Michima Lonco (fl. mid-16th century) (''michima'' means "foreigner" and ''lonco'' means "head" or "chief" in Mapudungun language) was a

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 ...

chief said to be a great warrior, born in the

Aconcagua Aconcagua () is a mountain in the Principal Cordillera of the Andes mountain range, in Mendoza Province, Argentina. It is the highest mountain in the Americas, the highest outside Asia, and the highest in the Southern Hemisphere with a summi ...

Valley and educated in Cusco by the

Inca Empire 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 adm ...

. He presented himself to the

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both in ...

, naked and covered by a black pigmentation.Vivar, Cap. XXXI On September 11, 1541, Michimalonco attacked the newly founded Spanish settlement of Santiago, Chile after seven caciques were taken hostage by Spaniards following an uprising. Michimalonco was said to lead 8,000 to 20,000 men. The defense of the outnumbered town was led by Inés de Suárez, a female conquistador, while commander

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, wh ...

was elsewhere. Much of the town was destroyed when Suárez decapitated one of the caciques herself and had the rest decapitated to surprise the natives. The natives were then driven off by the Spanish. After fighting the Spaniards, he fled to 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 ...

mountain valleys. There he hid for a couple of years but feeling homesick he came back to the valley and allied his forces with the Spaniards and went to fight 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 s ...

s on the south. He was reputedly raised in

Cuzco Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the seventh most populous in Peru; ...

and acquired a Quechua accent when speaking his native language, therefore he was named the "Foreigner Chief".

References

Sources

Jerónimo de Vivar Jerónimo de Vivar was a Spanish historian of the early conquest and settlement of the Kingdom of Chile, and author of ''Crónica y relación copiosa y verdadera de los reinos de Chile''. Little is known about his life except that according to his ...

Crónica y relación copiosa y verdadera de los reinos de Chile (Chronicle and abundant and true relation of the kingdoms of Chile)
ARTEHISTORIA REVISTA DIGITAL; Crónicas de América (on line in Spanish) Captaincy General of Chile 16th-century Mapuche people 16th-century indigenous people of the Americas Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Indigenous leaders of the Americas Toquis Warriors of Central and South America {{SouthAm-hist-stub