Santa Cruz de Coya facts for kids
Santa Cruz de Coya was a city built a long time ago in Chile. It was started in 1595 by the leader of Chile, Martín García Oñez de Loyola. He built it where an old fort, called Santa Cruz de Oñez, used to be.
The city got its name from Loyola's wife, Beatriz Clara Coya. She was part of the royal family of the Inca people. The local people, called the Mapuches, had their own name for the city: Millacoya. This name meant "gold princess." It came from their language, Mapudungun, where "milla" means gold, and from the Quechua language, where "coya" means princess.
Where Was Santa Cruz de Coya?
The city of Santa Cruz de Coya was located in a place called Catiray. It was close to where two rivers, the Bio-Bio and the Laja River, joined together. The city was on the side of the Rele River, about ten kilometers south of the Bio-Bio River.
The spot chosen for the city was high up. However, it did not have much water nearby. There were gold mines across the Rele River, near a stream called Millapoa.
Life in the City
Santa Cruz de Coya had enough people to support three churches. But even with churches, the city did not grow very much. It faced many challenges.
The End of the City
The city was abandoned not long after a big event called the Disaster of Curalaba. This was a major defeat for the Spanish in 1598. A Mapuche leader named Pelantaro then destroyed Santa Cruz de Coya in February 1599.
Another leader, Governor Alonso de Ribera, tried to rebuild the city in 1601. He wanted to put it in a better place, closer to the Bio-Bio River and other forts like San Rosendo. But this new attempt did not last long. The city was soon abandoned again.
In 1605, a new town was founded nearby. It was called Monterrey de la Frontera. This new town was built to the east, at the mouth of the Rele River.
See also
In Spanish: Santa Cruz de Coya para niños
