Santa Bárbara is a

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 ...

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

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 Bío Bío Province, Bío Bío Region. In 2004 a great portion of its territory was taken off to form the new commune of Alto Bío Bío.

History

The city of Santa Bárbara lies on the north bank of the Biobío River, and was established by

Manuel de Amat y Juniet Manuel de Amat y Junyent, OSJ, OM ( ca, Manuel d'Amat i de Junyent) (March 1707 – February 14, 1782) was a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator. He was the Royal Governor of the Captaincy General of Chile from December 28, 175 ...

first as the fort of Santa Bárbara in 1756. The governor populated and erected the town of Santa Bárbara there on July 4, 1758. The town and fort was improved during the government of Ambrosio O' Higgins and became an important post for containing the

malone Malone is an Irish surname. From the Irish "''Mael Eóin''", the name means a servant or a disciple of Saint John. People * Gilla Críst Ua Máel Eóin (died 1127), historian and Abbot of Clonmacnoise, Ó Maoil Eoin * Adrian Malone (1937–2 ...

s of the

Pehuenche Pehuenche (or ''Pewenche'', people of the "pehuen" or "pewen" in Mapudungun) are an indigenous people of South America. They live in the Andes, primarily in present-day south central Chile and adjacent Argentina. Their name derives from their de ...

s. In January 1819 it was depopulated and in 1821 it was burned by the royalist Juan Manuel Picó. It remained in ruins until 1833 when it began to be repopulated under the direction of the commander Domingo Salvo. It eventually developed to the point it was again recognized as a town January 2, 1871.Francisco Solano Asta Buruaga y Cienfuegos, Diccionario geográfico de la República de Chile, pg.737

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 in ...

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 ...

, Santa Bárbara spans an area of and has 19,970 inhabitants (10,835 men and 9,135 women). Of these, 7,932 (39.7%) 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 ...

s and 12,038 (60.3%) 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 descr ...

s. The population grew by 67.8% (8,069 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Santa Bárbara is a third-level administrative division of Chile 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 counc ...

, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Daniel Enrique Iraira Sagredo (ILE). Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Santa Bárbara is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Juan Lobos ( UDI) and José Pérez ( PRSD) as part of the 47th electoral district, together with Los Ángeles,

Tucapel 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 ...

, Antuco, Quilleco, Quilaco,

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, Laja and Alto Bío Bío. The commune is represented in the Senate by Victor Pérez Varela ( UDI) and Mariano Ruiz-Esquide Jara ( PDC) as part of the 13th senatorial constituency (Biobío-Coast).

References

External links

*
Municipality of Santa BárbaraLiceo Cardenal Antonio Samoré de Santa BárbaraDirectorio de recursos de Santa Bárbara
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Barbara, Chile Communes of Chile Colonial fortifications in Chile Populated places in Bío Bío Province 1756 establishments in the Spanish Empire

History

Demographics

Administration

References

Further reading

External links