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Kitabı oku: «Spanish and Portuguese South America during the Colonial Period; Vol. 1», sayfa 16

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CHAPTER XIV.
THE ARAUCANIANS

1560-1603

1560.

Don Francisco Villagran returned to Chili under the flattering belief that the Araucanians would give him no more trouble; and he accordingly turned his attention to the reacquisition of the province of Tucuman, which, after having been subjected by him to Chili, had been since attached to Peru. Thus was a fresh struggle set on foot between the conquerors of the New World. The Chilian commander defeated the chief of the Peruvian forces, and accordingly Tucuman was for a short period restored to the government of Chili.

But this matter sank into insignificance in the face of the attitude of the Araucanians. The few Ulmenes who had escaped from the late defeats, having assembled after the rout of Quipeo, unanimously elected as Toqui an officer who had distinguished himself, named Antiguenu. On accepting the command, he represented, that as almost all the youth of the country had perished, he thought it expedient to retire to some secure situation until such time as a sufficient army could be collected. In accordance with this prudent policy, he sought shelter in the marshes of Lumaco, where he erected scaffolds to protect his men from the miasma of this gloomy retreat. The youth of the nation went thither to be instructed in arms, and the Araucanians considered themselves free since they could still boast a national commander.

As soon as Antiguenu saw himself in a position to quit his retreat, he began to train his troops by making excursions into the Spanish territory, the report of which caused much disquietude to Villagran. In order, if possible, to stifle the flame at its commencement, he sent forward his son Pedro with such levies as could be mustered, soon following himself with a more considerable force. The first skirmishes were unfavourable to the Araucanians,—the natural result of the youth and inexperience of their soldiers. Their prudent commander was, however, by no means discouraged, and he had at length the satisfaction of showing that his countrymen had not degenerated, by defeating a body of Spaniards on the hills of Millepoa.

Animated by this success, Antiguenu now erected his standard on the mountain of Mariguenu, situated on the road which leads to the province of Arauco, and where, on a previous occasion, Lautaro had so signally defeated Villagran. That officer was prevented by ill-health from now assuming the command, which was entrusted to one of his sons, with the result that almost his entire army—the flower of the Spanish troops,—together with a great number of auxiliaries, were cut in pieces, their general being killed. After this victory Antiguenu marched against Canete; but Villagran, anticipating the impossibility of defending it, withdrew the inhabitants to Imperial or to Conception. The fortifications of Canete were destroyed, and the town was entirely consumed by fire. Villagran himself now fell a victim to the grief and anxiety which aggravated the disorder from which he suffered. He was deeply regretted by the colonists, who lost in him a wise and humane commander, to whose prudent conduct they were indebted for the preservation of their conquests. The special commission from the court had appointed as his successor his eldest son Pedro.

On the death of the governor, Antiguenu divided his army of four thousand men into two bodies; one of which, under the vice-Toqui Antunecul, was to lay siege to Conception, whilst with the other he himself was to march against the fort of Arauco. The former passed the Bio-bio, and having twice repulsed the forces of the governor, he closely invested the place for two months; but he was obliged eventually to retire, as he could not prevent the town receiving succours and provisions by sea. Meanwhile the defence of Arauco was maintained with the utmost vigour. As Antiguenu had observed that in his attack the bravest officers were pointed out to the Spaniards by their native troops, and thus became marks for their artillery, he resolved to take a well-deserved vengeance upon these, and for this purpose contrived to inform the Spanish general that his auxiliaries were intriguing to deliver up the place to the Araucanians. The Spanish commander, Bernal, gave such credit to this report, that he immediately ordered them to quit the place. They were at once seized by the Araucanians and put to death in sight of the Spaniards.

The Araucanian chief, impatient at the slow progress of the siege, now sought to bring it to a conclusion, and, with this end in view, challenged the Spanish general to single combat. Bernal, animated by an equally chivalrous spirit, accepted the challenge, notwithstanding the remonstrances of his soldiers. The combat lasted for two hours, at the end of which time the two champions were separated by their respective adherents. That which force had been unable to effect, now resulted from famine. Boats laden with provisions had repeatedly made the attempt to relieve the besieged, but they were invariably thwarted by the vigilance of the enemy, and at length Bernal found himself compelled to abandon the place. The Araucanian general permitted the garrison to retire unmolested, and contented himself with burning the houses and demolishing the walls of Arauco.

