of Arauco continued but the Spanish were never able to recover their control in the Araucanía, at the south of the River of Bío Bío.
Timeline of events
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1540 | December | Pedro de Valdivia takes possession of Chile in the name of the King of Spain. |
| 1541 | February 12 | Santiago is founded. |
| September 11 | Michimalonco leads a Picunche attack on Santiago, the city is severely damaged but the attack is repelled. | |
| 1544 | September 4 | La Serena is founded by Juan Bohón. |
| 1549 | January 11 | La Serena is destroyed by natives. |
| August 26 | La Serena is refounded. | |
| 1551 | October 5 | Concepción is founded. |
| 1552 | San Felipe de Rauco, La Imperial and Villarrica are founded. | |
| February 9 | The city of Valdivia is founded by Pedro de Valdivia. | |
| 1553 | Los Confines is founded. | |
| December 25 | The battle of Tucapel takes place, governor Pedro de Valdivia is killed after the battle. | |
| 1554 | February 23 | The battle of Marihueñu takes place, Concepción is abandoned and destroyed. |
| October 17 | Jerónimo de Alderete is appointed governor of Chile in Spain by the king but dies on his journey to Chile. | |
| 1557 | April 1 | Francisco de Villagra defeats the Mapuches and kills their leader Lautaro at the battle of Mataquito. |
| April 23 | The new governor García Hurtado de Mendoza arrives in La Serena. | |
| June | García Hurtado de Mendoza arrives in the bay of Concepcion and builds a fort at Penco, then defeats the Mapuche army trying to dislodge him. | |
| October 10 | García Hurtado de Mendoza defeats the Mapuche army in the Battle of Lagunillas. | |
| November 7 | García Hurtado de Mendoza defeats Caupolicán in the Millarupe. | |
| 1558 | January 11 | Cañete founded by Mendoza. |
| February 5 | Pedro de Avendaño captured the Mapuche toqui Caupolicán, later executed by impalement in Cañete. | |
| March 27 | Osorno is founded. | |
| December 13 | Battle of Quiapo, Mendoza defeats the Mapuche and San Felipe de Araucan rebuilt. | |
| 1559 | January 6 | Concepción is refounded. |
| 1561 | Francisco de Villagra succeeds García Hurtado de Mendoza as governor. | |
| 1563 | Cañete is abandoned. | |
| July 22 | Francisco de Villagra dies and is succeeded as governor by his cousin Pedro de Villagra. San Felipe de Araucan is soon abandoned. | |
| August 29 | The territories of Tucumán are separated from the Captaincy General of Chile and transferred to the Real Audiencia of Charcas. | |
| 1564 | February | Concepción is unsuccessfully sieged by native Mapuches. |
| 1565 | A Real Audiencia is established in Concepción. | |
| 1566 | January | San Felipe de Araucan is refounded. |
| 1567 | With the founding of Castro the dominions of the Captaincy General of Chile are extended into Chiloé Archipelago. | |
| 1570 | February 8 | The 1570 Concepción earthquake affects all of south-central Chile. |
| 1575 | The Real Audiencia of Concepción is abolished. | |
| December 16 | The 1575 Valdivia earthquake affects all of southern Chile. | |
| 1576 | April | Valdivia is flooded by a Riñihuazo caused by the 1575 Valdivia earthquake. |
| 1578 | December 5 | Valparaíso is plundered by Francis Drake, the first corsair in Chilean waters. |
| 1580 | June 26 | Chillán is founded. |
| 1584 | March 25 | Rey Don Felipe is founded in the Straits of Magellan by Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa. |
| 1587 | Thomas Cavendish finds Rey Don Felipe as a ruin city. | |
| 1594 | May | Fort of Santa Cruz de Oñez is founded and becomes the city of Santa Cruz de Coya the following year. |
| 1598 | December 21 | The battle of Curalaba takes place, governor Martín García Óñez de Loyola is killed during the battle. |
| 1599 | Los Confines, Santa Cruz de Coya and Valdivia are destroyed. | |
| The Real Situado, an annual payment to finance the Arauco War, is established. | ||
| 1600 | La Imperial is destroyed. | |
| 1602 | Villarrica is destroyed. | |
| March 13 | A fort is established in the ruins of Valdivia. | |
| 1603 | February 7 | The last inhabitants of Villarrica surrender to the Mapuches and became captives. |
| 1604 | Arauco and Osorno are destroyed. | |
| February 3 | The fort at Valdivia is abandoned. |
Images for kids
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Synthesis map of the development of the Inca Empire in Chile in the decades before the Spanish arrival.
See also
In Spanish: Conquista de Chile para niños
