Lautaro Bavaro
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Lautaro (Anglicized as 'Levtaru') ( arn, Lef-Traru " swift hawk") (; 1534? – April 29, 1557) was a young
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 ...
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 ('' ...
known for leading the indigenous resistance against Spanish conquest in Chile and developing the tactics that would continue to be employed by the Mapuche during the long-running
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 ...
. Levtaru was captured by Spanish forces in his early youth, and he spent his teenage years as a personal servant of chief conquistador
Pedro de Valdivia Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia or Valdiva (; April 17, 1497 – December 25, 1553) was a Spanish conquistador and the first royal governor of Chile. After serving with the Spanish army in Italy and Flanders, he was sent to South America in 1534, whe ...
, but escaped in 1551. Back among his people he was declared toqui and led Mapuche warriors into a series of victories against the Spanish, culminating in the
Battle of Tucapel The Battle of Tucapel (also known as the Disaster of Tucapel) is the name given to a battle fought between Spanish conquistador forces led by Pedro de Valdivia and Mapuche (Araucanian) Indians under Lautaro that took place at Tucapel, Chile on D ...
in December 1553, where Pedro of Valdivia was killed. The outbreak of a
typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...
plague, a
drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D.  Jiang, A.  Khan, W.  Pokam Mba, D.  Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...
and a famine prevented the Mapuche from taking further actions to expel the Spanish in 1554 and 1555. Between 1556 and 1557, a small group of Mapuche commanded by Levtaru attempted to reach Santiago to liberate the whole of
Central Chile Central Chile (''Zona central'') is one of the five natural regions into which CORFO divided continental Chile in 1950. It is home to a majority of the Chilean population and includes the three largest metropolitan areas—Santiago, Valparaís ...
from Spanish rule. Levtaru's attempts ended in 1557 when he was killed in an ambush by the Spanish. Today, Levtaru is revered among Mapuche and non-Mapuche Chileans for his resistance against foreign conquest, as well as his servitude and cruelty.


