Yumbel is 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 ...

of the Province of Bío Bío in the region of the same name,

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 ...

History

Yumbel originated from the small fort of ''San Felipe de Austria'', raised in 1585 by

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Alonso de Sotomayor, on the cerro del Centinela (Hill of the Sentinel). This fort was destroyed by 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 ...

and replaced in 1603, by Governor Alonso de Ribera as fort ''Santa Lucia de Yumbel''. Destroyed in 1621 it was rebuilt the same year. It remained in use until 1648 when it was abandoned and its garrison sent to the fort of

Nacimiento, Chile Nacimiento (, en, Birth) is a Chilean city situated in the Bío Bío Province, Bío Bío Region, south of Santiago, and from the closest major city in the region, Concepción. It was first used as a fort for the Spanish army to advance an ...

. Governor Ángel de Peredo again constructed it in 1663 as fort ''Nuestra Señora de Almudena''. When Francisco de Meneses Brito populated it three years later he renamed it ''San Carlos de Austria de Yumbel''. During the term of Diego González Montero Justiniano a town that had evolved was given the name of ''Santa Lucia de Yumbel''. Governor Antonio de Guill y Gonzaga gave it the recognition as a town in 1766. It grew little until the Chilean War of Independence when it was occupied by both sides at times and then was burned by the Spanish guerrilla Juan Manuel Picó and the end of 1820. The town was reduced to ruins in the earthquake of February 20, 1835, and was reestablished to the north of the old location on August 29, 1836. It alternated for some time with the town of San Luis Gonzaga as the capital of the Department of Rere, until the decree of June 2, 1853 confirmed Yumbel as the capital. On March 19, 1871 Yumbel was made a city.

Geography

The city lies a few kilometers northeast of the confluence of the Laja and Bío Bío rivers. The Biobío River marks boundary between two natural regions of Chile, the Zona Central to the north and the Zona Austral to the south.

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 inc ...

of the National Statistics Institute, Yumbel spans an area of and has 20,498 inhabitants (10,442 men and 10,056 women). Of these, 10,935 (53.3%) 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 9,563 (46.7%) 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 0.2% (38 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Yumbel 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 counc ...

, 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) ...

who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Camilo Cabezas Vega ( PH). 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 t ...

, Yumbel 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 Jorge Sabag ( PDC) and Frank Sauerbaum ( RN) as part of the 42nd electoral district, together with

San Fabián San Fabián is the easternmost of 21 communes in the Punilla Province of central Chile's. Ñuble Region. The capital is the town of San Fabián de Alico. The commune spans an area of . Administration As a commune, San Fabián is administered by ...

Ñiquén Ñiquén is a commune of the Punilla Province, located in the north of the Ñuble Region of Chile. Geographically, it is delimited by the Perquilauquén River to the north and the Ñiquén River in the south. Its boundary to the north is the commu ...

, San Carlos, San Nicolás,

Ninhue Ninhue () is a Chilean commune and town in the Itata Province, Ñuble Region. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Ninhue spans an area of and has 5,738 inhabitants (2,920 men and 2,818 women). Of the ...

Quirihue Quirihue () is a Chilean city in Quirihue, Itata Province, Ñuble Region. It is located about 72 kilometers northwest of Chillán and 410 km southwest of Santiago. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Insti ...

, Cobquecura,

Treguaco Treguaco (), also spelled as Trehuaco (), is a Chilean city and commune in Itata Province, Ñuble Region. The commune spans an area of . Demographics According to data from the 2002 Census of Population and Housing, the Treguaco commune had 5,29 ...

, Portezuelo, Coelemu,

Ránquil Ránquil is a Chilean commune in Itata Province, Ñuble Region. The communal capital is the town of Ránquil. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute Ránquil had 5,683 inhabitants (2,896 men and 2,787 ...

, Quillón, Bulnes and Cabrero. 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 Alejandro Navarro Brain ( MAS) and Hosain Sabag Castillo ( PDC) as part of the 12th senatorial constituency (Biobío-Cordillera).

References

External links

*
Municipality of Yumbel
{{Communes in Bío Bío Region Communes of Chile Populated places in Bío Bío Province 1585 establishments in the Spanish Empire