Francisco Antonio de Acuña Cabrera y Bayona (Spain; 1597 –

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

; 1662) was a Spanish soldier and governor of the

Captaincy General of Chile The Captaincy General of Chile (''Capitanía General de Chile'' ) or Governorate of Chile (known colloquially and unofficially as the Kingdom of Chile), was a territory of the Spanish Empire from 1541 to 1817 that was, for most of its existenc ...

between 1650 and 1656. He was son of Antonio de Cabrera y Acuña y de Agueda de Bayona, who was a knight of the

Order of Santiago The Order of Santiago (; es, Orden de Santiago ), is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. It owes its name to the Patron Saint of Spain, "Santiago" ( St. James the Greater). Its initial objective was to protect the pilgr ...

and a professional military man. After serving in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

and France, he went to

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Maestre de Campo ''Maestre de campo'' was a rank created in 1534 by the Emperor Carlos V, inferior in rank only to the ''capitán general'' and acted as a chief of staff. He was chosen by the monarch in the Council of State, and commanded a '' tercio''. Their po ...

El Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists of the whole Call ...

and a general, being designated later

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 ...

. He was married to Juana de Salazar.

Governor of Chile

An ambitious man and badly advised by his relatives and friends, his government was characterised by continuous difficulties with the natives and the

vecino 'Vecino' means either "neighbour" or resident in modern Spanish. Historically in the Spanish Empire it referred instead to a householder of considerable social position in a town or a city, and was similar to "freeman" or "freeholder." Histori ...

s of Concepción. In the Parliament of Boroa (1651) he reached a peace accord with the indigenous people that was broken within two years. Relations begun to strain when

Cuncos Cuncos or Juncos is a poorly known subgroup of Huilliche people native to coastal areas of southern Chile and the nearby inland. Mostly a historic term, Cuncos are chiefly known for their long-running conflict with the Spanish during the colonia ...

, a southern Mapuche group, killed Spanish shipwreck survivors.Barros Arana 2000, p. 340.Barros Arana 2000, p. 341. The valuable cargo, aimed for the newly re-established city of

Valdivia Valdivia (; Mapuche: Ainil) is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder Pedro de Valdivia and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia, and Cau-Cau R ...

was never recovered.Barros Arana 2000, p. 342. Albeit punitive expeditions were sent from Valdivia and

Carelmapu Carelmapu (lit. from Mapudungun "Green Land") is a port and town ( es, pueblo) at the western end of Chacao Channel, southern Chile. Carelmapu was established by the Spanish in 1602 as San Antonio Ribera de Carelmapu following the Destruction of ...

, the Spanish were dissatisfied with the results.Barros Arana 2000, p. 343. Governor Acuña Cabrera was temporarily dissuaded to take further action by

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

Diego de Rosales Diego de Rosales (Madrid, 1601 - Santiago, 1677) was a Spanish chronicler and author of ''Historia General del Reino de Chile''. He studied in his hometown, where he also joined the Society of Jesus. He came to Chile in the year 1629, without ha ...

and Juan de Moscoso who argued that the murders were committed by a few Indians and warned the governor that renewing warfare would evaporate gains obtained at Boroa. The followers of the Governor led by his brother-in-law

Juan de Salazar ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

went into

Mapuche The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who sha ...

territory with the aim to profit from the war by taking captured Mapuches as slaves. The failure of the 1554 expedition at the

Battle of Río Bueno A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

and the indigenous revolt of 1655, motivated the vecinos of Concepcion to declare the deposition of Acuña to the shouts of ' The king lives! The bad governor dies!', an action that was not accepted by the Cabildo of

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

, the Audiencia and the Junta de Guerra, that re-established Acuña in control. Given these circumstances, the

Viceroy of Peru The viceroys of Peru ruled the Viceroyalty of Peru from 1544 to 1824 in the name of the monarch of Spain. The territories under ''de jure'' rule by the viceroys included in the 16th and 17th century almost all of South America except eastern Brazi ...

sent for him to appear before him. Acuña did not accept the order. A new governor

Pedro Porter Casanate Admiral Pedro Porter y Casanate (April 30, 1611 – February 27, 1662) was a Spanish sailor, soldier, explorer of California and Royal Governor of Chile from 1656 to 1662. Early life Porter was born in Zaragoza, the second son of Juan Porter and E ...

, was appointed, and his first mission was to force the return of Acuña to

, where he would die shortly afterwards.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Acuna y Cabrera, Francisco Antonio de 1597 births 1662 deaths Royal Governors of Chile Captaincy General of Chile Spanish generals 17th-century Spanish people Spanish people in the Viceroyalty of Peru