Tucapel 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 the Bío Bío Province, Bío Bío Region,

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 ...

. It was once a region of Araucanía named for the

Tucapel River Tucapel is a town and commune in the Bío Bío Province, Bío Bío Region, Chile. It was once a region of Araucanía named for the Tucapel River. The name of the region derived from the rehue and aillarehue of the Moluche people of the area b ...

. The name of the region derived from the

rehue A rehue (Mapudungun spelling rewe) or kemukemu is a type of pillar-like sacred altar used by the Mapuche of Chile in many of their ceremonies. Altar/Axis mundi The ''rehue'' is a carved tree trunk set in the ground, surrounded by a hedge o ...

and

aillarehue Aillarehue or Ayllarehue (from the Mapudungun: ayllarewe/ayjarewe: "nine rehues"); a confederation of rehues or family-based units (lof) that dominated a region or province. It was the old administrative and territorial division of the Mapuche, H ...

of the

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 ...

people of the area between 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 ...

and the Lleulleu Rivers, who were famed for their long resistance to the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

in 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 ...

. Tucapel is also the name of a famous leader from that region in the first resistance against the Spanish mentioned in

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 ...

epic poem An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

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 ...

''. Formerly belonging to the Ñuble Province, in the Yungay Department. Near the town of Tucapel is the ''Plaza de San Diego de Tucapel''. The capital of the commune is the town of Huépil, moving the municipality from Tucapel in 1967. In Mapudungun the name Huépil means "To seize or to take by force". The main economic activities of the commune are commerce, agriculture and forestry.

History

Tucapel is an old foundation in the country, originally part of the Rere Province, in which three La Frontera fortresses existed:

Talcamávida Talcamávida is a town in the commune of Hualqui in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is located on the north bank of the Bio Bio River across from Santa Juana on the opposite shore. It occupied a plain along the river from the Pacific Ocean that i ...

Yumbel Yumbel is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune of the Bío Bío Province, Province of Bío Bío in the Region of Biobio, region of the same name, Chile. History Yumbel originated from the small fort of ''San Felipe de Aus ...

and San Diego de Tucapel. The fortress of San Diego de Alcalá de Tucapel was founded by

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 ...

in 1552 on a hill in the valley of the Tucapel River at the present location of the city of Cañete. Near here, the conqueror died after being surprised and defeated at 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 ...

Lautaro Lautaro (Anglicized as 'Levtaru') ( arn, Lef-Traru " swift hawk") (; 1534? – April 29, 1557) was a young Mapuche toqui known for leading the indigenous resistance against Spanish conquest in Chile and developing the tactics that would conti ...

, after he had arrived to relieve the fortress, which Lautaro had already destroyed before December 25, 1553. In 1557, the fortress and the later city of ''Cañete de la Frontera'' were later rebuilt by

García Hurtado de Mendoza García or Garcia may refer to: People * García (surname) * Kings of Pamplona/Navarre ** García Íñiguez of Pamplona, king of Pamplona 851/2–882 ** García Sánchez I of Pamplona, king of Pamplona 931–970 ** García Sánchez II of Pam ...

three kilometers to the west of the present location of the city and resisted an attack by Toqui

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 ...

. It was abandoned again in January 1563 during the second Mapuche uprising. Later it was rebuilt by

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 ...

in 1566. It was finally abandoned after the

Battle of Curalaba The Battle of Curalaba ( es, Batalla de Curalaba, links=no ) is a 1598 battle and ambush where Mapuche people led by Pelantaru soundly defeated Spanish conquerors led by Martín García Óñez de Loyola at Curalaba, southern Chile. In Chilean ...

in the Mapuche Uprising of 1598. The present city of Cañete was founded on November 12, 1868, by colonel

Cornelio Saavedra Rodríguez Cornelio Saavedra Rodríguez (1821 – April 7, 1891) was a Chilean politician and military figure who played a major role in the Occupation of the Araucanía. His parents were Manuel Saavedra Cabrera, son of the president of the First Governm ...

as part of the pacification of Araucanía. In 1603 a new fort Tucapel was established on the site of the Valdivia's old fort by

Alonso de Ribera Alonso de Ribera y Zambrano (; 1560 – March 9, 1617) was a Spanish soldier and twice Spanish royal governor of Chile (1601–1605 and 1612–1617). Early life Born in Úbeda, he was the illegitimate son of Hidalgo and Captain Jorge de Ribera Za ...

as part of his system of frontier forts. It received improvements in 1668 under the governor Diego Dávila Coello, who populated it, making it a mission site and named it ''Plaza de San Diego de Tucapel''. This place was the target of repeated attacks by the Mapuche and was captured by

Vilumilla Vilumilla was the Mapuche Toqui elected in 1722 to lead the Mapuche Uprising of 1723 against the Spanish for their violation of the peace. The Mapuche resented the Spanish intruding into their territory and building forts, and also the insolence of ...

