ConflictSouth America
The Mapuche hold out
Three centuries of independence against Spain
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The Mapuche adopted the horse quickly and adapted their tactics, and they lacked a central apparatus that could be captured — the thing that made the Inca empire vulnerable. Their independence ended only in the 1880s, not at Spanish hands but at those of the Chilean republic. The question of land rights remains unresolved.
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In southern Chile the Mapuche halted the Spanish conquest and held their land for over three centuries. Spain had to recognise the border at the Biobío river by treaty — something that almost never happened elsewhere in the Americas.
Connects to
Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org