[1] The 14-year period that separates the Curalaba disaster (December 23, 1598) and the defensive war (May 26, 1612) is the most violent that records the history of Chile and, in some way, the most momentous of the Spanish colonies In five years, the seven cities located south of the Biobío: Santa Cruz de Oñez, Arauco, Angol, La Imperial, Valdivia, Osorno and Villarrica disappeared from the Mapuche or were abandoned by the Spaniards.

The extensive area designed by Pedro de Valdivia, and which had formed as the national nucleus of the new country; These Chilean lands were lost as an active element in their development for more than two centuries.

Thousands of Spaniards perished in this company and more than four hundred women, Spanish and mestizo children, captured by the victors, propped up with their blood the growing vitality of the Mapuche people and the other half of the separated territory went through a long moral crisis.

The historian Don Diego de Rosales quotes him: That, as principal assistant of the army, send field marshal Pedro Cortés, to find out the author of certain robberies made to an assistant of Arauco, in a letter published with the death penalty for the one who stole in the square, and that the author discovered, proceeded to hang up.

The diligence was practiced, the accomplice denied the truth, assuming that soldier Alonso Ranquel, who has no excuses in his form, sent him to the gallows; but the Blessed Virgin Our Lady freed him from the rope and when they picked him up they found him healthy, and upon entering as a Jesuit he was a saint, in my opinion he died.In 1609, when he was 28, he had a good situation for his services as captain, and he was awarded the following grant dated August 18, 1609, where he says: In the place called Talcamo, on the Claro River, between the farms called Arroyo and Don Jorge; where the "Ahumada" Indians used to be, Don Gil built their houses there, to which he gave all the necessary comforts.

In 1641, at the age of 60, he authorized his wife to carry out tests, appointed his universal heiress and that after his days, they passed their properties to the Augustinian community, with the following condition: That the necessary land be given for when your majesty wishes to found a city, town or placeCaptain Don Gil de Vilches y Aragón is considered the first Spanish settled with all the properties in the lands of Talcamo, later called Talca.

After the general uprising of February 1655 in the Arauco War, the Spaniards sought refuge on the north bank of the Maule River, where camps and moats were built in these lands of the Order of San Agustín.

It is considered that the first attempt of foundation is of the governor Tomás Marín González de Poveda in 1692, at the confluence of the Baeza and Piduco rivers, where he drew streets and squares.

[2] In the house and place that belonged to the widow Isabel de Mendoza y Valdivia, it was the center of a large part of the Maule district.

Mr. José Antonio Manso de Velasco, lord of the order of Santiago, of the Council of his majesty, field marshal of his royal armies, governor and captain general of this kingdom and president of his royal audience, said: as much as he has come to this place of Talca to have the population of Spaniards that it has decided to do, and that the place that has seemed more appropriate in these neighborhoods has already been chosen, to please the neighborhood and many of the settlers, and with effect it is to be in it All the good qualities that can be desired.

Therefore, in accordance with the repeated orders of his majesty and for giving in his royal service, the luster of this kingdom, the general utility and the spiritual and temporal good of the growing number of inhabitants that exist in this feast; He agreed that in the chosen place, which is located in the southern part of the convent of Mr. San Agustín at a distance of four blocks, the population of Spaniards with a formal neighborhood merges and stops, and of course putting the name of their majesty (may God keep) the erije and found more honor and glory of God Our Lord with the name of San Agustín de Talca, who must be its owner; and grants to all the settlers who in that population approached with home and formal neighborhood, all the privileged and frank freedoms and immunities that by law and laws of the kingdom should enjoy as such settlers, and grant them merits of some lands of those that would have Cows in this game of this band of the Maule River, which will run after they are populated and consist of the vacant land.

And I reserve to extend these subsidies and franknesses to the proportion of their faculties, and to erect the population in a town or city according to the state that it has in future and what grows and the application that in its advancement is recognized in The neighborhood and the settlers.

And I order that by virtue of that, the mentioned corregidor Don Juan Cornelio de Baeza proceed to make the delineation leaving competent lands for ejidos and pastures, and in the contour of the population some lots not distributed for his.

