Battle of Curalaba

Part of Arauco War

Date	December 21, 1598
Location	Curalaba, on the banks of the Lumaco River, 25 kilometers from Angol 37°55′S 72°53′W / 37.917°S 72.883°W / -37.917; -72.883Coordinates: 37°55′S 72°53′W / 37.917°S 72.883°W / -37.917; -72.883
Result	Decisive Mapuche victory

Belligerents

Spanish Empire

Mapuche

Commanders and leaders

Martín García Oñez de Loyola †

vice toqui Pelantaru

Strength

50 Spanish and 300 Indian auxiliaries

300 Warriors

Casualties and losses

All but two Spaniards were killed, as were most of the Indian auxiliaries.

The Battle of Curalaba is the name given to the battle and ambush where Mapuche people led by Pelantaru soundly defeated Spanish conquerors led by Martín García Óñez de Loyola at Curalaba, southern Chile. In Chilean historiography, where the event is often called Disaster of Curalaba, the battle marks the end of the "Conquista" period in Chile's history, although the fast Spanish expansion in the south had already been halted in the 1550s.

On December 21, 1598, governor Martín García Oñez de Loyola traveled to Purén leading 50 men. On the second day they camped in Curalaba without taking protective measures. The Mapuche people aware of their presence, with their cavalry led by Pelantaru and his lieutenants, Anganamón and Guaiquimilla, with three hundred men, shadowed his movements and made a surprise night raid. Completely surprised, the governor and almost all of his soldiers and companions were killed.

This event was called the Disaster of Curalaba by the Spaniards. It involved not only the death of the Spanish governor, but the news rapidly spread among the Mapuche and triggered a general revolt, long-prepared by the toqui Paillamachu, that destroyed Spanish camps and towns south of the Bío-Bío River over the next few years.

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Wikipedia