Early life

Lautaro was the son of a Mapuche ''
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 ...
'' (a chief who holds office during peacetime) called, Curiñancu (Kurüñamku in the Mapuche language, Mapudungun, ‘ aguilucho negro’ meaning ‘black harrier’) and was born in 1533. He lived a normal life until, at the age of 11, he was captured by the Spanish and forced into servitude by Don Pedro de Valdivia and became his personal servant. Since it was difficult for the Spaniards to pronounce Lautaro’s original name, Leftraru, they gave him the name of Felipe Lautaro. Don
Pedro de Valdivia Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia or Valdiva (; April 17, 1497 – December 25, 1553) was a Spanish conquistador and the first royal governor of Chile. After serving with the Spanish army in Italy and Flanders, he was sent to South America in 1534, whe ...
was a Spanish conqueror 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 ...
and then became the captain general of Chile. Lautaro learned the military ways and skills of the Spaniards' army by observation. He was witness to atrocities committed by the Spanish on captive Mapuche warriors. According to several historians, in the immediate vicinity of what is now the city of
Concepción, Chile Concepción (; originally: ''Concepción de la Madre Santísima de la Luz'', "Conception of the Blessed Mother of Light") is a city and commune in central Chile, and the geographical and demographic core of the Greater Concepción metropolitan a ...
, Pedro de Valdivia ordered his men to cut off the feet and hands of every Mapuche in Curiñancu's tribe, for resisting Spanish colonization, among them Curiñancu and his wife, Lautaro’s parents, in order to teach the Mapuche a lesson. It is said that because of Valdivia’s command to cut off the toes of the Mapuche warriors, the Spanish soldiers named the place “El Valle de La Mocha”, whose name has been maintained over time. A great hatred of the Spanish and particularly of Pedro de Valdivia was born in the young Lautaro because of this incident. After his capture they made him a
Yanakuna Yanakuna were originally individuals in the Inca Empire who left the ayllu system and worked full-time at a variety of tasks for the Inca, the ''quya'' (Inca queen), or the religious establishment. A few members of this serving class enjoyed high s ...
, meaning a “black slave” in
Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language **So ...
. He remained a prisoner of the Spanish for three years. Because he kept his personal hatred of Valdivia hidden, Lautaro soon became his personal
page Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young mal ...
. Among his daily tasks as a page, he was in charge of taking care of Valdivia’s horses and always accompanying them into battle and military exercises. This is how he learned not to fear horses and even become a good rider himself. During this period he had a certain level of friendship with one of Valdivia’s principal captains by the name of Marcos Veas, who taught Lautaro how to use different kinds of weapons and cavalry tactics. This was a typical practice because as a yanakuna Lautaro was responsible to serve as an indigenous assistant during battles. According to the Chilean novelist
Isabel Allende Isabel Angélica Allende Llona (; born in Lima, 2 August 1942) is a Chilean writer. Allende, whose works sometimes contain aspects of the genre magical realism, is known for novels such as ''The House of the Spirits'' (''La casa de los espír ...
in her historical novel, ''Inés del Alma Mía'', the boy Lautaro had deliberately allowed himself to be captured by the Spanish in order to learn their secrets, and made no attempt to escape until he felt he had learned enough. In any case, he fled twice, first in 1550 and for good in 1552. In 1553 (the year Lautaro turned 19), the Mapuches convened to decide how to respond to the Spanish invasion. The convention decided upon war. The ''
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 ('' ...
''
Caupolicán Caupolicán (meaning ‘polished flint’ (queupu) or ‘blue quartz stone’ (Kallfulikan) in Mapudungun) was a ''toqui'' or war leader of the Mapuche people, who led the resistance of his people against the Spanish Conquistadors who invaded the ...
chose Lautaro as vice toqui because he had served as a
page Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young mal ...
in the Spanish cavalry, and thereby possessed knowledge of how to defeat the mounted ''conquistadors''. Lautaro introduced use of horses to the Mapuche and designed better combat tactics. He organized a large, cohesive army—a military formation unfamiliar to the Mapuche.


Campaigns


Battle of Tucapel

With 6,000 warriors under his command, Lautaro attacked Fort Tucapel. The Spanish garrison couldn't withstand the assault and retreated to Purén. Lautaro seized the fort, sure that the Spaniards would attempt to retake it. That is exactly what Governor Valdivia tried to do with a reduced force, which was quickly surrounded and massacred by the Mapuches on Christmas Day, 1553. The
Battle of Tucapel The Battle of Tucapel (also known as the Disaster of Tucapel) is the name given to a battle fought between Spanish conquistador forces led by Pedro de Valdivia and Mapuche (Araucanian) Indians under Lautaro that took place at Tucapel, Chile on D ...
would be Pedro de Valdivia's last, as he was captured and then killed. After the defeat at Tucapel, the Spanish hastily reorganized their forces, reinforcing the defenses of Fort Imperial and abandoning the settlements of Confines and Arauco in order to strengthen Concepción. However, Mapuche tradition dictated a lengthy victory celebration, which kept Lautaro from realizing his desire to pursue the military advantage he had just gained. It was only in February 1554 that he succeeded in putting together an army of 8,000 men, just in time to confront a punitive expedition under the command of
Francisco de Villagra Francisco de Villagra Velázquez (1511 – 22 July 1563) was a Spanish conquistador, and three times governor of Chile. Early life Born at Santervás de Campos, he was the son of Alvaro de Sarría and Ana Velázquez de Villagra, who were not m ...
.


