Mapuche uprising of 1881 facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mapuche uprising of 1881 |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Mapuche rebels |  Republic of ChileMapuche allies |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Luis Marileo Colipí Millapán Ñanco Esteban Romero Ancamilla |
Gregorio Urrutia< Venacio Coñoepán |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 700+ dead* 300+ wounded* ca. 400 dead or wounded# |
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| *Between November 3 and 9 #November 10 at Temuco |
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The Mapuche uprising of 1881 was the last big fight by the Mapuche people in Araucanía. This event happened during the final part of the Occupation of Araucanía (1861–1883), when the Chilean government was taking control of Mapuche lands. Mapuche leaders planned the uprising in March 1881 to start in November of the same year.
Not all Mapuche groups agreed to join the fight. Some Mapuche groups helped the Chilean government, while others stayed neutral. However, the leaders of the uprising did manage to get some Mapuche groups involved who had not fought Chile before. Most of the attacks were stopped within a few days. After this, Chile spent the next years making sure they kept the land they had taken.
Contents
Why the Uprising Happened
In the 1800s, Chile was growing fast. It set up a colony at the Strait of Magellan in 1843. Chile also settled areas like Valdivia, Osorno, and Llanquihue Lake with German immigrants. Later, Chile won land from Peru and Bolivia in the war of the Pacific. It also took over Easter Island.
Because of this growth, Chile started to conquer Araucanía for two main reasons. First, the Chilean government wanted all its land to be connected. Second, Araucanía was the only place left where Chilean farming could expand.
Between 1861 and 1871, Chile took over several Mapuche areas in Araucanía. In January 1881, Chile had just won important battles against Peru. After these wins, Chile continued its conquest of Araucanía.
In 1880, the Argentine Army fought against Mapuches on the other side of the Andes mountains. This pushed many Mapuches into Araucanía. A Pehuenche leader named Purrán was captured by the Argentine Army. The Argentine Army also went into the Lonquimay valley, which Chile believed was its own land. This fast advance by Argentina worried Chilean officials. It also led to more fights between Chileans and Mapuches in 1881.
Before the Big Fight
In January 1881, the Mapuches in the Malleco area rose up against Chile. They attacked the towns and forts of Traiguén, Lumaco, and Collipulli. In response, Chile launched a big campaign. They wanted to defend their forts and towns. They also wanted to move their border from the Malleco River all the way to the Cautín River.
The president, Aníbal Pinto, asked his interior minister, Manuel Recabarren, to manage this from the town of Angol. Colonel Gregorio Urrutia was called from Lima, where Chile had taken control, to lead the Army of the South in Araucanía.
Recabarren led a large group of soldiers. They built new forts at Quillem, Lautaro, and Pillalelbún. At Pillalelbún, local Mapuche leaders asked Recabarren not to go past the Cautín River. Recabarren told them that the whole area was being taken over. When the town of Temuco was founded on the north side of the Cautín River, Recabarren met with leader Venacio Coñoepán and other leaders. They also asked him not to go any further. On March 28, Gregorio Urrutia founded the town of Victoria by the Traiguén River.
As Chile moved towards the Cautín River, a small mountain range called Cadena de Ñielol became a place where Mapuche fighters resisted. From there, they would raid or attack easy targets. To stop this, Gregorio Urrutia built a fort in the mountains.
At first, Mapuches did not fight much against Chile's move to the Cautín River. Recabarren thought they had not reacted because they expected new forts and towns to be built only after talks with Chilean officials. However, Mapuche attacks began in late February 1881, just a few days after Temuco was founded in the middle of Mapuche land.
The first big attack was on a group of carts carrying injured soldiers from Temuco to Fuerte Ñielol. All 40 soldiers guarding them, and the 96 injured and sick soldiers, lost their lives. To respond, Gregorio Urrutia attacked the Mapuche fighters of Cadena Ñielol. He burned over 500 rukas (Mapuche homes) and captured over 800 cattle and horses. On the other side of the Andes, Pehuenches attacked the Argentine outpost of Chos Malal in March. They killed all 25–30 soldiers there.
