Angol, Chile

Angol Angol de los Confines
City and Commune
Plaza de Armas de Angol
Coat of arms Location of the commune of Angol in Araucanía Region Angol Location in Chile
Coordinates: 37°48′S 72°43′W / 37.800°S 72.717°W / -37.800; -72.717Coordinates: 37°48′S 72°43′W / 37.800°S 72.717°W / -37.800; -72.717
Country	Chile
Region	Araucanía
Province	Malleco
Founded	6 December 1862
Government
• Type	Municipality
• Alcalde	Obdulio Valdebenito Burgos (Concertación)
Area
• Total	1,194.4 km2 (461.2 sq mi)
Elevation	65 m (213 ft)
Population (2012 Census)
• Total	51,268
• Density	43/km2 (110/sq mi)
• Urban	43,801
• Rural	5,195
Sex
• Men	23,770
• Women	25,226
Time zone	CLT (UTC−4)
• Summer (DST)	CLST (UTC−3)
Postal code	4650000
Area code(s)	country 56 city 45
Climate	Csb
Website	www.angol.cl (Spanish)

Angol is a commune and capital city of the Malleco Province in the Araucanía Region of southern Chile. It is located at the foot of the Nahuelbuta Range and next to the Vergara River, that permitted communications by small boats to the Bío-Bío River and Concepción. This strategic position explains the successive foundations of this city during the Arauco War. It was first founded in 1553 as a "conquistador" fort of Confines, the fort was later destroyed and rebuilt several times and it was not until the Pacification of Araucania in the late 19th century that it was rebuilt with the name of Angol. The city has a current population of approximately 49,000. Within the electoral divisions of Chile, it belongs to the 48th electoral district and the 14th senatorial circumscription.

Modern Angol was first founded in 1553 as the conquistador fort of Los Confines by Pedro de Valdivia, the fort was later that year abandoned and destroyed by the Mapuche after the Battle of Tucapel. In 1560, the city was established by Governor García Hurtado de Mendoza with the name of San Andrés de Angol, after his father the viceroy of Peru, the location to the north of the site of the old fort. It was commonly called Ciudad de Los Infantes for the infantrymen that had been assigned to build the city.