The Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Region ( es, Región del Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, ), often shortened to O'Higgins Region ( es, Región de O'Higgins), is one 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 ...

's 16 first order

administrative division Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

s. It is subdivided into three

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

. It is named in honour of Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme, one of Chile's

founding father The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...

s. The Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Region is bordered to the west by the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

, to the east by the Republic of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, to the north by the

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

and Santiago Metropolitan Regions, and to the south by the

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 extends approximately between the parallels of 33° 51' and 35° 01' south latitude, and between the meridian of 70° 02' west longitude and the Pacific Ocean. The capital and largest city of the region is

Rancagua Rancagua () is a city and commune in central Chile and part of the Rancagua conurbation. It is the capital of the Cachapoal Province and of the O'Higgins Region, located south of the national capital of Santiago. It was originally named ...

. The second major town is San Fernando.

Geography

In pre-

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million years ...

times extensive

Nothofagus ''Nothofagus'', also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 43 species of trees and shrubs native to the Southern Hemisphere in southern South America (Chile, Argentina) and Australasia (east and southeast Australia, New Zealand, New Gui ...

forests covered much of Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Region. The Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Region is part of the very restricted range of the

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and invas ...

Chilean Wine Palm, ''

Jubaea chilensis ''Jubaea'' is a genus of palms with one species, ''Jubaea chilensis'' or ''Jubaea spectabilis'', commonly known in English as the Chilean wine palm or Chile cocopalm, and palma chilena in Spanish. It is native to southwestern South America and i ...

''; in prehistoric times this Chilean

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

tree had a significantly larger range.C. Michael Hogan (2008
''Chilean Wine Palm: Jubaea chilensis'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg

History

From 9000

BCE Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the o ...

to 300 BCE (the Archaic Period), the humans who inhabited the region moved between the coast and the valley as well as the Andes. At sites such as

Pichilemu Pichilemu (, ), originally known as Pichilemo, is a beach resort city and commune in central Chile, and capital of Cardenal Caro Province in the O'Higgins Region. The commune comprises an urban centre and twenty-two villages, including Ciru ...

Cáhuil Cáhuil ( arn, Place of seagulls, ) is a Chilean village located south of Pichilemu, at the mouth of the seasonal Nilahue Estuary, in the O'Higgins Region. Its economy is based on the production of sea salt, oysters, and mussels. The estuary is ...

and Bucalemu, they left trash deposits or

shell middens A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofac ...

bearing testimony to their raids . During the Agroalfarero Period (300 BCE - 1470 CE), the inhabitants experienced changes in their way of life, the most important being the cultivation of vegetables and the manufacture of clay objects. From 600 CE onwards, they started cultivating beans,

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...

, squashes, pumpkins and

quinoa Quinoa (''Chenopodium quinoa''; , from Quechua ' or ') is a flowering plant in the amaranth family. It is a herbaceous annual plant grown as a crop primarily for its edible seeds; the seeds are rich in protein, dietary fiber, B vitamins, an ...

. All of these except

and some types of maize required irrigation, which prompted them to move to the banks of creeks and rivers. During this period, groups of people lived in Quincha houses with straw roofs, in the vicinity of irrigation channels and horticulture crops, a style of life attributable to the Promaucaes or Picunches and to the Chiquillanes. During the Colonial Period (1541 CE to 1811 CE), the region became dominated, like the rest of the country, by the Spanish, and a system of ranching became predominant .

Demography

The Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins region contains a large part of the rural population (surpassed only by the

). Amongst the highly populated cities,

(206,971 inhabitants) stands out for having been transformed, in recent times, into an outskirt of Santiago. It is close being located 87 km south of Santiago. It is the capital of the

Cachapoal Province Cachapoal Province ( es, Provincia de Cachapoal) is one of three provinces of the central Chilean region of O'Higgins (VI). Its capital is the city of Rancagua (pop. 214,344). Geography and demography According to the 2002 census by the National ...

as well the Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Region. According to the census of 2002,Chile: Proyecciones y Estimaciones de Población. Total País 1950-2050
Instituto National de Estadísticas (INE) other densely populated cities are: San Fernando (49,519 inhabitants);

Rengo The , commonly known as , is the largest national trade union center in Japan, with over six million members as of 2011.Rengo websitRengo brochure 2010-2011 Retrieved on July 6, 2012 It was founded in 1989 as a result of the merger of the Japan ...

(30,891);

Machalí Machalí is a Chilean commune and city in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Machalí spans an area of and has 28,628 inhabitants (14,297 men and 14,331 women ...

