Vilumilla facts for kids

Vilumilla was a brave Mapuche leader, known as a Toqui. He was chosen in 1722 to lead his people in a big fight against the Spanish. This fight, called the Mapuche Uprising of 1723, happened because the Spanish had broken their peace agreements with the Mapuche.

Why the Mapuche Fought

The Mapuche people were unhappy with the Spanish for several reasons.

• The Spanish were building forts and moving into Mapuche lands without permission.
• Spanish officials, called capitan de amigos (Captain of Friends), were causing trouble. These captains were supposed to protect missionaries, but they started trying to control the Mapuche.
• These captains also took over the trade of ponchos, which were important cloaks made by the Mapuche. This unfair trade made the Mapuche very angry.

Because of these problems, the Mapuche leaders met in 1722. They decided it was time to choose a new Toqui and prepare for war. Even though Vilumilla was not from a high-ranking family, he was chosen. He was known for being very wise, brave, and had a good plan for how to fight the war.

Vilumilla's Campaign

In 1723, Vilumilla began his attacks on Spanish settlements. He was careful to warn the missionaries to leave the area first. This was so his army would not harm them.

Capturing Forts

Vilumilla's first success was capturing the fort of Tucapel. The soldiers defending the fort of Arauco heard about this. Fearing the same fate, they quickly left their fort. After destroying these two places, Vilumilla marched towards the fort of Purén.

The Siege of Purén

The commander of the Purén fort, named Urrea, fought back strongly. Vilumilla's army had to surround the fort, which is called a siege. The Mapuche cut off the water supply to the fort. Soon, the soldiers inside were desperate for water. Commander Urrea and his soldiers tried to rush out to get water, but they were killed.

At this critical moment, the Spanish governor, Gabriel Cano, arrived with a large army of five thousand men. Vilumilla expected a big battle. He quickly arranged his troops behind a fast-flowing river. Governor Cano saw Vilumilla's strong position. Even though the Mapuche tried to make him fight, Cano decided it was better to leave Purén and retreat with the remaining soldiers.

End of the War

After this, the war mostly involved smaller fights. The conflict finally ended with the Parliament of Negrete of 1726. In this meeting, both sides signed the Peace of Negrete. This agreement confirmed an older treaty, the Treaty of Quillan. It also set up fair trading markets and, importantly, got rid of the disliked "Captain of Friends" title.

Sources

• Vicente Carvallo y Goyeneche, Descripcion Histórico Geografía del Reino de Chile, Tomo II, Coleccíon de historiadores de Chile y documentos relativos a la historia nacional: Tomo IX, By Diego Barros Arana, Sociedad Chilena de Historia y Geografía, Francisco Solano Astaburuaga, Instituto Chileno de Cultura Hispánica, Miguel Luis Amunátegui, Academia Chilena de la Historia, José Toribio Medina, Luis Montt, Imprenta del Ferrocarril, Santiago, 1875. Original from the University of Michigan, Digitized Aug 4, 2005, (History of Chile 1626–1788)
  • Capítulo LXXV, pg. 236
  • Capítulo LXXVI, pg. 241
  • Capítulo LXXVII, pg. 248
• Juan Ignatius Molina, The Geographical, Natural, and Civil History of Chili, Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, London, 1809
• José Ignacio Víctor Eyzaguirre, Historia eclesiastica: Politica y literaria de Chile, IMPRENTA DEL COMERCIO, VALPARAISO, June 1830 List of Toquis, pg. 498–500.
• Anson Uriel Hancock, A History of Chile, Chicago, C. H. Sergel and Company, 1893, pp.110–111

See also

In Spanish: Vilumilla para niños