And setting reference points and fixed limits so that at all times it is about the lands that belong to said population; and assign the lots to the inhabitants according to the sphere, the merit and the quality of each one, their family and state; giving effective measures to build all their houses as soon as possible and assigning them a certain term; with warning of declining mercy and incurring the penalties that the king imposes for his true identity card to those who refuse to live in sociability and in the city without having a justified excuse.

And that because they could offer to said corregidor some precise occupations of his trade that for some times embarrass him the attention to the greater advance of the population; so that it does not stop under any pretext, he appointed as a commissioner of her, in absence, diseases and precise pregnancies of the corregidor to Don Mauricio Morales, with the same faculties; and one and the other by their order will exercise, giving each of the villagers an instrument that serves as the title of the lot assigned to them, putting in the conditions contained in the instruction.

Don José Manso Lord last Manuel Lumbier, public notary of Cabildo and government actuary.This place should be the center of the new foundation, its main square, where its streets would be.

The governor gave Baeza the instructions that he should stick to the new foundation, these were: Donate the lots in proportion "to the sphere, the merits and the families" of each resident and that their location be given so that the most distinguished are closer to the square.

This attitude led Governor Manso de Velasco to dictate in Talca, on October 12, 1743, a side on which serious fines were applied to those who would not come.

The Corregidor Baeza had dedicated a lot of activity: he published the orders, notified the neighbors and told them that promised them honors and privileges.

Thus, on April 18, 1744, he was able to make the first general registry of the nascent city and direct a relationship of his state with Governor Manso de Velasco and said: Which was formed by four blocks in a contour one for each side and following the instructions six streets were delineated, all square, each one in its latitude, it consists up to the present of six blocks, all well arranged so that the lots are distributed to the neighbors "and" that has four wooden bridges to pass the estuary. "

Solar, fourth side, all its front for house of the town hall of Corregidor and Jail.After this distribution, Juan Cornelio de Baeza continues, listing the other neighbors, without expressing their proximity or location within the plan of the new city.

Their number reaches eighty-three, including all, whether noble or commoners, landowners or masters in minor arts, to the Indian executioner, Juan.

Faced with such a good result, Manso de Velasco thought of giving him a Cabildo of his own, by virtue of the powers conferred on them by the royal bonds, a determination that would attract more the well-off neighbors and force them to settle in the nascent village, where the honors and prerogatives they could raise them "to the noble state" constant concern of that time.

In the census conducted by the corregidor Francisco de Echague, on October 16, 1760, the town presents 143 families, 20 were new, among which we can write Cruz, Vergara, Opazo, Gajardo Guerrero and Bravo Denaveda.

The economic improvement, produced mainly by foreign trade, aroused the ambition of the Order, which saw its poor lands, converted into fertile and productive hands of working colonists.

The richest people in the city led by the Genoese Juan de la Cruz y Bernardotte and his wife Silveria Bahamonde y Herrera, who were the great protectors of the Jesuits.

The order had to suffer the misfortune of seeing the recent construction surrounded by the flames, but indefatigable and encouraged by the cooperation of the Genoese, they raised it again, more splendid, full of images and with rich ornamentation The children of the richest neighbors were educated in this first school, they were called the College of Nobles, for the quality of the students.

Juan Manuel de la Cruz y Bahamonde were responsible for bringing and making known the Royal Decree of June 6, 1796, which states in their letter: Lord eximio Don Juan Manuel de la Cruz, Captain of the Cavalry of the Prince's Regiment, with my greatest performance I suffer before V. Exelencia and I say: after many clean and expensive procedures to justify the state of the population, its quality, goods and other territorial proportions of the Villa of San Agustín de Talca, in an attempt to reach the Sovereign Thank you in Honorific Title of City, which my brothers and I desire for our country, we have deserved in summary, that the King Our Lord, may God keep, with dignity Send the Title of the City, corresponding to the Villa mentioned above, since it consists of your real identification date of Aranjuez on the sixth day of last June that you duly submitted: in whose attention to V. Excellence I ask and I pray that it has been Presented with dignity this Royal Decree, it is useful to send a reason, denounce it and comply accordingly, which is Justice.