(23,920);

Graneros Graneros is a Chilean commune and city in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region. Deportes Graneros se conoce como unas de las candidatas a ganar la copa de la región Libertador Bernardo Ohiggins Tiene su Estadio renovado,El Estadio Miguel Riffo ...

(21,616); San Vicente de Tagua Tagua (18,914); Santa Cruz (18,603);

Chimbarongo Chimbarongo, Chile, is a city and commune located south of Santiago in the Colchagua Province of the O'Higgins Region. Many of the people of Chimbarongo make their living weaving wickerwork, ''mimbre'', baskets. Demographics According to the ...

(13,795);

(12,392), a well-known beach resort city founded by Agustin Ross Edwards in the late 19th century; and San Francisco de Mostazal (12,037).

Economy

The main industrial and export activity takes place at CODELCO's

El Teniente El Teniente ("The Lieutenant") is an underground copper mine located in the Chilean Andes, above mean sea level. It is in the commune of Machalí in Cachapoal Province, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Region, near the company town of ...

mine, which contributes 7.7% of Chile's copper production. The ore is processed at the Sewell and Colón concentrator plants, smelted and refined at Caletones, and shipped from the port of San Antonio, in the Valparaíso Region. Byproducts include

molybdenum Molybdenum is a chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42 which is located in period 5 and group 6. The name is from Neo-Latin ''molybdaenum'', which is based on Ancient Greek ', meaning lead, since its ores were confused with l ...

and

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical co ...

. Agriculture contributes 30.1% of the region's GDP. One out of every four hectares of fruit orchards in

is in the Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Region. The main crops are apples and pears, followed by table grapes, plums, kiwis, and nectarines. Manufacturing activity in the region is mostly related to

copper mining Copper extraction refers to the methods used to obtain copper from its ores. The conversion of copper consists of a series of physical and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with country depending on the ore source, loc ...

agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...

, and food and beverages. One particular growth area is the production of fruit juices and

pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit Engineering * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Molded pulp, a packaging material * ...

, and dehydrated fruit. Over the past few years, there has been significant development in the forestry sector, especially plantations of eucalyptus and radiata pine.

Law and government

The region is co-governed by a presidential regional delegate, who is appointed by the

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 ...

—currently independent Fabio López—, and popularly-elected governor of O'Higgins Pablo Silva Amaya (2021-2025 term). The administration of the region rests with the

regional government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

which is headed by the regional governor and the regional council (''Consejo Regional de Chile''). The latter comprises twenty regional council members, who are popularly elected since

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

(thirteen from Cachapoal, five from Colchagua, and two from Cardenal Caro).

Administrative divisions

For purposes of interior administration, the Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Region is divided into three provinces: *

, capital:

, * Colchagua Province, capital: San Fernando, * Cardenal Caro Province, capital:

. The provinces are subdivided into 33 communes.

Education

Culture

This area is known as the "huaso province" after the name of the Chilean cowboy, the

huaso A huaso () is a Chilean countryman and skilled horseman, similar to the American cowboy, the Mexican charro (and its northern equivalent, the vaquero), the gaucho of Argentina, Uruguay and Rio Grande Do Sul, and the Australian stockman. A fe ...

. Sashes and mantas – traditional items of the huaso costume – are woven in

Doñihue Doñihue () is a Chilean city and commune in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region. It is approximately 20 kilometers (12 miles) west-southwest of Rancagua on route H-30. The comune has two principal towns, Doñihue and Lo Miranda. Demographics ...

on heavy vertical looms. Designs imitate vine leaves, bunches of

grapes A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...

s and copihues. Other designs of colored stripes are woven on horizontal looms. The population is a mixture of both European (including

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

immigrants) and indigenous races and cultures, thus the region has a homogeneous culture known as ''Chileanidad'' is present and a

mestizo (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed European and Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturally European even though their ...

imprint is evident. The Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Region was settled by Spaniards (notably

Andalusians The Andalusians ( es, andaluces) are a European ethnic group, native to Andalusia, an autonomous community in southern Spain. Andalusia's statute of autonomy defines Andalusians as the Spanish citizens who reside in any of the municipalitie ...

, Basques,

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

ese and

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

se) and other Europeans. French and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional It ...

families established agriculture including the important

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are ...

industry: the Wine Route is one of the main tourist attractions of the Colchagua valley. Breweries can be found as well, the legacy of German and

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internationa ...

immigration. Livestock herding was especially influenced by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

n settlers.

Regional festivals

Notable people

* Violeta Zúñiga (1933-2019), human rights activist

References

External links

"The Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins Region" at the Chilean government website

VI.cl: Portal de la Sexta Región (Portal for the Sixth Region)

Pichilemu's official website
* * {{Authority control Regions of Chile