1564.

The next object which Antiguenu proposed to himself was the capture of Angol, which task he confided to one of his officers, who was, however, defeated on the way to that place. On this, Antiguenu hastened thither with two thousand men to repair the disaster; but whilst he was encamped at the confluence of the Bio-bio and the Vergosa, he was attacked by the entire Spanish force under the command of Bernal. The contest which ensued was one of the fiercest ever fought. The Araucanians employed with much skill the muskets which they had taken at the defeat of the Spaniards at Mariguenu, and sustained during three hours the assault of the enemy. Four hundred of the auxiliaries and a number of the Spaniards had fallen when the infantry of the latter began to give way. Bernal, seeing no other means of sustaining the fight, ordered his cavalry to cut down the fugitives. This severe measure had the desired effect, and the enemy’s entrenchments were at length carried. Antiguenu, forced along with a crowd of his soldiers, fell from a high bank into the river and was drowned. His death decided the battle, and a great slaughter of the Araucanians followed. Many also perished in the river, into which they had thrown themselves to escape. In this battle the victors themselves were almost all wounded.

Antiguenu was succeeded in the office of Toqui by Paillataru, brother or cousin of the celebrated Lautaro. This chief contented himself during the first years of his command with leading his men from time to time to ravage the enemy’s country. During this time Quiroga was appointed by the Royal Audience of Lima to be governor of Chili. Having received a reinforcement of three hundred soldiers, he entered, in 1565, the Araucanian territory and rebuilt the fort of Arauco and the city of Canete. He likewise constructed a new fortress at Quipeo. In the following year he despatched Ruiz Camboa with a small force to reduce to subjection the inhabitants of the archipelago of Chiloë, an enterprise in executing which no opposition was encountered. In the principal island he founded the city of Castro and the port of Chacao. The eighty islands of this archipelago, which owe their existence to earthquakes, and denote by their basaltic columns the action of fire, are inhabited by a race descended from the continental Chilians, but are of a very different character from theirs, being pacific and rather timid. Although the population is said to have been about seventy thousand, they allowed themselves to be subjected by a mere handful of Spaniards. These islanders, who are now greatly reduced in number, are said to display considerable aptitude for the mechanical arts, and are adepts in agriculture, raising beans, pease, and potatoes, which are the largest and best in Chili. They are likewise, as might be supposed, excellent sailors. After the conquest they readily embraced the Christian religion, to which they have ever since continued faithful.

1567.

The attention drawn to Chili by the continuance of the Araucanian war induced Philip II. to establish a court of Royal Audience in this part of his transatlantic dominions, independent of that of Peru. To this body was entrusted not only the political but likewise the military administration. The members of this tribunal, which was composed of four judges and a fiscal, entered Conception in August 1567. Its first act was to remove Quiroga, and to give the command of the army to Ruiz Gamboa. This officer was so fortunate as to defeat Paillataru in three obstinate contests. Being master of the country unopposed during one year, the Spanish general repeatedly but unsuccessfully proposed to the Araucanians to enter into negotiations for peace. Having failed to obtain this object, the government of the Royal Audience lost credit, and it was deemed more expedient to confide the chief authority to a new officer called Governor and Captain-General, who was to be President of the Audience and to command the army. Don Melchor de Bravo was invested with this character in 1568, and sought to signalize the commencement of his authority by a striking military success.

1570.

Paillataru having collected a new army and occupied the height of Mariguenu, De Bravo marched against him at the head of three hundred Spaniards and many auxiliaries. Equally fortunate with his predecessors who had commanded on this famous spot, Paillataru entirely defeated the Spanish army, and had almost made the President a prisoner. So intimidated was the latter that he resigned the command of the army to Gamboa, whom he ordered to evacuate the fortress of Arauco. Paillataru, having taken the post of Quipeo, marched against Canete, when he encountered in a fierce battle the troops of Gamboa. The Spaniards remained masters of the field, but were soon afterwards compelled to retreat from the Araucanian territory. For about four years after this date there was a suspension of arms on either side. During this period occurred a terrible earthquake, which did great damage to the Spanish settlements, entirely destroying Conception. In 1570, Imperial became the seat of a bishopric, which included the vast country lying between the Maúle and the southern confines of Chili.

