Occupation of Araucanía in the context of "Chilean Armed Forces"

Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, extending along a narrow strip of land between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. According to the 2024 census, Chile had an enumerated population of 18.5 million. The country covers a territorial area of 756,102 square kilometers (291,933 sq mi), sharing borders with Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage to the south. It also administers several Pacific islands, including Juan Fernández, Isla Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas, and Easter Island, and claims about 1,250,000 square kilometers (480,000 sq mi) of Antarctica as the Chilean Antarctic Territory. The capital and largest city is Santiago, and the national language is Spanish.

Spain conquered and colonized the region in the mid-16th century, replacing Inca rule; however, they failed to conquer the autonomous tribal Mapuche people who inhabited what is now south-central Chile. Chile emerged as a relatively stable authoritarian republic in the 1830s after their 1818 declaration of independence from Spain. During the 19th century, Chile experienced significant economic and territorial growth, putting an end to Mapuche resistance in the 1880s and gaining its current northern territory in the War of the Pacific (1879–83) by defeating Peru and Bolivia.

The Araucanía (/ˌærɔːˈkeɪniə/ ARR-aw-KAY-nee-ə), La Araucanía Region (Spanish: Región de La Araucanía pronounced [(ˌ)aɾawkaˈni.a]) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions, and comprises two provinces: Malleco in the north and Cautín in the south. Its capital and largest city is Temuco; other important cities include Angol and Villarrica.

Chile did not incorporate the lands of the Araucanía Region until the 1880s, when it occupied the area to end resistance by the indigenous Mapuche by both military and political means. This opened up the area for Chilean and European immigration and settlement.

Araucanía or Araucana was the Spanish name given to the region of Chile inhabited by the Mapuche peoples known as the Moluche (also known as Araucanos by the Spanish) in the 18th century. Prior to the Spanish conquest of Chile, the lands of the Moluche lay between the Itata River and Toltén River.

The Conquest of the Desert (Spanish: Conquista del desierto) was an Argentine military campaign directed mainly by General Julio Argentino Roca during the 1870s and 1880s with the intention of establishing dominance over Patagonia, inhabited primarily by Indigenous peoples. The Conquest of the Desert extended Argentine territories into Patagonia and ended Chilean expansion in the region.

Argentine troops killed more than 1,000 Mapuches, displaced more than 15,000 more from their traditional lands and enslaved a portion of the remaining Indigenous people. Settlers of European descent moved in and developed the lands through irrigation for agriculture, converting the territory into an extremely productive area that contributed to the status of Argentina as a great exporter of agricultural products during the early 20th century. The conquest was paralleled by the Occupation of Araucanía, a similar campaign in Chile. The conquest remains controversial in Argentine history as apologists describe it as a civilising mission and a defense against attacks by the natives while revisionists label it a genocide.

The last major rebellion of the indigenous Mapuches of Araucanía took place in 1881, during the last phase of the Occupation of Araucanía (1861–1883) by the Chilean state. It was planned by Mapuche chiefs in March 1881 to be launched in November the same year. Mapuche support for the uprising was not unanimous: Some Mapuche factions sided with the Chileans and others declared themselves neutral. The organizers of the uprising did however succeed in involving Mapuche factions that had not previously been at war with Chile. With most of the attacks repelled within a matters of days Chile went on the next years to consolidate its conquests.

Southern Chile is an informal geographic term for any place south of the capital city, Santiago, or south of Biobío River, the mouth of which is Concepción, about 300 kilometres (200 mi) south of Santiago. Generally cities like Temuco are considered to be located in the south despite being relatively close to the geographical center of Chile. This is mainly because mainland Chile ended in La Frontera until the occupation of Araucanía (1861–1883). Similarly, the Southern Chile wine region is close to the geographic center of the country, encompassing wine-growing areas in the Bío Bío Region and Araucanía Region.

Southern Chile may also refer to the Zona Sur region between Biobío and Chacao Channel, which is often also called the Chilean Lake District. It may also refer to the Zona Austral, also called the Extreme South.

Temuco (Spanish pronunciation: [teˈmuko]) is a city and commune, capital of the Cautín Province and of the Araucanía Region in southern Chile. The city is located 670 kilometres (416 miles) south of Santiago. The city grew out from a fort of the same name established in 1881 during Chile's invasion of Araucanía. Temuco lies in the middle of the historic Araucanía, a traditional land of the indigenous Mapuche.

Temuco's central place in Araucanía with easy access to the Andean valleys, lakes and coastal areas makes it a hub for tourism, agricultural, livestock and forestry operations as well as a communication and trade centre for the numerous small towns of Araucanía. Temuco has recently been regarded as a university city as it houses two large universities: University of the Frontier and Temuco Catholic University. Nobel laureates Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda both lived in Temuco for some time.

Galvarino is a Chilean town and commune (Spanish: comuna), part of Cautín Province, in the Araucanía Region.

The town, named for the Mapuche warrior Galvarino, was founded on April 22, 1882 within the frame of the occupation of Araucanía by general Gregorio Urrutia, next to river Quillem as a fort of 2,500 m (26,910 sq ft). Its population come eminently from original Mapuche indigenous people. The area was colonized fundamentally by Swiss colonizers. The main economic activity is forestal activity, shown as great amount of the territory dedicated to production of forestal trees, like eucalyptus and pines.