Mapuche (Argentina and Chile)

The Inca came first, and stopped near the Maule River. Garcilaso de la Vega describes a battle there lasting several days between the Inca army and the peoples of the south, after which the Inca drew their frontier and pushed no further. Tawantinsuyu, which ruled from Ecuador to central Chile, went no further south.

Then came Spain, and the Arauco War, one of the longest wars in the history of the Americas. Lautaro had been captured as a boy and served as a groom to the governor Pedro de Valdivia. He learned how Spanish horses were handled and how they tired, escaped, was made a war leader, and in December 1553 led the Mapuche force that destroyed Valdivia's column at Tucapel. Valdivia was killed.

The Mapuche took up the horse within a generation and became formidable cavalry. For war they chose a toqui, a war leader chosen for his ability, above the leaders of their many local groups, and returned to local leadership in peacetime. They learned Spanish tactics and built forts of their own.

In 1641 the Spanish Crown signed the Treaty of Quilín, recognising the Mapuche lands south of the Bío Bío River. The frontier held for more than two centuries, until the Chilean and Argentine campaigns of the 1860s–1880s brought Mapuche territory under the rule of those republics. The Mapuche are around 1.7 million people today.

The Mapuche of southern Chile and Argentina stopped two empires, one after the other, and made Spain sign a treaty recognising their border.

The people of the land

The name Mapuche means "people of the land." They were never ruled by a single king. They lived in many local groups made up of related families, each led by its own head, called a lonko. The book describes them as farmers and hunters who moved between their lands, in the forests and river valleys of the south.

The Inca stop at the Maule

The Inca came first, pushing south from their empire in the Andes. They stopped near the Maule River. The writer Garcilaso de la Vega describes a battle there lasting several days between the Inca army and the peoples of the south. After it, the Inca drew their frontier and pushed no further. Tawantinsuyu, which ruled from Ecuador to central Chile, never went further south.

The Arauco War and Lautaro

Then came Spain, and the Arauco War — one of the longest wars in the history of the Americas. Lautaro had been captured as a boy and served as a groom, looking after the horses of the Spanish governor, Pedro de Valdivia. He learned how Spanish horses were handled and how they tired. Then he escaped, was made a war leader, and in December 1553 led the Mapuche force that destroyed Valdivia's column at Tucapel. Valdivia was killed.

Learning from the enemy

The Mapuche took up the horse within a generation and became formidable cavalry — soldiers who fight on horseback. The Mapuche lived in many local groups, each with its own leaders. For war, they chose a toqui, a war leader picked for his ability, who stood above the local leaders. In peacetime they returned to local leadership. They also learned Spanish tactics and built forts of their own.

A border in a treaty

In 1641 the Spanish Crown signed the Treaty of Quilín. It recognised the Mapuche lands south of the Bío Bío River. That frontier held for more than two centuries. It lasted until the campaigns of Chile and Argentina in the 1860s–1880s brought Mapuche territory under the rule of those two countries. The Mapuche number around 1.7 million people today.

Four things worth knowing

• La Araucana is a long poem by Alonso de Ercilla, a Spanish soldier who fought in the war. It tells of the Mapuche leaders Caupolicán and Lautaro as heroes, and it became a classic of Spanish literature.
• The Mapuche language, Mapudungun, is still spoken today.
• A machi, usually a woman, is a Mapuche spiritual leader and healer. The role continues today.
• Mapuche territory south of the Bío Bío was never conquered by Spain. It came under the republics of Chile and Argentina in the late 1800s.

The Mapuche live in the south of Chile and Argentina, a land of forests, rivers and snowy volcanoes. Their name means "people of the land." About 1.7 million Mapuche live there today, and many still speak their own language, Mapudungun.

People and their jobs

• The lonko was the head of a family group and its lands. The Mapuche had many lonkos, not one king.
• The toqui was a war leader. He was chosen because he was good at leading, and only for the time of war. In peace, each group went back to its own leaders.
• The machi is a healer and spiritual leader, usually a woman. Machis still serve their communities today.
• The weaver made cloth and ponchos on an upright wooden loom.
• The farmer grew potatoes, maize and beans.
• The horse rider. After the Spanish came, Mapuche warriors became some of the best horsemen in the Americas.

Animals

• The horse came with the Spanish. Within one lifetime the Mapuche had learned to breed and ride horses and to fight on horseback.

Things they made and used

• A ruka is a Mapuche house, with a roof of thick straw and a fire inside.
• A kultrún is a round drum that a machi plays in ceremonies.
• Forts. The Mapuche learned how the Spanish fought, and built forts of their own.
• A treaty. In 1641 the King of Spain signed the Treaty of Quilín, which said the Mapuche lands south of the Bío Bío River were theirs.

A famous Mapuche

Lautaro was taken by the Spanish as a boy and made to look after the governor's horses. He learned how the Spanish rode and fought. Then he escaped, went home, and became a war leader of his people.