Colchagua was a province (region) of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

between 1826 and 1976. Its capital was located in

San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...

during most of its existence. For some years,

Curicó Curicó (), meaning "Black Waters" in Mapudungun (originally meaning "Land of Black Water"), is the capital city of the Curicó Province, part of the Maule Region in Chile's central valley. The province lies between the provinces of Colcha ...

and

Rancagua Rancagua () is a city and commune in central Chile and part of the Rancagua conurbation. It is the capital of the Cachapoal Province and of the O'Higgins Region, located south of the national capital of Santiago. It was originally named Santa ...

were capitals of Colchagua.

History

The province was one of the earliest, original eight provinces of

(Coquimbo, Aconcagua, Santiago, Colchagua, Maule, Concepción, Valdivia, and Chiloé) created by the federal laws of 31 January 1826. Its territory comprised former delegations of Colchagua, Curicó and Talca.V. Pérez-Rosales, 1857. "Essai sur le Chili". Hambourg : F.H. Nestler & Melle, 1857. 455 p. The province was sanctioned by the 1828 Constitution. During its early years, Colchagua was divided into the departments of

(cap.

), and

Talca Talca () is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune in Chile located about south of Santiago, Chile, Santiago, and is the capital of both Talca Province and Maule Region (7th Region of Chile). As of the 2012 census, the ...

(cap.

). In 1833, a new Constitution reorganized the country, creating departments, subdelegations and districts as lower entities of provinces. Later that year, by law dated August, the department of Talca was separated to create the

province of Talca Talca Province ( es, Provincia de Talca) is one of four provinces of the central Chilean region of Maule (VII). Its capital is the city of Talca. Administration As a province, Talca is a second-level administrative division of Chile, governed b ...

, and in 1834, the department of Caupolicán was created, with

Rengo The , commonly known as , is the largest national trade union center in Japan, with over six million members as of 2011.Rengo websitRengo brochure 2010-2011 Retrieved on July 6, 2012 It was founded in 1989 as a result of the merger of the Japan ...

as its capital. Although the title of provincial capital was disputed by San Fernando, Curicó and Talca, depending on the desired residence of the intendant, a September 1840 decree established San Fernando as the definitive capital. In 1865, the department of Curicó was separated from Colchagua, in order to create the province of Curicó. On 17 September 1925, by Law Decree N.° 529, the

department of San Vicente Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

was created, separated from Caupolicán. In 1928, the government of

Carlos Ibáñez del Campo General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo (; 3 November 1877 – 28 April 1960) was a Chilean Army officer and political figure. He served as President twice, first between 1927 and 1931, and then from 1952 to 1958, serving for 10 years in office. T ...

decided to reorganize the provinces of Chile, by Decree with Law Force N.° 8.582 dated 28 January 1929. The new province of Colchagua incorporated the departments of

(cap.

) and Cachapoal (cap.

Peumo Peumo is a Chilean city and commune in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region. It is believed that Peumo was named for the vast amount of Cryptocarya alba, or Peumo trees, that grow there. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the Nation ...

), originally from the province of O'Higgins, and the

department of Santa Cruz Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

(cap. Santa Cruz), which belonged to the province of Curicó. Because of public discontent, the former provinces of O'Higgins and Colchagua were re-established by Law 5.376, in January 1934. Colchagua kept the departments of San Fernando and Santa Cruz. In 1973, under the government of

Salvador Allende Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (, , ; 26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean physician and socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 3 November 1970 until his death on 11 September 1973. He was the fir ...

, the department of Cardenal Caro was created (cap.

Marchigüe Marchigüe (), sometimes spelled Marchihue (), is a Chilean town and commune in the Cardenal Caro Province of Chile's sixth region of O'Higgins. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Marchigüe spans an ...

). In July 1974, a new reform took place, directed by the military dictatorship of

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...

, who created regions. On 1 January 1976, the new VI Región (Sixth Region) came into existence, with the territory of former provinces of O'Higgins and Colchagua. Former departments of San Fernando, Santa Cruz and Cardenal Caro were suppressed. In 1979, the region was renamed VI Región del Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins (Sixth Region of Liberator General Bernardo O'Higgins, in short, Region of O'Higgins). Its territory comprises current provinces of Cachapoal, Colchagua and Cardenal Caro.

References

{{reflist Historical provinces of Chile 1826 establishments in Chile 1976 disestablishments in Chile States and territories established in 1826 States and territories disestablished in 1976