Negrete () is a

Chile 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, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and commune in Bío Bío Province, Bío Bío Region. It is bordered by the commune of Los Ángeles to the north,

Renaico Renaico () is a city and commune forming part of the Malleco Province in the Araucanía Region in southern Chile. The city is located on the south bank of the Renaico River. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics ...

to the south,

Mulchén Mulchén is a city and commune in Bío Bío Province of Bío Bío Region, Chile. It was first settled in 1871 by soldiers during the so-called Pacification of Araucania. In 1875 Mulchén was officially founded. The city is surrounded by a mean ...

to the east and Nacimiento to the west. The town o
Negrete
is located on the south shore of the Bío Bío river, a few kilometers downstream of the confluence of the Bío Bío and Bureo rivers.

History

The town has its origins in the fort ''San Francisco de Borja'' founded near the hill Mesamávida in 1603 by

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Alonso de Ribera Alonso de Ribera y Zambrano (; 1560 – March 9, 1617) was a Spanish soldier and twice Spanish royal governor of Chile (1601–1605 and 1612–1617). Early life Born in Úbeda, he was the illegitimate son of Hidalgo and Captain Jorge de Ribera Za ...

. This was 10 km to the northeast of the present location of the town, near the confluence of the Bio Bio River and the Duqueco River, on the north shore of this last river. In 1613 Ribera moved to the fort to atop Mesamávida, renamed Cerro Negrete. In 1621, Pedro Osores de Ulloa rebuilt the fort and a small village began at the base of the hill. In 1757, Governor

Manuel de Amat y Juniet Manuel de Amat y Junyent, OSJ, OM () (March 1707 – February 14, 1782) was a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator. He was the Royal Governor of the Captaincy General of Chile from December 28, 1755, to September 9, 1761, and V ...

, granted the town the title of ''Villa de Negrete''. In 1777, a new fort ''San Agustín de Mesamávida'' was built on the Cerro Negrete by Ambrosio O' Higgins by order of Governor Agustín de Jáuregui. In March 1793 the plains nearby were the location of the Parliament of Negrete where peace was agreed between the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

and the

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 ...

. It was again destroyed by the Mapuche in 1859. It was not rebuilt until 1861 when a new strong fort was built near the present location of the town. Francisco Solano Asta-Buruaga y Cienfuegosbr>Diccionario geográfico de la República de Chile, Segunda Ed. Corregida y aumentada, Nueva York, D. Appleton y Compañía, 1899, pg. 471, Negrete. — Villa
/ref>

Demographics

According to the 2002

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of the National Statistics Institute, Negrete spans an area of and has 8,579 inhabitants (4,414 men and 4,165 women). Of these, 5,283 (61.6%) lived in

urban area An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

s and 3,296 (38.4%) in

rural area In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

s. The population grew by 2.8% (232 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Negrete is a third-level

administrative division of Chile The administrative division or territorial organization of Chile exemplifies characteristics of a unitary state. State administration is functionally and geographically decentralized, as appropriate for each authority in accordance with the law ...

administered by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

, headed by an

alcalde ''Alcalde'' (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and Administration (government), administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor (position), corregidor, the presiding officer o ...

who is directly elected every four years. The 2013-2016 alcalde is Javier Melo Márquez (

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

). Within the

electoral divisions of Chile This article covers the electoral division of Chile, which involves two distinct systems: # Chamber of Deputies of Chile, Chamber of Deputies and Senate of Chile, Senate: Chile is divided into electoral districts and senatorial constituencies for ...

, Negrete is represented in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

by Joel Rosales Guzmán (

UDI Udi may refer to: Places * Udi, Enugu, a local government areas and city in Nigeria * Udi Hills, Enugu State, Nigeria * Udi, a place in the Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh, India People Given name * Udi Aloni (born 1959), Israeli-American film ...

) and José Pérez Arriagada ( PRSD) as part of the 47th electoral district, together with Los Ángeles,

Tucapel Tucapel is a town and commune in the Bío Bío Province, Bío Bío Region, Chile. It was once a region of Araucanía named for the Tucapel River. The name of the region derived from the rehue and aillarehue of the Moluche people of the ar ...

, Antuco, Quilleco, Santa Bárbara,

Quilaco Quilaco is a Chilean town and commune located in the Bío Bío Province, Bío Bío Region. The commune spans an area of . History ''Quilaco'' has two accepted meanings: "Three waters" or " Quila in the water". The town has its roots in the Ma ...

, Nacimiento,

San Rosendo San Rosendo () is a Chilean city and commune in Bío Bío Province, Bío Bío Region. The city of San Rosendo lies on the gentle slopes of a hill overlooking the confluence of the rivers Bío Bío and Laja, which respectively bound the city ...

, Laja and

Alto Bío Bío The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In four-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruse ...

. The commune is represented in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

by Victor Pérez Varela (UDI) and Mariano Ruiz-Esquide Jara ( PDC) as part of the 13th senatorial constituency (Bío Bío-Coast).

References

External links

*
Municipality of Negrete
{{Communes in Bío Bío Region Communes of Chile Populated places in Bío Bío Province Populated places established in 1621 1621 establishments in the Spanish Empire