Alejo
| Alejo | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Alejandro de Vivar (Spanish) / Ñancu (Mapudungun) |
| Nickname(s) | Alejo |
| Born | 1635 Chile |
| Died | 1660 Chile |
| Allegiance | Captaincy General of Chile (until 1657, deserted) - Mapuche |
| Rank | Toqui |
| Fighter | Arauco war |
Alejo (1635 – 1660) was a Chilean mestizo, who fought in the Arauco War. He was the son of the Mapuche cacique Curivilú and the Spanish Isabel de Vivar y Castro who was captured during a Mapuche raid. Isabel and Alejo were rescued five years later and rejoined the Spanish society. Alejo enlisted the Spanish army, but the system of castas prevented his promotion. As a result, he deserted from the Spanish army and joined the Mapuches, being appointed toqui. Instructed in Spanish military strategy, he posed a serious threat to his former masters, but he died in a crime of passion: after he had sex with a captured Spanish woman his two wives murdered him.
Alejandro Vivar, Isabel's father, was a Spanish soldier in the Captaincy General of Chile during the Arauco War against the Mapuches. He led an incursion into Mapuche territory and was ambushed by them. Isabel was captured and engaged to the cacique Curivilú. She had a son with him, known as "Alejandro de Vivar" by the Spanish and "Ñancú" by the Mapuche; but he used the diminutive form of the name "Alejo" instead.
Isabel and Alejo were rescued by the Spanish five years after Isabel's capture and returned to Concepción. However, the caste system of the local population meant they were looked down on: Alejo was rejected as a mestizo, and Isabel for having a son with a Mapuche. To avoid the social criticism, Isabel became a nun and lived inside a convent. Alejo was raised by Franciscans and eventually joined the military. Alejo trained as arquebusier, but he was denied any promotion as he was a mestizo. As a result, he deserted from the Spanish army in 1657 and joined the Mapuche.
Alejo returned to the tribe of his father. The Mapuche had a more welcoming attitude towards mestizos than the Spanish, and accepted him. Alejo was valuable to the Mapuches as he had close knowledge of the Spanish military strategy. He informed his father about his life among the Spanish (known as "huincas" by the Mapuches), and expressed his willingness to serve with the Mapuche against them.
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Wikipedia