Battle of Marihueñu

Lautaro chose the hill of
Marihueñu Marihueñu or Marigueno is a large hill in the Nahuelbuta Range near the coast in the Lota, Chile, Lota commune of the Bío Bío Region of southern Chile. Its name is from the Mapudungun ''mari'', "ten" and ''huenu'', "heights". This height was w ...
to fight the Spanish. He organized his forces in four divisions: two charged with containing and wearing down the enemy, a third held in reserve to launch a fresh attack as the Spanish were about to crumble, and the last charged with cutting off their retreat. Additionally, a small group was sent to destroy the reed bridge the Spanish had erected across the Bío-Bío River, which would further disrupt any attempted retreat of Villagra. The Spanish attack broke the first Mapuche lines, but the quick response of the third division maintained the Mapuche position. Later, the wings of this division began to attack the Spanish flanks, and the fourth division attacked from behind. After hours of battle, only a small group of Spanish managed to retreat. Despite this fresh victory, Lautaro was again unable to pursue the opportunity due to the celebrations and beliefs of his people. By the time he arrived at Concepción, it was already abandoned. He burned it, but his remaining forces were insufficient to continue the offensive, so the campaign came to an end. In
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 ...
, Villagra reorganized his forces, and that same year of 1554, he departed again for Arauco and reinforced the strongholds of Imperial and Valdivia, without any interference from the Mapuches, who were dealing with their first epidemic of
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
, which had been brought by the Spanish. In 1555, the
Real Audiencia of Lima The Real Audiencia and Chancery of Lima ( es, Audiencia y Cancillería Real de Lima, links=no) was a superior court in the New World empire of Spain, located in the city of Lima, capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru. It was created on November 20, 154 ...
ordered Villagra to reconstruct Concepción, which was done under the command of Captain Alvarado. Upon learning of this, Lautaro successfully besieged Concepción with 4,000 warriors. Only 38 Spaniards managed to escape by sea the second destruction of the city.


Peteroa and the Battle of Mataquito

After the second rout at Concepción, Lautaro desired to attack
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 ...
. He found scant support for this plan from his troops, who soon dwindled to only 600, but he carried on. In October 1556 his northward march reached the
Mataquito River Mataquito is a river located in the Province of Curicó, Maule Region of Chile and formed by the union of rivers Teno and Lontué about 10 kilometers west of Curicó near the locality of Sagrada Familia and empties into the Pacific Ocean south o ...
, where he established a fortified camp at Peteroa. In the
Battle of Peteroa 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 ...
he repulsed attacking Spanish forces under the command of Diego Cano, and later held off the larger force commanded by Pedro de Villagra. Being advised that still more Spaniards were approaching, Lautaro decided to retreat towards the
Maule River The Maule river or Río Maule ( Mapudungun: ''rainy'') is one of the most important rivers of Chile. It is inextricably linked to the country's pre-Hispanic (Inca) times, the country's conquest, colonial period, wars of Independence, modern hist ...
losing 200 warriors. With the Spaniards in hot pursuit he was forced to retire beyond the
Itata River The Itata River flows in the Ñuble Region, southern Chile. Until the Conquest of Chile, the Itata was the natural limit between the Mapuche, located to the south, and Picunche, to the north. See also *Itata *List of rivers in Chile This list o ...
. From there he launched another campaign towards Santiago when Villagra's army passed him by on the way to save the remaining Spanish settlements in Araucanía. Lautaro had chosen to give Villagra's force the slip and head for the city to attack it. Despite the Mapuches' stealth, the city's leaders learned of the advance and sent a small expedition to thwart it, buying time for word to be sent to Villagra to return to the city from the south. The Spanish forces met in the field, and from a member of the local ethnos, the
Picunche The Picunche (a Mapudungun word meaning "North People"), also referred to as ''picones'' by the Spanish, were a Mapudungun-speaking people living to the north of the Mapuches or Araucanians (a name given to those Mapuche living between the Itata an ...
, they learned the disposition of Lautaro's camp. At dawn, on April 29, 1557 the ''conquistadors'' launched a surprise attack from the hills of Caune, obtaining a decisive victory in the
Battle of Mataquito The Battle of Mataquito was fought in the Arauco War on April 30, 1557, between the forces of the Spanish governor, Francisco de Villagra, and Mapuche headed by their toqui Lautaro. It was a surprise attack, carried out at dawn, on Lautaro's fo ...
in which Lautaro was killed early in the fighting. After the defeat of his army, his head was cut off and displayed in the plaza of Santiago.


