Lautaro
| Lautaro | |
|---|---|
Bust of Lautaro
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| Nickname(s) | Felipe |
| Born |
c. 1534 Treguaco, Chile |
| Died | 30 April 1557 Maule Region, Chile |
| Allegiance | Mapuche |
| Rank | Toqui |
| Battles/wars | Battle of Tucapel |
Lautaro (Mapudungun: Lef-Traru "swift hawk") (1534? – April 29, 1557) was a young Mapuche toqui who achieved notoriety for leading the indigenous resistance against Spanish conquest in Chile. Lautaro begun his career as a captive of Pedro de Valdivia but escaped in 1551. Back among his people he was declared toqui and led Mapuche warriors into a series of victories against the Spanish culminating in the Battle of Tucapel in December 1553 where Pedro de Valdivia was killed. The outbreak of a typhus plague, a drought and a famine prevented the Mapuches from taking further actions to expel the Spanish in 1554 and 1555. Between 1556 and 1557 a small group of Mapuches commanded by Lautaro attempted to reach Santiago to liberate the whole of Central Chile from Spanish rule. Lautaro's attempts ended in 1557 when he was killed in an ambush by the Spanish.
Today Lautaro is revered among Mapuches and non-Mapuche Chileans for his resistance against foreign conquest, servitude and cruelty.
Lautaro was the son of a Mapuche lonko (a chief who holds office during peacetime) called, Curiñancu (Kurüñamku in the Mapuche language, Mapudungun, ‘ aguilucho negro’ meaning ‘black harrier’) and was born in 1533. He lived a normal life until in 1550 ,when he was about 17 years old, he was captured by the Spanish and forced into servitude by Don Pedro de Valdivia and became his personal servant. Since it was difficult for the Spaniards to pronounce Lautaro’s original name, Leftraru, they gave him the name of Felipe Lautaro. Don Pedro de Valdivia was a Spanish conqueror of Chile and then became the captain general of Chile.
Lautaro learned the military ways and skills of the Spaniards' army by observation. He was witness to atrocities committed by the Spanish on captive Mapuche warriors. According to several historians, in the immediate vicinity of what is now the city of Concepción, Chile, Pedro de Valdivia ordered his men to cut off the feet and hands of every Mapuche in Curiñancu's tribe, for resisting Spanish colonization, among them Curiñancu and his wife, Lautaro’s parents, in order to teach the Mapuche a lesson. It is said that because of Valdivia’s command to cut off the toes of the Mapuche warriors, the Spanish soldiers named the place “El Valle de La Mocha”, whose name has been maintained over time. A great hatred of the Spanish and particularly of Pedro de Valdivia was born in the young Lautaro because of this incident. After his capture they made him a Yanakuna, meaning a “black slave” in Quechua. He remained a prisoner of the Spanish for three years. Because he kept his personal hatred of Valdivia hidden, Lautaro soon became his personal page. Among his daily tasks as a page, he was in charge of taking care of Valdivia’s horses and always accompanying them into battle and military exercises. This is how he learned not to fear horses and even become a good rider himself.
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Wikipedia