Mapuche history
[citation needed] Mapuche communities in the southern Diaguita lands –that is Petorca, La Ligua, Combarbalá and Choapa – may be rooted in Pre-Hispanic times at least several centuries before the Spanish arrival.
[7] Based on mDNA analysis of various indigenous groups of South America it is thought that Mapuche are at least in part descendant of peoples from the Amazon Basin that migrated to Chile through two routes; one through the Central Andean highlands and another through the eastern Bolivian lowlands and the Argentine Northwest.
[6] A hypothesis put forward by Ricardo E. Latcham, and later expanded by Francisco Antonio Encina, theorizes that the Mapuche migrated to present-day Chile from the Pampas east of the Andes.
[1][8] Albeit the Latcham hypothesis is consistent with linguistic features[8] it is rejected by modern scholars due to the lack of conclusive evidence, and the possibility of alternative hypotheses.
[1] Tomás Guevara has postulated another unproven hypothesis claiming that early Mapuches dwelled at the coast due to abundant marine resources and only later moved inland following large rivers.
[12][6] It has been conjectured that the collapse of the Tiwanaku empire about 1000 CE caused a southward migratory wave leading to a series of changes in Mapuche society in Chile.
[17] In December 2007, several human skulls with Polynesian features, such as rocker jaws and pentagonal shape when viewed from behind, were found lying on a shelf in a museum in Concepción.
[18] Rocker jaws have also been found at an excavation led Ramírez in pre-Hispanic tombs and shell middens (Spanish: conchal) of the coastal locality of Tunquén, Central Chile.
[20] A theory postulated by chronicler José Pérez García holds the Cunco[A] settled in Chiloé Island in Pre-Hispanic times as consequence of a push from more northern Huilliche who in turn were being displaced by Mapuche.
[24] This is in line with notions of ethnologist Ricardo E. Latcham who consider the Chono along other sea-faring nomads may be remnants from more widespread indigenous groups that were pushed south by "successive invasions" from more northern tribes.
[33] Gold and silver bracelets and "sort of crowns" were used by Mapuches in the Concepción area at the time of the Spanish arrival as noted by Jerónimo de Vivar.
[34] At the time of the arrival of the first Spaniards to Chile the largest indigenous population concentration was in the area spanning from Itata River to Chiloé Archipelago—that is the Mapuche heartland.
The machi performs ceremonies for the warding off of evil, for rain, for the cure of diseases, and has an extensive knowledge of Chilean medicinal herbs, gained during an arduous apprenticeship.
Trangolonco addresses as ambassador to all the loncos (Mapuche chiefs) of the Cachapoal, Maipo and Mapocho valleys to send their contingents and join Michimalonco, so that, just as he did with the Incas, he expels the Spanish from Araucanía.
[62] In 1544, a naval expedition was sent, comprising the barks, San Pedro and Santiaguillo, under the command of Juan Bautista Pastene, to reconnoiter the southwestern coast of South America to the Strait of Magellan.
The expedition set sail from Valparaíso, entered the bay of San Pedro, and made landings at what is now known as Concepción and at Valdivia, which was later named in honor of the commander.
[68] In February 1554 Lautaro succeeded in putting together an army of 8,000 men, just in time to confront a punitive expedition under the command of Francisco de Villagra at the Battle of Marihueñu.
[70] Mapuche organization changed in response to the war and the aillarehue, a new macro-scale political unit consisting of several rehue, appeared in the late 16th century.
[65] From archaeological evidence it has been suggested that the Mapuche of Purén and Lumaco valley abandoned the very scattered population pattern to form denser villages as a response to the war with the Spanish.
[77] By the 1630s it was noted by the Spanish of La Serena that Mapuches (Picunches) from the Corregimiento of Santiago, likely from Aconcagua Valley, had migrated north settling in the Combarbalá and Cogotí.
There Picunches mingled with disparate indigenous peoples brought in from Peru, Tucumán, Araucanía (Mapuche), Chiloé (Huilliche, Cunco, Chono, Poyas[79]) and Cuyo (Huarpe[80]).
By that time free mestizo labour had become significantly cheaper than ownership of slaves, which made Mario Góngora conclude in 1966 that economic factors were behind the abolition.
After O'Higgins signed the provisional Constitution of 1818, and became the Supreme Magistrate of the Chilean people, he offered to the Mapuche a pact of friendship between each other, saying " Our brothers , the inhabitants of the southern frontier.
"[97] He considered the Mapuches as relatives of the Chileans, saying, "We all descend from the same Fathers , and the natural resources of our territory, our customs, and our respective needs, induce us to live in everlasting harmony and fraternity.
[99] Nevertheless the Mapuche men gained great wealth within their lofs (extended family residences)[98] by raiding Spanish settlers and other indigenous groups on both sides of the Andes mountains.
He later joined his Spanish allies and headed toward the Llanos fort of Tucapel, which lead to his rival, Venancio Conuepan, following suite and attacking areas along the Biobío River.
[98] After two years of constant conflict, Conuepan and his Chilean allies sought to end the endless war, so he attempted a march into the heart of Mariluán's territory in Araucanía in order to confront him.
This strategy failed, and after multiple events in 1822 and 1823, the war continued until January 7th, 1825, when Mariluan signed the peace treaty of Tapihue with Chilean military officer Pedro Barnechea.
[124] Representatives from Mapuche organizations have joined the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO), seeking recognition and protection for their cultural and land rights.
In recent years, the delicts committed by Mapuche activists have been prosecuted under counter-terrorism legislation, originally introduced by the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet to control political dissidents.