Mapuche Uprising of 1723 The Mapuche uprising of 1723 was a rebellion of the Mapuche (an indigenous people of western South America) against the Spanish Empire and its colonial administration in present-day Chile. It began with the killing of Pascual Delgado by Mapuches ...

. It was abandoned and demolished by Gabriel Cano de Aponte in 1724 and he transferred its garrison and inhabitants to the bank of the Laja River near the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

where a new ''Plaza de San Diego de Tucapel'' was built and later a town of Tucapel has established.

Demographics

According to the 2002

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of the

National Statistics Institute National Institute of Statistics may refer to: *National Institute of Statistics of Bolivia *National Institute of Statistics of Cambodia *National Institute of Statistics and Census of Costa Rica *National Institute of Statistics and Census of Nica ...

, Tucapel spans an area of and has 12,777 inhabitants (6,403 men and 6,374 women). Of these, 8,827 (69.1%) 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 3,950 (30.9%) 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. The population grew by 6.3% (757 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Tucapel 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 Jaime Sergio Veloso Jara ( 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 ...

, Tucapel 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 Juan Lobos (

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 ...

) and José Pérez ( PRSD) as part of the 47th electoral district, together with Los Ángeles, Antuco,

Quilleco Quilleco (literally means "water of tears") is a Chilean town and commune located in the Bío Bío Province, Bío Bío Region. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Quilleco spans an area of and has 1 ...

, Santa Bárbara,

Quilaco Quilaco is a Chilean town and commune located in the Bío Bío Province, Bío Bío Region. The commune spans an area of . History ''Quilaco'' has two accepted meanings: "Three waters" or " Quila in the water". The town has its roots in the Map ...

Mulchén Mulchén is a city and commune in Bío Bío Province of Bío Bío Region, Chile. It was first settled in 1871 by soldiers during the so-called Pacification of Araucania. In 1875 Mulchén was officially founded. The city is surrounded by a meand ...

Negrete Negrete () is a Chilean town and commune in Bío Bío Province, Bío Bío Region. It is bordered by the commune of Los Ángeles to the north, Renaico to the south, Mulchén to the east and Nacimiento to the west. The town oNegreteis located ...

, Nacimiento,

San Rosendo San Rosendo () is a Chilean city and commune in Bío Bío Province, Bío Bío Region. The city of San Rosendo lies on the gentle slopes of a hill overlooking the confluence of the rivers Bío Bío and Laja, which respectively bound the city ...

, Laja and

Alto Bío Bío The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Wikt:alto#Italian, Italian (Latin: ''Wikt:altus, altus''), historically refers to the counterpoint, contrapuntal Part (music), part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In SATB, 4-part voi ...

. 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 Victor Pérez Varela (UDI) and Mariano Ruiz-Esquide Jara ( PDC) as part of the 13th senatorial constituency (Biobío-Coast).

References

;Notes ;Bibliography
Francisco Solano Asta-Buruaga y Cienfuegos, Diccionario geográfico de la República de Chile, SEGUNDA EDICIÓN CORREGIDA Y AUMENTADA, NUEVA YORK, D. APPLETON Y COMPAÑÍA. 1899.
Pg. 846–847, Tucapel. *

Ricardo E. Latcham Ricardo Eduardo Latcham Cartwright (Thornbury, England, 5 March 1869 - Santiago, Chile, 16 October 1943) was an English-Chilean archaeologist, ethnologist, folklore scholar and teacher. Born and raised near Bristol, England, as Richard Edward La ...

''La organización social y las creencias religiosas de los antiguos araucanos'', Santiago de Chile, Impr. Cervantes, 1924.
Pg. 600.

External links

*
Municipality of Tucapel
{{Communes in Bío Bío Region Populated places in Bío Bío Province Communes of Chile 1552 establishments in the Spanish Empire