San Cristóbal de La Paz was a

fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

that was established in 1621 by

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

Cristóbal de la Cerda y Sotomayor Cristóbal de la Cerda y Sotomayor, (México 1585? – † ? ); Spanish oidor, lawyer of the Royal Audiencia of Santiago, Real Audiencia of Chile. After the death of governor Lope de Ulloa y Lemos he assumed the temporary governance of Chile for ...

. It was located five or six kilometers to the southwest of

Yumbel Yumbel is a city and commune of the Province of Bío Bío in the region of the same name, Chile. History Yumbel originated from the small fort of ''San Felipe de Austria'', raised in 1585 by Governor Alonso de Sotomayor, on the cerro del Centi ...

on the west shore of the Claro River to the north of its confluence with the Laja River. In 1646 a mission and a small church was established that grew into a settlement with a few inhabitants. In February 1655, both the fort and settlement were destroyed by the

Mapuche The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...

, and it was reestablished in 1663, under the temporary governor

Ángel de Peredo Angel is a given name meaning " angel", " messenger". In the English-speaking world Angel is used for both boys and girls. From the medieval Latin masculine name ''Angelus'', which was derived from the name of the heavenly creature (itself deri ...

. This settlement lasted until the Mapuche rising of 1766, when it was abandoned and never rebuilt.

Sources

* 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. 692 San Cristóbal
*

Diego Barros Arana Diego Jacinto Agustín Barros Arana (; August 16, 1830 – November 4, 1907) was a Chilean professor, legislator, minister and diplomat. He is considered the most important Chilean historian of the 19th century. His main work ''General History o ...

Historia general de Chile, Tomo cuarto, Capítulo V, pg.169-170.
Populated places established in 1621 Geography of Biobío Region Fortifications in Chile 17th-century establishments in the Captaincy General of Chile 1621 establishments in the Spanish Empire {{fort-stub