Planning the Uprising
In mid-March, Venacio Coñoepán and other Mapuche leaders met. In this meeting, they decided they did not want new Chilean settlements. The leaders chose to go to war. They set November 5 as the date for their uprising. Coñoepán was against the uprising. According to Gregorio Urrutia, Coñoepán did not even know the exact date of the uprising.
The Uprising Begins
During the uprising, several Chilean forts and towns were attacked.
Quillem and Lumaco Attacks
A group of Mapuche fighters from the mountains attacked the fort of Quillem by mistake on November 3, which was the wrong date. This attack warned all Chilean soldiers in Araucanía. Settlers quickly went to hide in the forts. On November 5, about 400 Mapuche fighters, supposedly led by Luis Marileo Colipí, attacked the fort of Lumaco. After Chilean soldiers arrived to help Lumaco, the Mapuches left. They waited to hear news from other parts of the uprising.
Nueva Imperial is Destroyed
In Nueva Imperial, people noticed suspicious Mapuche movements on November 6. Messages were sent asking for help from Valdivia and Lebu. The town of Nueva Imperial was attacked on November 7. The people defending the town ran to the hills, and the settlement was completely destroyed.
Fighting on the Coast
In the coastal area, the mission at Puerto Saavedra was attacked. The town of Toltén was defended by the Mapuches from Budi Lake, who were on Chile's side. From Toltén, Chile sent 50 militiamen to fight the Mapuche rebels. In Toltén, and also in San José de la Mariquina, most women were sent to the city of Valdivia. The men prepared for fighting. Chileans and German settlers dug defensive ditches around San José de la Mariquina. When the uprising happened, people even thought the rebels could reach Valdivia in the south if they managed to get through San José de la Mariquina.
Even though they had stayed out of conflicts in the 1800s, the Costinos (Mapuches from the northern coast) joined the 1881 uprising. After helping to destroy Imperial and fighting near Toltén, Costino fighters moved north to Arauco. Near Tirúa, Costino fighters suffered many losses in two battles. They fought against a group of more than 400 armed settlers and farmers, plus some soldiers.
Ñielol and Temuco Battles
The most important battles happened at the fort of Ñielol and in Temuco, which were in the heart of Araucanía. Venacio Coñoepán and 60 of his fighters were given safety in the fort of Ñielol because he had been against the uprising. From there, Coñoepán helped with the defense. The Mapuche uprising managed to surround the fort but failed in their attack on November 9. On November 10, Mapuche reinforcements coming from Traigén were defeated by Chilean troops. This ended the siege of Ñielol. After the Mapuche failure at Ñielol, Chilean troops and Coñoepán's fighters were sent to Temuco, which was still surrounded. The number of Mapuche fighters in the uprising ranged from 1,400 to 4,000, depending on the source. José M. Garzo was in charge of the Chilean forces inside the fort of Temuco.
The main battle at Temuco took place on November 10. Part of the Chilean troops left the fort of Temuco to chase fighters from Truf Truf and Tromell. The remaining Mapuches attacked the fort, thinking it was almost empty, but they were not successful. The defenders used the only cannon in the fort to fire explosive shells at the attacking Mapuche. About 400 Mapuches were either killed or wounded on November 10 around Temuco.
What Happened Next
Mapuche leaders who joined the uprising were punished severely. When Gregorio Urrutia arrived in Cholchol on November 10, he ordered a fort to be built where leader Ancamilla's ruka (home) had been. Ancamilla had joined the uprising. By doing this, Urrutia kept an old promise:
If I, your friend, knows that you Ancamilla are involved in provocations and assaults, I swear I will build a fort above your ruka. If you remain peaceful nobody will touch you
—Gregorio Urrutia
Ancamilla was captured and sent handcuffed to a dungeon in Poblete. The fort of Cholchol began to be built on November 22. Over time, it grew into the modern town of Cholchol. The rukas of other leaders who revolted were also destroyed.
Luis Marileo Colipí, who supposedly attacked Lumaco, lost more than 6,000 hectares of land he owned near Purén. His brother was captured and killed. Luis Marileo Colipí managed to escape to Argentina. Not much is known about what happened to him there.
See also
In Spanish: Levantamiento mapuche de 1881 para niños
