Maule is a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
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
Talca Province
Talca Province ( es, Provincia de Talca) is one of four provinces of the central Chilean region of Maule (VII). Its capital is the city of Talca.
Administration
As a province, Talca is a second-level administrative division of Chile, governed b ...
in central
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 ...
's
Maule Region
The Maule Region ( es, Región del Maule, ) is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. Its capital is Talca. The region derives its name from the Maule River which, running westward from the Andes, bisects the region and spans a ...
. It takes its name from the
Mapudungun
Mapuche (, Mapuche & Spanish: , or Mapudungun; from ' 'land' and ' 'speak, speech') is an Araucanian language related to Huilliche spoken in south-central Chile and west-central Argentina by the Mapuche people (from ''mapu'' 'land' and ''che ...
words for "valley" (''mau'') and "rainy" (''len'').
Geography
The town of Maule lies near 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 ...
. The Maule commune spans an area of .
History
Since the time of the
Inca
The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...
s, the area that makes up the Maule commune today has been a place of strategic and communicative value due to its close proximity to the river of the same name. In this area, the city of
Talca
Talca () is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune in Chile located about south of Santiago, Chile, Santiago, and is the capital of both Talca Province and Maule Region (7th Region of Chile). As of the 2012 census, the ...
was founded as the Villa de San Agustín about to the north. In the mid 18th century, nearby Duao was founded as the communal seat. During the 19th century, many people were attracted to the mining activity in the area of El Chavito and settled here looking for a better future. They founded various towns, principally Peumo. Toward the west was the old river port of Linares de Perales which lies between the confluence of the Maule and Claro rivers, where barges transported agricultural products to their destination of
Constitución.
On 30 December 1927, then-
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Mientras renamed Peumo to Maule and established the commune with Supreme Decree 8583. At this time, the communal seat was moved from Duao to Maule where it remains to this day. In 1928, a year after its founding, the commune of Maule, which was at one time owned by the Lailhacar brothers, belonged to the municipality of Duao but was renamed to the municipality of Maule. Until 1927, the ancient city of Duao had been led by seven alcaldes. The current commune of Maule, since its first mayor Carlos Garcena to its present mayor, has been led by 39 alcaldes.
Economy
The economy of the commune is based primary on agriculture and
stockbreeding
Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, startin ...
. The goldmine El Chavito can be found on the riverbank where El Águila hill, property of the Silva Neale family, was the area's main gold deposit in the 19th century.
The vineyard and garden ''La Vertientes'' (meaning "The Slopes") has become the premiere industrial flower garden that exports flowers and seeds to Europe, particularly to Germany. Their owner, Carlos Steinhoff von Bohlen, married Amalia Silva Neale and began work in the 1950s, becoming a pioneer in the commune in this non-traditional export trade. In the Maule Region, principle exports are wine and fruits such as apples and grapes.
Demographics
According to data from the 2002 Census of Population and Housing, Maule had 16,837 inhabitants; of these, 6,739 (40.0%) 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 10,098 (60.0%) 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. At that time, there were 8,691 men and 8,146 women. The population grew 22.3% (3,068 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.
The demonym for a person from Maule is ''Maulino'' for a man or ''Maulina'' for a woman.
Administration
As a commune, Maule 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 Iván Riveros Cerda (ILE),
and his council members are:
* Luis Vasquez Galvez (
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
...
)
* Sergio Jelvez Medina (
PS)
* Pablo Opazo Encina (
DC)
* Vladimir Albornoz Espina (ILD)
* Carlos Ovalle Rojas (ILF)
* Juan Gutierrez Moreno (
RN)
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 ...
, Maule 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 Pablo Lorenzini (
PDC) and Pedro Pablo Alvarez-Salamanca (
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
...
) as part of the 38th electoral district, together with
Curepto,
Constitución,
Empedrado,
Pencahue
Pencahue () is a town and commune in Chile, located in Talca Province, in the seventh region of Maule. The commune spans and area of .
Also there are another three places called Pencahue, near to San Vicente de Tagua Tagua, Sexta Región, Chile. ...
,
San Clemente
San Clemente (; Spanish for " St. Clement") is a city in Orange County, California. Located in the Orange Coast region of the South Coast of California, San Clemente's population was 64,293 in at the 2020 census. Situated roughly midway betwee ...
,
Pelarco,
Río Claro and
San Rafael. 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 Juan Antonio Coloma Correa (UDI) and
Andrés Zaldívar Larraín (PDC) as part of the 10th senatorial constituency (Maule-North).
References
External links
Municipality of Maule
{{Authority control
Populated places in Talca Province
Communes of Chile
Populated places established in 1927