Pedro de Oña

[2] Born in Angol, he was the son of a military captain, Gregorio de Oña, who had perished during the conquest of Chile by Spain.

Pedro de Oña grew up amid this ongoing conflict; he was born in what was then a small military post, in a territory largely controlled by Chile's indigenous peoples.

The Arauco domado is a poem of 20 cantos that contain dramatic episodes, which include the Battle of Bío-Bío, the rebellion in Quito against the royal tax collectors, and the naval victory of the pirate Richarte Aquines (i.e. Richard Hawkins) over Don Beltrán de Castro y de la Cueva.

[5] Other cantos refer to dreams and prophecies, while some contain pastoral and erotic elements, such as the passage concerning Caupolicán and Fresia bathing in a fountain in a glade.

[6] When De Oña’s wife died, the poet was left with five children in his care and lived in poverty for the rest of his life.