Legacy

Alonso de Ercilla Alonso de Ercilla y Zúñiga (7 August 153329 November 1594) was a Spanish soldier and poet, born in Madrid. While in Chile (1556–63) he fought against the Araucanians (Mapuche), and there he began the epic poem ''La Araucana'', considered one o ...
, an officer in the Spanish forces early in the Araucanian war (who, as it happened, was only one year older than Lautaro), in the decade following his service composed that masterpiece of the Spanish Golden Age of literature—the
epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements Epic or EPIC may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and medi ...
poem, ''
La Araucana ''La Araucana'' (also known in English as ''The Araucaniad'') is a 16th-century epic poem in Spanish by Alonso de Ercilla, about the Spanish Conquest of Chile. It was considered the national epic of the Captaincy General of Chile and one of th ...
--''in which Lautaro is a central figure. Lautaro is acclaimed in Chile as its first general, for uniting the dispersed Mapuche people and leading them in battle. He inflicted crushing defeats on Spanish armies which had armored horsemen wielding swords, metal war clubs and steel-tipped lances, armored footmen as well, with their own swords and clubs, crossbows and arquebuses, even though his own Mapuche were armed only with slings, bows and arrows, wooden spears, clubs and axes. Remarkably, he did this not fighting a "guerilla" war, but in pitched battle. His name was used by
Francisco de Miranda Sebastián Francisco de Miranda y Rodríguez de Espinoza (28 March 1750 – 14 July 1816), commonly known as Francisco de Miranda (), was a Venezuelan military leader and revolutionary. Although his own plans for the independence of the Spani ...
when he founded the
Lautaro Lodge The Lautaro Lodge ( es, Logia Lautaro) was a revolutionary secret lodge active in Latin American politics in the 19th Century. It was initially known as the Lodge of Rational Knights ( es, Logia de los Caballeros Racionales). Its initial purposes w ...
, a secret Latin American independence society of the end of 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. In the 20th century, Chilean author
Pablo Neruda Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto (12 July 1904 – 23 September 1973), better known by his pen name and, later, legal name Pablo Neruda (; ), was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Nerud ...
, the future
Nobel Literature Prize ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...
laureate, wrote a poem about him. Lautaro appears in '' Civilization VI: Rise and Fall'', an expansion of ''
Civilization VI ''Sid Meier's Civilization VI'' is a turn-based strategy 4X video game developed by Firaxis Games, published by 2K Games, and distributed by Take-Two Interactive. The mobile port was published by Aspyr Media. The latest entry into the ''Civiliza ...
'' as the leader of the Mapuche civilization.PC Gamer
PC Gamer
His special ability decreases enemy city loyalty when the Mapuche kill a unit or pillage tiles inside the city's borders. The Argentine football player
Lautaro Martínez Lautaro Javier Martínez (born 22 August 1997) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Inter Milan and the Argentina national team. Martínez began his football career in his native Argentina, where he made his ...
was named after the Mapuche hero.


See also

*
History of Chile The territory of Chile has been populated since at least 3000 BC. By the 16th century, Spanish conquistadors began to colonize the region of present-day Chile, and the territory was a colony between 1540 and 1818, when it gained independence from ...
*
Caupolicán Caupolicán (meaning ‘polished flint’ (queupu) or ‘blue quartz stone’ (Kallfulikan) in Mapudungun) was a ''toqui'' or war leader of the Mapuche people, who led the resistance of his people against the Spanish Conquistadors who invaded the ...
*
Colocolo The Pampas cat (''Leopardus colocola'') is a small wild cat native to South America. It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List as habitat conversion and destruction may cause the population to decline in the future. It is named after ...
* Chilean ship ''Lautaro''


References


Further reading

* * * * * * * *


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lautaro 1534 births 1557 deaths Captaincy General of Chile People of the Arauco War 16th-century Mapuche people Military personnel killed in action Indigenous leaders of the Americas Indigenous military personnel of the Americas Toquis Characters in La Araucana People killed in the Arauco War