Mañil or Magnil was a

Mapuche The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...

lonko A lonko or lonco (from Mapudungun ''longko'', literally "head"), is a chief of several Mapuche communities. These were often Ulmen (Mapuche), ulmen, the wealthier men in the lof. In wartime, lonkos of the various local rehue or the larger aillarehu ...

who fought in the 1851 Chilean Revolution and led an uprising in 1859. He was the main chief of the Arribanos and the father of

Quilapán José Santos Quilapán or simply Quilapán () was a Mapuche chief active in the Mapuche resistance to the Occupation of Araucanía (1861–1883). He was the main chief of the Arribanos and inherited his charge as chief from his father Mañil Ma ...

who led Mapuche forces in the

Occupation of Araucanía The Occupation of Araucanía or Pacification of Araucanía (1861–1883) was a series of military campaigns, agreements and penetrations by the Chilean military and settlers into Mapuche territory which led to the incorporation of Araucanía i ...

. Mañil had a long-running enmity with lonko

Juan Lorenzo Colipí Juan Lorenzo Colipí () was a Mapuche lonco active in the politics and warfare in Araucanía in the first half of the 19th century. He participated in the Guerra a muerte (1819–1821) phase of the Chilean Independence War. The influence of Colip ...

dating back to their participation in the

Guerra a muerte ''Guerra a muerte'' (lit. English: ''War to the death'') is a term coined by Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna and used in Chilean historiography to describe the irregular, no-quarter warfare that broke out in 1819 during the Chilean War of Independ ...

(1819–1821) phase of the

Chilean War of Independence The Chilean War of Independence (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Guerra de la Independencia de Chile'', 'War of Independence of Chile') was a military and political event that allowed the emancipation of Chile from the Spanish Empire, Spanish Mona ...

. In 1834 and 1835 he survived a large

malón ''Malón'' (from the Mapuche language, Mapudungun ''maleu,'' to inflict damage to the enemy) is the name given to plunder raids carried out by Mapuche warriors, who rode horses into Spanish, Chilean and Argentine territories from the 17th to th ...

by Colipí and was later able to rebuild his forces. When Colipí died in 1850 it was said he had been poisoned by Mañil's men. In 1852 Mañil had two of Colipí's sons, among them his heir Pedro Colipí, killed.

Manuel Montt Manuel Francisco Antonio Julián Montt Torres (; September 4, 1809 – September 21, 1880) was a Chilean statesman and scholar. He was twice elected President of Chile between 1851 and 1861. He was the first civilian to serve a full term as Presi ...

, as

President of Chile The president of Chile (), officially the president of the Republic of Chile (), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Chile. The president is responsible for both Government of Chile, government administration and s ...

, passed a law on December 7 of 1852 that created the Province of Arauco, a territory intended to administer all territories south of the Bío-Bío River and north of Valdivia Province.Villalobos ''et al''. 1974, pp. 575-581. In a letter to Manuel Montt Mañil denounced the plunder of graves in search of Mapuche silver, arson of Mapuche houses and other abuses against Mapuches that were happening in the newly created province. Mañil further accused intendant Villalón con Salbo of becoming rich by cattle theft. The encroachment over time of settlers advancing from the north across Bío Bío River into Mapuche territory and the appearance of German settlers in the south of the Mapuche territory led chief Mañil in 1859 to call for an uprising to assert control over the territory.Bengoa 2000, pp. 166–170. Most Mapuches responded to the call, except the communities at

Purén Purén is a List of cities in Chile, city (2002 pop. 12,868) and Communes of Chile, commune in Malleco Province of La Araucanía Region, Chile. It is located in the west base of the Cordillera de Nahuelbuta (650 km. south of Santiago). The ec ...

, Choll Choll, and the southern coastal Mapuches who had strong links with

Valdivia Valdivia (; Mapuche: Ainil) is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder, Pedro de Valdivia, and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia, and ...

. The towns of

Angol Angol is a commune and capital city of the Malleco Province in the Araucanía Region of southern Chile. It is located at the foot of the Cordillera de Nahuelbuta and next to the Vergara River, that permitted communications by small boats to the ...

Negrete Negrete () is a Chilean town and commune in Bío Bío Province, Bío Bío Region. It is bordered by the commune of Los Ángeles to the north, Renaico to the south, Mulchén to the east and Nacimiento to the west. The town oNegreteis located ...

and Nacimiento were attacked. A peace proposal made by settlers was accepted in 1860 during a meeting of several Mapuche chiefs. The agreement established that land transfers could only be made with the approval of the chiefs. The 1859 uprising reinforced the Chilean view of Mapuches as a dangerous threat to the emerging settlements in Araucanía and influenced public opinion in Chile to push for the complete incorporation of Araucanía into Chile.Ferrando 1986, pp. 398–402 These events contributed to the Chilean authorities' decision of occupying Araucanía.

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Bibliography

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