On the death of Paillataru, which occurred about this time, the office of Toqui was conferred upon Alonzo Diaz, or Paynenancu, one of the mixed race of Spaniards and Chilians called Mustees, who had multiplied greatly. By this appointment the Araucanians desired to attach these to their cause, showing the confidence they reposed in them. Paynenancu had for ten years fought in their armies, distinguishing himself greatly. He was as rash as his predecessor had been cautious, but he was not fortunate in the enterprises which he undertook as a commander, being defeated on two occasions. On one of these, amongst the prisoners taken were several women found in arms, the greater number of whom destroyed themselves the same night.

1575.

The licentiate Calderon, having arrived in Chili with a commission from the court of Spain as examiner, took the step of suppressing the Court of Audience on the very proper principle of economy. The auditors were sent back to Peru, and Quiroga was once more appointed governor. Having received a force of two thousand men from Spain, he despatched his father-in-law, Ruiz Gamboa, to found a colony at the foot of the Cordilleras, between the cities of St. Iago and Conception. Chillan, so called from the river on which it stands, is now the capital of the fertile province of the same name. Quiroga died in 1580, leaving Gamboa as his successor. The three years of his government were occupied in opposing the attempts of Paynenancu, and in repelling other tribes of the Chilian Andes, who were instigated by the Araucanians to molest the Spanish settlements.

When information reached Spain of the death of Quiroga, Don Alonzo Sotomayor was sent out as governor to Chili, together with six hundred regular troops. Having landed at Buenos Ayres in 1583, the new governor proceeded thence by land to St. Iago, whence he immediately sent his brother to succour Villa Rica and Valdivia, which were besieged by the Araucanians. Don Louis succeeded in this object, having twice defeated Paynenancu. The enterprising Toqui was not, however, discouraged by his invariable defeats, which were always purchased dearly. To oppose him, the new governor, having driven off the Pehuenches from the neighbourhood of Chillan, entered the Araucanian territory with seven hundred Spaniards and the usual auxiliaries. Returning to the barbarous mode of warfare which had been adopted by Don Garcia de Mendoza, he laid waste the province of Encol. Such prisoners as fell into his hands were either hanged or dismissed with their hands cut off. Warned by the fate of Encol, the inhabitants of Puren Elicura, and Tucapel, after firing their houses and crops, secured themselves by flight. In the latter province but three captives were taken, and these were impaled. Such barbarities had the natural result of sending many recruits to the Araucanian army. Its unfortunate general withstood, on the frontiers of Arauco, the whole Spanish force, with only eight hundred men. His troops, however, fought with such resolution that the Spaniards were unable to break them until after an obstinate contest of several hours’ duration. Nearly all the Araucanians were slain; their commander was taken prisoner and executed. After this victory the fort of Arauco was once more rebuilt.

But the Spirit of Freedom which sat with Thrasybulus upon Phylœ’s brow had not yet deserted the Araucanians, whose valour revived on the elevation of one of their own pure race, the Ulmen Cayancaru, to the dignity of Toqui. One hundred and fifty messengers, furnished with the symbolical arrows, were despatched to various tribes in search of aid; and in a short time a considerable army was collected. The first exploit of Cayancaru was to attack by midnight the Spanish camp on the Carampangui, he having by means of a spy informed himself of its exact situation. The auxiliaries, who bore the first brunt of the assault, were cut in pieces. The Spaniards themselves owed their safety to the rising moon, which enabled them soon to direct an effective fire against their assailants. Cayancaru, having allowed his troops to rest during the remainder of the night, resumed the attack at daybreak, when an obstinate and bloody battle ensued. The Spanish horse and artillery, however, decided the day; but the victor, nevertheless, immediately after the battle, thought it prudent to raise his camp and retire beyond the Araucanian frontier. To protect this, he built the fort of Trinidad on the southern, and Spirito Santo on the northern bank of the Bio-bio. He likewise lost no time in raising a levy of two thousand horse and a considerable number of infantry.

