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 The Biobío River (also known as Bío Bío or Bio-Bio) is the second largest river in Chile. It originates from Icalma and Galletué lakes in the Andes and flows 380 km to the Gulf of Arauco (in Spanish) on the Pacific Ocean. The major tri ...

, 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 Mapuc ...

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 peoples of the Americas, indigenous people of Chile. Their language was a dialect of Mapudungun, a Mapuche language. At the beginning of the Con ...

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
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References

Buildings and structures in Biobío Region Populated places established in 1593 Colonial fortifications in Chile Fortifications in Chile {{Chile-stub

See also

References