Chivicura was a fort erected in 1593 by the
Royal Governor of Chile
The Royal Governor of Chile ruled over the Spanish colonial administrative district called the Captaincy General of Chile, and as a result the Royal Governor also held the title of a Captain General. There were 66 such governors or captains du ...
,
Martín García Oñez de Loyola Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austral ...
on the south bank of the
Biobío River, to the west of the confluence of the
Rele River with the Bio Bio, in what is now the commune of
Santa Juana, Chile
Santa Juana is a city and commune of the Concepción Province in the Bío Bío Region of Chile. It lies south and west of the Biobío River in the valley of Catirai and is 48 kilometers from Concepción, Chile.
History
The Mapuche origina ...
. It was in communication with the fort
Jesus de Huenuraquí
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
across the river securing the communications of the city of
Santa Cruz de Coya Santa Cruz de Coya was a city established by the governor of Chile Martín García Oñez de Loyola on the site of the fort of Santa Cruz de Oñez, in 1595. It was named for his wife Beatriz Clara Coya, a member of the royal Incan house. The Mapu ...
in
Catirai Catirai or Catiray is the region of the Moluche Aillarehue of Catiray in old Araucanía. It is now the Santa Juana commune of the Concepción Province and the Nacimiento commune of the Bío Bío Province of the Bío Bío Region, of Chile. It ...
. Both forts and the city were destroyed by the
Moluche
The Moluche ("people from where the sun sets" or "people from the west") or Nguluche are an indigenous people of Chile. Their language was a dialect of Mapudungun, a Mapuche language. At the beginning of the Conquest of Chile by the Spanish Empire ...
in 1599. The name Chivicura means light stone, from ''chiv'' or ''shyv'', light and from ''cura'', stone.
Francisco Solano Asta-Buruaga y Cienfuegos, Diccionario geográfico de la República de Chile, SEGUNDA EDICIÓN CORREGIDA Y AUMENTADA, NUEVA YORK, D. APPLETON Y COMPAÑÍA. 1899. Pg. 240 Chivicura. — Fuerte
/ref>
See also
* La Frontera (geographical region)
La Frontera is a name used in Chile to refer to the region around the Bío Bío River, or to the whole area between there and the Toltén River. The use of this latter definition is largely coterminous with the historical usage of Araucanía. T ...
References
Buildings and structures in Biobío Region
Populated places established in 1593
Colonial fortifications in Chile
Fortifications in Chile
{{Chile-stub