The Araucanian general resolved to take advantage of the retreat of the governor to attack the fortress of Arauco; and, to facilitate this enterprise, he endeavoured to divert the Spanish forces as much as possible, incursions being made into the territories of Villa Rica, Angol, and Imperial, whilst a guard was placed on the shores of the Bio-bio. The garrison of Arauco, perceiving, from the preparations of Cayancaru, that their means of escape would be cut off, and that they would be eventually reduced by hunger, thought it better to perish with arms in their hands. They therefore attacked the works of the enemy with such vigour that they not only carried them, but put the Araucanians to flight. Cayancaru, extremely mortified, now resigned the command of his army to his son Nangoniel. The young commander, in no way discouraged by what had taken place, collected some infantry, together with a hundred and fifty horse, and having reinvested the same fortress, so distressed the Spaniards by want of provisions that they were forced to evacuate it. Nangoniel, having been soon afterwards drawn into an ambush and slain, was succeeded by Cadeguala.

1587.

It was about this time that an English squadron appeared in this part of South America. On the 21st of July 1586, Sir Thomas Cavendish sailed from Plymouth with three ships, and in the following year arrived on the coast of Chili. Landing at Quintero, he endeavoured to enter into negotiation with the natives, but he was attacked by the Corregidor of St. Iago, and after having suffered some loss, was compelled to quit the coast. Cadeguala availed himself of this timely diversion to surprise the city of Angol. Having, by means of secret agents, persuaded those Chilians who were in the service of Spaniards to set fire to their masters’ houses by night, he entered the city amidst the confusion, causing a dreadful slaughter of the citizens, who, in flying from the flames, fell into his hands. On that fatal night none would have escaped but for the opportune arrival of the governor two hours before the attack. With the greatest presence of mind he proceeded at the head of his guard to the various quarters, and, collecting the dispersed inhabitants, conducted them to the citadel. Having sallied thence at daybreak, he forced the enemy to retire. It is to be remarked, as showing how much the Araucanians had profited by the moral example given them by the Spaniards, that they no longer scrupled to employ treachery. On this occasion the Toqui was not deserted by any of his officers, as had been the fate of Caupolican when he employed the same means at Canete.

The next and last enterprise of the gallant Cadeguala was against the fortress of Puren, which he invested with four thousand men. The governor, hastening to relieve it with a strong reinforcement, was met by Cadeguala with a hundred and fifty lances and compelled to retreat. Elated with this success, he determined to decide the fate of Puren at a single blow. For this purpose he appeared before the walls, mounted on a splendid horse which he had taken from the governor, and defied the commander of the place, Garcia Ramon, to single combat at the end of three days. The challenge was accepted, and at the appointed time the intrepid Toqui appeared on the field with a limited number of attendants. The Spanish commander likewise came out with forty men, who, like the followers of the Toqui, remained at a distance. The two champions encountered each other with such fury that the first shock was decisive. Cadeguala fell, pierced through by the lance of his adversary. Even then he would not acknowledge himself vanquished; but life failed him in his attempt to remount his horse. His body, after a sharp contest, was carried off by his followers. With this incident, recalling similar ones between the Spaniards and their gallant opponents at the siege of Granada, ended the investment of Puren.

The Araucanians, under their new Toqui, Guanoalca, being informed that the garrison was ill-supplied with provisions and cut off from succour, were not long in returning to the siege of Puren, the Spaniards in which place, however, were permitted to retire unmolested to Angol. The Toqui then lost no time in marching against a new fort in the vicinity of the mountain of Mariguenu; but on its being reinforced he turned his arms against Spirito Santo and Trinidad on the Bio-bio, both of which were evacuated in 1589. Guanoalca was seconded in his military operations by the heroine Janequeo, the wife of Guepotan, who had long defended Leben. On the loss of that place he had retired to the Andes; but he had descended to the plains in order to regain his wife; and, being surprised, he chose to die rather than be made prisoner. He was well avenged. Janequeo placed herself at the head of a force of Puelches, and in 1590 began to make inroads upon the Spanish settlements, killing all who fell into her hands.

