The Pincheira brothers (Spanish: ''Hermanos Pincheira'') was an infamous

royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gov ...

outlaw group in

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 eas ...

and

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 List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

active from 1818 to 1832. The gang fought initially in the Chilean War of Independence as royalist guerrillas during the Guerra a muerte phase. After

Vicente Benavides Vicente Benavides Llanos (Quirihue, 1777 – Santiago, Chile, February 23, 1822) was a Chilean soldier who fought in the Chilean War of Independence. He is best known for leading Royalist (Spanish American independence), Royalists guerrillas in ...

was executed and the royalist resistance collapsed, they became armed bandits who sought to live outside the new states of Chile and Argentina. Later they specialized in

cattle raiding Cattle raiding is the act of stealing cattle. In Australia, such stealing is often referred to as duffing, and the perpetrator as a duffer.Baker, Sidney John (1945) ''The Australian language : an examination of the English language and English ...

and robbery. The Pincheira brothers formed an alliance with the Boroanos tribe that had settled in

Salinas Grandes The Salinas Grandes ('Salina' is a spanish word for salt flat) is a large salt flat in central-northern Argentina, spanning the borders of four provinces ( Córdoba, Catamarca, La Rioja and Santiago del Estero), at an average altitude A ...

and Sierra de la Ventana and attacked with them

Carmen de Patagones Carmen de Patagones is the southernmost city in the . Geography It is located 937 km southwest from the city of Buenos Aires, on the north bank of the Río Negro ("Black River"), near the Atlantic Ocean, and opposite Viedma, capital of ...

and Fortaleza Protectora Argentina (today's

Bahia Blanca Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest by ...

). As such they were a multiethnic group. In 1827 the colonel

Jorge Beauchef Jorge Beauchef (1787 in Velay, France - June 10, 1840 in Santiago, Chile) was a French military who participated in the Napoleonic Wars. He is best known in Latin America for his participation in the Chilean War of Independence, where he won man ...

, under the orders of Chilean general

Manuel Bulnes Manuel Bulnes Prieto (; December 25, 1799 – October 18, 1866) was a Chilean military and political figure. He was twice President of Chile, from 1841 to 1846 and from 1846 to 1851. Born in Concepción, Chile, Concepción, he served as the pre ...

, crossed 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 ...

and defeated the Pincheira brothers in the

battle of Epulafquén 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 ...

, but the outlaws slipped away. The gang was at large until 1832 when José Antonio Pincheira, who was in exile in Mendoza, negotiated a capitulation to the government of Chile. A significant folklore has grown around the

Cueva de los Pincheira Cueva de los Pincheira is a shallow cave located about southeast of Chillán, in Ñuble Region, Central Chile. The cave is famous for being a hideout of the Pincheira brothers, a royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of st ...

, a hideout of the gang.

References

Chilean outlaws Chilean War of Independence Gangs in Argentina Sibling groups History of Ñuble Region {{chile-hist-stub