Llanganabal 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 ...

toqui Toqui (or Toki) ( Mapudungun for ''axe'' or ''axe-bearer'') is a title conferred by the Mapuche (an indigenous Chilean and Argentinian people) on those chosen as leaders during times of war. The toqui is chosen in an assembly or parliament ('' ...

who led the

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 ...

army that defeated the Spanish led by

Martín Ruiz de Gamboa Martín Ruiz de Gamboa de Berriz (; 1533 – 1590) was a Spanish Basque conquistador who served as a Royal Governor of Chile. Biography Early years He was born in Durango, Biscay, the son of Andrés Ruiz de Gamboa and Nafarra de Berriz, an ...

in the

Battle of Catirai The Battle of Catirai took place on January 7, 1569, near Catirai, Chile between the Mapuche army of Toqui Llanganabal and the Spanish army led by Martín Ruiz de Gamboa that resulted in a Mapuche victory. History In 1569, Llanganabal had risen ...

in 1569. In 1560 Llanganabal is listed as one of the

caciques 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 ...

heading an

encomienda The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish labour system that rewarded conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. The labourers, in theory, were provided with benefits by the conquerors for whom they laboured, including military ...

along the

Bio Bio River Bio or BIO may refer to: Computing * bio(4), a pseudo-device driver in RAID controller management interface in OpenBSD and NetBSD * Block I/O, a concept in computer data storage Politics * Julius Maada Bio (born 1964), Sierra Leonean politicia ...

. Shortly after began the outbreak of the 1561 Mapuche revolt. By 1569 Llanganabal had risen to command the Araucan army with

Millalelmo Millalelmo or ''Millarelmo'' (died 1570) was a Mapuche military leader in the second great Mapuche rebellion that began in 1561 during the Arauco War. Probably the toqui of the Arauco region, he commanded the Mapuche army of that area at the sieg ...

and other captains as his subordinates. To resist the Spanish who had been burning the fields and houses on the south bank of the Bio Bio, Millalelmo had built a strong fortress on a hill in

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 ...

in a difficult position on steep wooded slopes. Despite the warnings of

Lorenzo Bernal del Mercado Lorenzo Bernal del Mercado (1530–1593) was a Spanish captain who was one of the more successful soldiers in the Arauco War in Chile rising to the rank of Maestre de Campo and temporary Capitán General of the Captaincy General of Chile. Lorenzo ...

who had reconnoitered the position, Spaniards new to Chile and the

Arauco War The Arauco War was a long-running conflict between colonial Spaniards and the Mapuche people, mostly fought in the Araucanía. The conflict began at first as a reaction to the Spanish conquerors attempting to establish cities and force Mapuche ...

prevailed on 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. ...

to order Martín Ruiz de Gamboa to take his command and attack the place. Meanwhile, Llanganabal had gathered all his army there to resist the attack. Gamboa's force was badly defeated while attempting to attack up the steep thickly wooded hill into Llanganabal's fortified position. Pedro Mariño de Lobera,Crónica del Reino de Chile, Libro segundo, Capítulo XXXI
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References

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Sources

Alonso de Góngora Marmolejo Alonso de Góngora Marmolejo (1523–1575) was a Spanish conquistador and chronicler of the early conquest and settlement of the Captaincy General of Chile, and the start of the Arauco War. Biography Marmolejo was born in the town of Carmona, And ...

br> Historia de Todas las Cosas que han Acaecido en el Reino de Chile y de los que lo han gobernado (1536-1575) (History of All the Things that Have happened in the Kingdom of Chile and of those that have governed it (1536-1575)
Edición digital a partir de Crónicas del Reino de Chile, Madrid, Atlas, 1960, pp. 75–224, (on line in Spanish) (History of Chile 1536-1575) *

Pedro Mariño de Lobera Pedro Mariño de Lobera (1528–1594) was a Galician soldier, conquistador and chronicler of the Arauco War in the Captaincy General of Chile. Biography A professional soldier who served in the war between Spain and France, he went to the Americ ...

br> Crónica del Reino de Chile , escrita por el capitán Pedro Mariño de Lobera....reducido a nuevo método y estilo por el Padre Bartolomé de Escobar. Edición digital a partir de Crónicas del Reino de Chile Madrid, Atlas, 1960, pp. 227-562, (Biblioteca de Autores Españoles ; 569-575).
Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes (on line in Spanish) (History of Chile 1535-1595) *

José Toribio Medina José Toribio Medina Zavala (; October 21, 1852 - December 11, 1930) was a Chilean bibliographer, prolific writer, and historian. He is renowned for his study of colonial literature in Chile, printing in Spanish America and large bibliographies su ...

Colección de documentos inéditos para la historia de Chile, desde el viaje de Magallanes hasta la batalla de Maipo, 1518-1818, Tomo X. Impr. Ercilla, Santiago, 1896
Original from Harvard University, Digitized May 18, 2007 16th-century Mapuche people Indigenous leaders of the Americas People of the Arauco War