The governor of Chili marched against her, but only to lose time and men. Before his retreat he gave orders that all prisoners should be hanged. Janequeo next proceeded against the fortress of Puchanqui, near which she defeated its commander, Aranda, who was himself slain. The fort having resisted her efforts, she retired to the mountains near Villarica, the neighbourhood of which she rendered so unsafe that none ventured to quit the town. Moved by the complaints of the citizens, Sotomayor at length sent his brother Don Louis to their aid. Janequeo repelled the various assaults of the Spaniards, but was in the end obliged to retreat before their artillery. Her brother being taken, he obtained his life on the promise of keeping his sister quiet; but whilst his proposal for a reconciliation with the Spaniards was being debated in council, he was killed by a patriotic Ulmen, who would not hear of such a proposition.

1591.

In the year 1591 Quintuguenu succeeded to the office of Toqui on the death of Guanoalca. Having assaulted the fort of Mariguenu, he encamped with two thousand men upon the top of that famous height, whence the governor, putting himself at the head of a thousand Spaniards and a number of auxiliaries, resolved to dislodge him. The latter began at daybreak the difficult ascent of the mountain, leading the advanced guard in person. Half-way in the ascent he was attacked with fury by Quintuguenu; but, animating his men by his words and deeds, he sustained for an hour the terrible encounter, and forced the enemy, step by step, back into their entrenchments. The Araucanians defended themselves with the utmost bravery until mid-day, when their camp was forced on the left and right. Still Quintuguenu for a long time rendered the event doubtful. Recalling to his men the glorious memories of Lautaro, he exhorted them not to dishonour that holy spot by defeat. Rushing from rank to rank he fell, pierced by three mortal wounds at the hands of the governor, his dying word being “Liberty.” His death decided the day.

Sotomayor, the first Spanish conqueror on Mariguenu, conducted his army to the sea-shore, where he was saluted by the Peruvian fleet, which had witnessed his glorious victory. He next built a fort to replace that of Arauco in a locality which would be more readily succoured. He then set out for the province of Tucapel, marking his way by fire and sword. The next Toqui was Piallaeco, who soon lost his life in battle, when his countrymen were so overwhelmed that their remaining warriors had to take refuge in the marshes. These victories, however, on the part of the Spaniards were ineffectual to decide the war. The governor, who was an experienced soldier, seeing that a large force was needed for this purpose, resolved to proceed in person to Peru in order to obtain it. On his arrival there he was met by Don Martin Loyola (nephew of St. Ignatius), who had been appointed his successor. This officer had distinguished himself by capturing, in the fastnesses of the Andes, Tupac Amaru, the last of the Incas of Peru, a service which not only obtained for him the government of Chili, but likewise the hand of the Princess Clara Beatrix Coya, the daughter and heiress of the Inca Sayri Tupac. Loyola reached Valparaiso, the port of St. Iago, in 1593.

1593.

The Araucanians next chose for Toqui an active veteran named Paillamachu, whose career was destined to be of more lasting service to his country than had been that of any of his distinguished predecessors, unless indeed it be said that his career was but the result of their example. Imitating the precedent of Antiguenu, he retreated to the marshes of Lumaco, there to train an army. Loyola having proceeded to Conception, was there met by an Araucanian officer who had been sent to compliment him, and on whose mind he endeavoured to impress an idea of the resources of his sovereign, and of the necessity of submission. He was, however, assured in reply that the Araucanians would never submit to foreign control whilst they had a drop of blood in their veins. Loyola could not but admire the sentiments of the noble Antipillan, whom he dismissed with every demonstration of esteem. He nevertheless was far from relinquishing the policy of his predecessors.

1594.

