Juan de Lebú was a

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 ...

cacique A ''cacique'' (Latin American ; ; feminine form: ''cacica'') was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, the indigenous inhabitants at European contact of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. The term is a Spa ...

Ulmen Ulmen is a town in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde'' – a kind of collective municipality – to which it also belongs. Geography Location The town lies in the Eife ...

of the

Lebu Lebu may refer to: * Lebu, Chile, a city and capital of the Arauco Province of the Biobio Region of Chile * Lebu River, located in the Arauco Province of the Biobio Region of Chile * LEBU, acronym for Large Eddy Break Up * Libu or Lebu, Egyptian te ...

region, captured by the Spanish sometime before 1568. He was sent 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 ...

and the Spaniards had baptized him with the name of Juan. He returned in 1568, with the new Governor

Melchor Bravo de Saravia Melchor Bravo de Saravia y Sotomayor (1512 – 1577) was a Spanish conquistador, interim viceroy of Peru, and Royal Governor of Chile. Early career He was born in Soria, Spain, the son of Juan de Saravia and María Mayor de Vera y Morales. ...

. When he had the chance he escaped and returned to his people to help them in the war against the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...

. Because he had become familiar with European tactics like

Paineñamcu Paineñamcu or Paynenancu or Alonso Diaz,Lobera calls him Diego Díaz, Crónica..., Libro tercero, Parte tercera, Capítulo XXXII; Rosales and Carvallo call him Alonso Diaz was the Mapuche toqui from 1574 to 1584. Alonso Diaz was a mestizo Spanish s ...

(Alonso Diaz), they became close collaborators in the war. During Governor

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 ...

's first campaign in 1578, there was a raid that attempted to burn down the Spanish winter camp at Arauco. Juan de Lebú and seven other

lonko A lonko or lonco (from Mapudungun ''longko'', literally "head"), is a chief of several Mapuche communities. These were often Ulmen (Mapuche), ulmen, the wealthier men in the lof. In wartime, lonkos of the various local rehue or the larger aillarehu ...

s were captured in a retaliatory raid against the perpetrators by the Spanish under Rodrigo the nephew of Quiroga. To punish them as an example the seven lonkos were hanged from trees while Juan de Lebú suffered the same punishment as Caupolican,

impalement Impalement, as a method of torture and execution, is the penetration of a human by an object such as a stake, pole, spear, or hook, often by the complete or partial perforation of the torso. It was particularly used in response to "crimes aga ...

.Arana; Historia jeneral de Chile, Tomo II, Chapter VI ''GOBIERNO DE RODRIGO DE QUIROGA (1575-1578)'', 4. Footnote 21, ''Carta de Quiroga al virrei del Perú, de 26 de enero de 1578''. p. 453

References

16th-century Mapuche people 1578 deaths People executed by impalement People of the Arauco War Indigenous leaders of the Americas 16th-century executions by Spain People from Arauco Province Executed Chilean people Year of birth unknown {{Chile-bio-stub