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| Mapuche Confederation | |
|---|---|
| Name | Mapuche Confederation |
| Common name | Mapuche Confederation |
| Era | Early modern period |
| Status | Confederation of allied polities |
| Government | Council-based leadership |
| Year start | c. 16th century |
| Year end | 19th century |
| Capital | various lof and rehue centers |
| Religion | Mapuche spirituality |
| Today | Chile, Argentina |
Mapuche Confederation
The Mapuche Confederation was a loose coalition of allied Mapuche, Huilliche, Pehuenche, and Moluche polities in south-central Chile and adjacent Argentina territories that coordinated resistance against the Spanish Empire, Viceroyalty of Peru, and later republican states such as the Kingdom of Chile and the Republic of Chile; notable interactions occurred during events like the Arauco War, the Destruction of the Seven Cities, and the Parliament of Tapihue. Key leaders such as Lautaro, Caupolicán, Colocolo, and later loncos engaged in negotiations embodied in accords including the Parliament of Quilín and the Parliament of Boroa while contesting incursions linked to the Colony of Chile and the expansion of the Argentine Confederation.
Emerging from pre-Columbian developments among Mapuche groups after contact with the Inca Empire and early encounters with the Spanish conquistadors like Pedro de Valdivia, the confederation formed decentralized councils of loncos and rehues responding to external threats exemplified in campaigns such as the Battle of Tucapel and uprisings led by figures like Caupolicán and Lautaro; these councils referenced sacred sites from the Araucanía Region to the Bío Bío River and utilized institutions comparable to the Aillarehue and Lof networks. Leadership was exercised through elected military chiefs or virtual equivalents—later scholars compared them to roles discussed in studies of Picunche and Huilliche organization—while diplomatic practice drew on precedents set during the Parliaments of Quillín and interactions with administrators from the Viceroyalty of Peru and governors such as Pedro de Valdivia and Martín Ruiz de Gamboa.
Members included the Moluche along the Bío Bío River, the Huilliche of the Los Lagos Region, the Pehuenche in the Andes, and allied groups occupying parts of the Araucanía Region and Pampa margins; territorial control shifted through episodes like the Destruction of the Seven Cities and military movements around the Tucapel and Ránquil frontiers. The confederation organized into concentric units such as the Rehue, the Aillarehue, and larger regional assemblies which coordinated responses to incursions from entities including the Spanish Empire, the Captaincy General of Chile, and later the Republic of Chile and Argentine Confederation; treaty-making took place in meetings recognized by colonial officials such as the parliaments at Boroa, Quilín, and Negrete.
Military campaigns ranged from early victories like the Battle of Tucapel against Pedro de Valdivia to protracted conflicts in the Arauco War and cross-border raids into Patagonia and the Pampa; commanders like Lautaro and Caupolicán achieved tactical successes while later loncos such as Chief Calfucura and Chief Mañil conducted guerrilla operations against the Republic of Chile and incursions tied to settlers from the Chilean Army and militias. Diplomacy was expressed in formal parliaments—Parliament of Quilín, Parliament of Boroa, Parliament of Las Canoas—which produced accords acknowledging boundaries and prisoner exchanges negotiated with colonial governors, missionaries from the Society of Jesus, and representatives of the Spanish Crown and later republican officials.
Economic life combined subsistence and market elements centered on agriculture in valleys of the Araucanía Region, pastoralism including llama and horse herding introduced after contact, and active trade networks connecting the Chiloé Archipelago, Chilean Central Valley, and Andean markets; goods circulated through fairs and routes linking settlements such as Angol, Llanquihue, and Valdivia and negotiated with traders from the Viceroyalty of Peru and merchants of the Captaincy General of Chile. Social organization emphasized kinship within the Lof and Rehue structures, leadership by loncos and machis, and communal practices reflected in ceremonies observed at sites across the Bío Bío River and the Araucanía, while impacts of colonization—forced labor policies, encomienda interactions, and later settlers from Germany and Spain—reshaped landholding and labor arrangements.
Religious life centered on Mapuche spirituality led by machis and ceremonies such as the Nguillatún, which invoked ancestral spirits and cosmologies tied to geographic features like the Trapananda and Cautín rivers; ritual specialists mediated healings, rituals for fertility, and seasonal observances that informed military mobilization and parliaments. Cultural expressions included oral traditions preserved through storytellers referencing figures like Lautaro and Caupolicán, material culture such as woven textiles, silverwork influenced by contacts with Spanish artisans, and musical instruments used in festivals paralleling interactions documented in accounts by Jesuit chroniclers and travelers from the Viceroyalty of Peru.
The confederation’s decline accelerated with 19th-century campaigns including the Occupation of Araucanía and military initiatives by the Republic of Chile and settlers supported by legislation and land policies, producing violent confrontations like the Pacification of Araucanía and dispossession intensifying after treaties contested in parliaments such as Negrete; resistance continued through uprisings, court petitions, and cultural persistence by descendants in communities across Araucanía, Los Ríos Region, and Neuquén Province. The legacy endures in contemporary debates over indigenous rights addressed in institutions like the Indigenous Law reforms, recognition efforts by the Government of Chile and Government of Argentina, and cultural revival movements that reference heritage figures, historical episodes such as the Arauco War, and legal claims adjudicated in courts and international forums.