Canete

Pedro de Valdivia, the conquistador who founded Santiago, built a fort near here and was killed at Tucapel on Christmas Day 1553 after being captured by Mapuche forces under Lautaro - the defeat that stopped Spanish expansion south of the Biobio for three centuries. The town that grew on the site holds the Museo Mapuche de Canete, which was reorganised in consultation with local communities so that the display is built around Mapuche categories and voices rather than presenting the culture as an archaeological subject, with a ruka standing in the grounds. That approach is unusual among Chilean regional museums.

History

Pedro de Valdivia built Fort Tucapel next to today's town in October 1553; the Mapuche destroyed it two months later, and when Valdivia returned on 25 December 1553 to rebuild it he was defeated, captured and killed. Governor García Hurtado de Mendoza founded Cañete de la Frontera in January 1558, three kilometres east of the present town, naming it after his father, the Marquis of Cañete; it was abandoned in January 1563, and the present town was founded on 12 November 1868 by Colonel Cornelio Saavedra (Wikipedia, Cañete, Chile).

What you'll find

• Where Valdivia was killed - at Tucapel, on Christmas Day 1553.
• The defeat that held the frontier - Spanish expansion stopped for centuries.
• A Mapuche museum on Mapuche terms - reorganised with the communities.
• A ruka in the grounds - a traditional house, built for the museum.

When to go

December to March. Half a day.

What to expect

The museum is small and its hours are limited. The town itself is plain. The battle site is marked rather than excavated.

Nearby

Contulmo and Lake Lanalhue are south-east; Lebu is on the coast.

Key facts