Hualqui () is a

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 ...

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

and

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the Concepción Province, Biobio Region. It is also part of the Greater Concepcion conurbation, although it maintains a rural profile. It had a population of 24,333 inhabitants according to the 2017 census. Its name comes from 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 ...

Aillarehue Aillarehue or Ayllarehue (from the Mapudungun: ayllarewe/ayjarewe: "nine rehues"); a confederation of rehues or family-based units (lof) that dominated a region or province. It was the old administrative and territorial division of the Mapuche, H ...

and

rehue A rehue (Mapudungun spelling rewe) or kemukemu is a type of pillar-like sacred altar used by the Mapuche of Chile in many of their ceremonies. Altar/Axis mundi The ''rehue'' is a carved tree trunk set in the ground, surrounded by a hedge o ...

of Hualqui that existed there at the beginning of the

Conquest of Chile The Conquest of Chile is a period in Chilean historiography that starts with the arrival of Pedro de Valdivia to Chile in 1541 and ends with the death of Martín García Óñez de Loyola in the Battle of Curalaba in 1598, and the destruction of th ...

. In 1577, 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 ...

Rodrigo de Quiroga Rodrigo de Quiroga López de Ulloa (c. 1512 – February 20, 1580) was a Spanish conquistador of Galician origin. He was twice the Royal Governor of Chile. Early life He was the son of Hernado Camba de Quiroga and of María López de Ulloa. In ...

erected a small fort of Hualqui on 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 ...

from the city of Concepcion and to the northwest of

Talcamávida Talcamávida is a town in the commune of Hualqui in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is located on the north bank of the Bio Bio River across from Santa Juana on the opposite shore. It occupied a plain along the river from the Pacific Ocean that i ...

at the site of the modern city and over time a small settlement grew around it. In the beginning of 1756 Governor

Manuel de Amat y Juniet Manuel de Amat y Junyent, OSJ, OM ( ca, Manuel d'Amat i de Junyent) (March 1707 – February 14, 1782) was a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator. He was the Royal Governor of the Captaincy General of Chile from December 28, 1755 ...

erected a town there, named ''San Juan Bautista de Gualqui''. It served as capital to the

Corregimiento de Puchacay ''Corregimiento'' (; ca, Corregiment, ) is a Spanish term used for country subdivisions for royal administrative purposes, ensuring districts were under crown control as opposed to local elites. A ''corregimiento'' was usually headed by a ''corre ...

and then

Partido de Puchacay Partido, partidista and partidario may refer to: * Spanish for a political party, people who share political ideology or who are brought together by common issues Territorial subdivision * Partidos of Buenos Aires, the second-level administrative ...

until 1799.

Demographics

According to the 2017

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of the

National Statistics Institute National Institute of Statistics may refer to: *National Institute of Statistics of Bolivia *National Institute of Statistics of Cambodia *National Institute of Statistics and Census of Costa Rica *National Institute of Statistics and Census of Nica ...

, Hualqui spans an area of and has 24,333 inhabitants (11,843 men and 12,490 women). Of these, 20,889 (85.8%) lived in

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...

s and 3,444 (14.2%) in

rural area In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...

s. The population grew by 16.2% (2,612 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Hualqui is a third-level

administrative division of Chile The administrative division or territorial organization of Chile exemplifies characteristics of a unitary state. State administration is functionally and geographically decentralized, as appropriate for each authority in accordance with the law. ...

administered by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

, headed by an

alcalde Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) a ...

who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Ricardo Fuentes Palma ( Ind.). Within the

electoral divisions of Chile Chile has two distinct electoral division systems: * To elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Senate, Chile is divided into several electoral divisions, namely electoral districts and senatorial constituencies. * To elect members of ...

, Hualqui is represented in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

by Sergio Bobadilla (

UDI Udi may refer to: Places * Udi, Enugu, a local government areas and city in Nigeria * Udi, a place in the Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh, India People * Udi Gal (born 1979), Israeli Olympic sailor * Udi Vaks (born 1979), Israeli Olympic judoka ...

) and Clemira Pacheco ( PS) as part of the 45th electoral district, (together with

Tomé Tomé () is a port city and commune in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is bordered by Coelemu to the north, Ránquil and Florida to the east, Penco to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. The local economy is based mainly on textile man ...

Penco Penco (Mapudungun: See (''Pen''), Water (''Ko'')), is a Chilean city and commune in Concepción Province, Bío Bío Region on the Bay of Concepción. Founded as the city of Concepción del Nuevo Extremo ('beginning of the new extreme') on Februa ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, Coronel and

Santa Juana 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 originall ...

). The commune is represented in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

by Alejandro Navarro Brain (

MAS Mas, Más or MAS may refer to: Film and TV * Más y Menos, fictional superhero characters, from the Teen Titans animated television series * Más (Breaking Bad), "Más" (''Breaking Bad''), a season three episode of ''Breaking Bad'' Songs * Más ( ...

) and Hosain Sabag Castillo ( PDC) as part of the 12th senatorial constituency (Biobío-Cordillera).

References

Francisco Solano Asta-Buruaga y Cienfuegos, Diccionario geográfico de la República de Chile, D. Appleton y Compania, Nueva York, 1899, Pg.293 Gualqui. — Villa

External links

*
Municipality of Hualqui
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hualqui Communes of Chile Geography of Biobío Region Populated places in Concepción Province 1577 establishments in the Spanish Empire