Battle of San Carlos
Battle of San Carlos
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THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE BEFORE ITS FOUNDATION
Before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors to Chile's central valley, the area used to be populated by numerous indigenous tribes that, no doubt, had settled here attracted by its fertile lands in what is nowadays the city of San Carlos. It is a known fact, from old records, that there was an early battle between the indigenous inhabitants of "Kingdom Huelén" and Spaniards in the nearby confluence of the Itata and Ñuble Rivers in the year 1536. Some historians believe that this battle took place near where San Carlos is presently located. Precisely, before the arrival of Diego de Almagro and his expeditionary army, the indigenous tribe that live in the area were the Itihue people, and it is believed that these people had managed to establish quite a big settlement in the area. However, its population quickly dwindled down soon after the arrival of the Spanish; presumably, they left this settlement to go and live near the surrounding mountains where they felt they would be more secured. Even though, after the foundation of the village of San Carlos, there were still a few Indian "caciques" living near the village. It was around 1750 when these lands began to be more populated by the Itihue tribe together with people from nearby settlements such as Verquicó, Monte Blanco, the riverbank near Perquilauquén River, Cachapoal, soon becoming a regular village, but it had to be abandoned after the rising of the "Pehuenches-Chiquillanes" in 1769. Itihue, then, towards the end of the eighteenth century was mostly an indigenous settlement whose Cacique was JUAN REIMAN. In general, indigenous people populated Itihue, just like many of the other small native villages in the area. However, they lacked a central geographical location, and a settled social and political structure. In spite of this, it was still very difficult for the Spanish to establish themselves in these areas until the very last two decades of the eighteenth century. The first document related to the village of San Carlos de Los Andes appeared in the year 1789. A government official named Martínez de Rosas sent this information to Don Ambrosio O'Higgins, Governor General of Chile appointed by the Spanish Authorities in Spain. Martínez de Rosas describes the area as "flat terrain, fertile and good to produce wheat and all types of grains and plants; and it is also good for raising cattle."
People had different opinions about the exact place where to build the town. Some of the proposed sites included the Perquilauquén riverbank, Estero Buli, Paredones de Ñiquén, and also a place near Agua Buena and Itihue Streams.
Later, soon after the first inquiries about a possible site where to locate the town, don Antonio Sanhueza, Captains Francisco Muñoz, Manuel Ortiz, Pablo de Guzmán, and Colonel don Juan de Ojeda met at the Verquicó Church to study the information that had been gathered. They all agreed that the best place to build the town was the land near Itihue.
Then, Marshal Don Joaquín del Pino, who was in charge of the Government of Chile at that time, asked to see the documents concerning the village of San Carlos. He then proceeded to sign its foundation decree on July 3 of the year 1800. The city was given the name of San Carlos de Itihue. (*The name San Carlos is given for King Carlos IV of Spain and Itihue comes from the Mapundugun/ Mapuche Nation language and it means "place for grazing" or "swampy place"). Itihue is also the name of the main indigenous tribe in the area.
* Mapundugun: Indigenous language of the Mapuche Nation in Central-South Chile.
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