View source for Battle of Río Bueno (1759)

{{Warbox
|conflict=Battle of Río Bueno
|partof=[[Arauco War]]
|date=January 27, 1759
|place=[[Bueno River]]
|result= Disputed
|combatant1=[[File:Flag of New Spain.svg|border|22px]] [[Spanish Empire]]
|combatant2=[[Image:Lautaro flag.svg|25px]] [[Huilliche people|Mapuche-Huilliche]]
|commander1=[[File:Flag of New Spain.svg|border|22px]] [[Juan Antonio Garretón]]
|commander2= [[Catillanca]]<br>[[Paidil]]
| strength1   =
| strength2   =
|casualties1=
|casualties2=
|campaignbox={{Campaignbox Arauco War}}
}}
{{for|the 1654 battle|battle of Río Bueno}}
{{short description|Spanish victory against indigenous peoples in Chile}}
The '''Battle of Río Bueno''' in 1759 was a military engagement between Spanish colonial forces and local [[Huilliche people|Huilliche]] in the [[Bueno River]] of [[Zona Sur|south-central Chile]]. The battle was fought on January 27 with the Spanish forces led by [[Juan Antonio Garretón]].<ref name=BA310>Barros Arana, 1886, p. 310.</ref> The battle of 1759 was an exception to the overall policy of befriending indigenous communities on behalf of the Spanish authorities in [[Valdivia]].<ref name=UC174/>
Beginning in the mid-18th century the Spanish enclave of [[Valdivia]] started a period of [[History of agriculture in Chile|agricultural expansion]]. The expansion was mainly directed to the south and was done mostly by pacific means, but hostilities with indigenous Huilliches did occur.<ref name=CouyoUrbina>{{cite journal |last=Couyoumdjian |first=Juan Ricardo |date=2009 |title=Reseña de "La frontera de arriba en Chile colonial. Interacción hispano-indígena en el territorio entre Valdivia y Chiloé e imaginario de sus bordes geográficos, 1600–1800" de MARÍA XIMENA URBINA CARRASCO |url=http://www.redalyc.org/pdf/334/33411422021.pdf |journal=[[Historia (history of the Americas journal)|Historia]] |volume=I |issue=42 |pages=281–283 |access-date=30 January 2016}}</ref> In 1758 Huilliche chief Huarán requested Spanish soldiers to defend his lands against his [[Cunco people|Cunco]] enemies.<ref name=Rum103>Rumian Cisterna 2000, p. 103.</ref> The Governor of Valdivia [[Ambrosio Sáes de Bustamante]] responded to this call leading to the Battle of Río Bueno in 1759.<ref name=UC174/><ref name=Rum103/><ref name=Rum104>Rumian Cisterna 2000, p. 104.</ref>
There are differing views on the outcome of this battle; according to [[Diego Barros Arana]] it was a Spanish victory,<ref name=BA310/> yet historian Salvador Rumian Cisterna considers that with the battle chiefs Catrillanca and Paidil managed to halt any further Spanish advance.<ref name=Rum104>Rumian Cisterna 2000, p. 104.</ref>
After the battle captured Huilliches told the Spanish about the existence of uncontacted Spanish settlements further inside indigenous territory, envigorating belief among the populace of Valdivia about the legendary [[City of the Caesars]].<ref name=BA310/><ref name=UC174>Urbina Carrasco, 2009, p. 174.</ref> [[Ignacio Pinuer]], a staunch believer in the existence of the city, was present in the battle of Río Bueno claiming "the Caesars" participated in the "Christian" side by attacking the indigenous rearguard at night, securing thus a Spanish victory.<ref name=UC181>Urbina Carrasco, 2009, p. 181.</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
===Bibliography===
*{{cite book
| last       = Barros Arana
| first      = Diego
| author-link1 = Diego Barros Arana
| title      = Historia General de Chile
| volume     = VI
| url        = http://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-9008.html
| year       = 2000
| orig-year   = 1886
| edition    = 2
| publisher  = [[Editorial Universitaria]]
| location   = Santiago, Chile
| language   = es
}}
*{{Cite thesis|title=Gallito Catrilef: Colonialismo y defensa de la tierra en San Juan de la Costa a mediados del siglo XX|last=Rumian Cisterna|first=Salvador|date=2020-09-17|degree=M.Sc.|publisher=[[University of Los Lagos]]|url=|language=Spanish}}
*{{cite book |last1=Urbina Carrasco |first1=María Ximena|author-link=Ximena Urbina |title=La Frontera "de arriba" en Chile Colonial |date=2009 |publisher=Ediciones Universitarias de Valparaíso |isbn=978-956-17-0433-6 |language=es}}
{{coord missing|Chile}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rio Bueno, Battle of}}
[[Category:Conflicts in 1759]]
[[Category:History of Los Ríos Region|Battle of Rio Bueno]]
[[Category:History of Los Lagos Region|Battle of Rio Bueno]]
[[Category:1759 in the Captaincy General of Chile|Battle of Rio Bueno]]
[[Category:Battles involving Spain]]
[[Category:Battles of the Arauco War]]
[[Category:January events|Battle of Rio Bueno]]
[[Category:Huilliche history|Battle of Rio Bueno]]