Passing the Bio-bio, he founded near it a new city, to which he gave the name of Coya, in honour of his wife; and he established two castles to protect it. This proceeding was the signal for attack on the part of Paillamachu, whose lieutenant assaulted Fort Jesus in 1595, but failed to reduce it. In the following year the Araucanian general felt himself in sufficient strength to make frequent incursions into the Spanish districts; but he carefully avoided an encounter with their troops. With the object of restraining him, Loyola erected two new forts, one at Puren and the other on the border of the marshes of Lumaco. In 1597 he also founded a settlement in the province of Cujo, to which he gave the name of St. Louis de Loyola.

1598.

Paillamachu soon took by storm the fort of Lumaco, and the governor prudently demolished that of Puren, to save it from a like fate. Having next repaired the fortifications of Imperial, Villarica, and Valdivia, he returned to the Bio-bio, retaining as an escort only sixty half-pay officers, when he was attacked by the Toqui in the valley of Caralava and put to death with all his retinue. In less than forty-eight hours after this event the whole Araucanian provinces were in arms, as were likewise the Cunchese and the Cuilliches, and the whole country as far as the archipelago of Chiloë. Every Spaniard outside the garrisons was put to death; whilst Osorno, Valdivia, Villarica, Imperial, Canete, Angol, Coya, and the fortress of Arauco, were all at once invested with a close siege. Paillamachu himself, crossing the Bio-bio, burned the cities of Conception and Chillan, laying waste the surrounding provinces.

1599.

The receipt of this alarming news so terrified the inhabitants of St. Iago that they made up their minds to quit the country and retire to Peru. They appointed, however, as temporary governor Pedro de Viscara, a veteran of seventy years, who set out for the frontier with such troops as he could raise. Crossing the Bio-bio in the face of the enemy, he withdrew the inhabitants of Angol and Coya, sending them to Conception and Chillan. At the end of six months he was relieved by Don Francisco Quinones, sent by the Viceroy of Peru to assume the government. Several actions took place to the north of the Bio-bio; the most important occurred on the plains of Yumbel. This battle, fought between nearly equal numbers, continued with incredible fury for nearly two hours, when night parted the combatants, and the Toqui repassed the Bio-bio. The Spanish governor ordered his prisoners to be hanged. After this engagement the fort of Arauco and the city of Canete were evacuated.

1600.

The active Paillamachu went from place to place. He stormed Valdivia, putting to death a great number of the inhabitants, and forcing the remainder to save themselves on board ships, which at once set sail. By this exploit he secured all the cannon of the place, two millions of dollars, and four hundred prisoners. To add to these misfortunes, five Dutch men-of-war now appeared on the coast of Chili, plundering the island of Chiloë and putting the garrison to the sword. A party having attacked the Araucanians on the island of Talca, or Santa Maria, under the belief that they were Spaniards, were repulsed with the loss of twenty-three men.

1602.

Quinones was succeeded in the government by Garcia Raymon, an officer of much experience in South America, and who in turn had shortly to give place to Rivera, a soldier who had fought in the Low Countries, and who was now sent out with a regiment of veterans. His coming encouraged his countrymen to abandon their idea of quitting Chili; it did not, however, retrieve the fortunes of the war. After a siege of three years, Villarica fell into the hands of the Araucanians: whilst a similar fate awaited Imperial, which place owed its protracted defence to a Spanish heroine, called Inez Agulera. When defence was no longer possible, this lady, who during the siege had lost her husband and her brothers, escaped by sea with a great part of the inhabitants. The city of Osorno was the next to give way to the besiegers, and thus was freed from the presence of the Spaniards the extensive country between the Bio-bio and the archipelago of Chiloë, and the work of Valdivia and his successors was undone.

The cities which fell into the enemy’s hands were destroyed, and their prisoners, who had been reduced to terrible straits, were so numerous that almost each Araucanian family had one to its share. As ransom was permitted, many escaped from captivity. Others, induced by the love of their mixed offspring, preferred to remain with their conquerors. The valiant Paillamachu only survived till the following year, 1603. The towns which he destroyed have never been rebuilt;¹⁸ their scanty ruins are his monument. Thus ended, as regarded its permanent results, the Araucanian War of Independence, exemplifying, if ever a war did, the sentiment contained in the lines:—