Urracá or Ubarragá Maniá Tigrí (died 1531) was an

Ngäbe The Ngäbe are an Indigenous people within the territories of present-day Panama and Costa Rica in Central America. The Ngäbe mostly live within the Ngäbe-Buglé comarca in the Western Panamanian provinces of Veraguas, Chiriquí and Bocas del ...

Amerindian In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

chieftain or

cacique A cacique, sometimes spelled as cazique (; ; feminine form: ), was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, who were the Indigenous inhabitants of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles at the time of European cont ...

in the region of present-day Panama who fought effectively against the Spanish

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

s. The Spaniards captured Urracá when he met them to discuss a peace treaty, caged him, and sent him to the Caribbean port of Nombre de Dios, intending to send him to Spain. He escaped, and for "the next eleven years", with his band of men, conducted guerrilla warfare against the conquistadors, living and hiding in the hills, ultimately dying from natural causes in 1531. Urraca commenced one of the first "sustained guerrilla wars in Latin America history and is remembered as ''el caudillo amerindio de Veragua'' (the Amerind leader of Veragua) and adversary of 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 ...

, the great resistance leader of Panama. He has been honored by his image on the ''centesimo'', the smallest-denomination coin of

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

History

Shortly after the foundation of

Panama City Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...

in 1519, the Spanish Governor-Captain Pedrarias Dávila began moving into the country, hoping to find a gold-rich village. The Spanish conquered the Veragua province, which is particularly rich in gold mining. Urracá's territory was in the vicinity of the present town of Nata de los Caballeros, founded on 20 May 1520 to serve as a basis for exploration of the rest of

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

. Urracá and his forces bravely faced the Spanish expedition for almost nine years, and repeatedly defeated the conquistadors, led by

Gaspar de Espinosa Gaspar de Espinosa y Luna ( Medina de Rioseco, Spain, c. 1484 - Cuzco, Peru, 14 February 1537) was a Spanish explorer, conquistador and politician. He participated in the expedition of Pedro Arias Dávila to Darién and was appointed mayor of Sant ...

. When Espinosa was called back to

by Pedrarias Dávila, Francisco de Compañón was commissioned to his post. Urracá attacked the Spanish warriors, but Compañón sent a messenger to report to Panama City to seek aid, and Pedrarias sent a relief battalion led by

Hernán Ponce de León Hernán Ponce de León was a Spanish ''conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, ...

. Urracá succeeded in making alliances with tribes that had been traditional enemies, in order to unite to defeat the Spaniards. 18649121 Caciques such as Ponca, Dures, Duraria, Bulaba, Guisia, Guaniaga, Tabor, Guracona, Guaniagos and other great masters of

Veragua The name Veragua or Veraguas was used for five Spanish colonial territorial entities in Central America, beginning in the 16th century during the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The term comes from the name given to the region by Central Am ...

united under his command. Ponce de León succeeded in breaking the siege of Nata, and he was followed by Pedrarias commanding new forces that reinforced the Spanish at Nata. Bloody clashes continued, without any of the parties achieving complete victory. In a subsequent battle, Urracá's forces managed to defeat Captain Diego de Albitres, who escaped and reported to the governor of

Castilla del Oro Castilla de Oro or del Oro () was the name given by the Spaniards, Spanish settlers at the beginning of the 16th century to the Central American territories from the Gulf of Urabá, near today's Colombian-Panamanian Colombia–Panama border, bord ...

Capture of Urracá

Led by Compañón, the Spanish attempted to capture Urracá with a trick. They sent emissaries to his territory to propose peace negotiations in Nata de los Caballeros. Urracá accepted the invitation and attended the site along with two of his men, but Compañón captured him, sending the chief to Nombre de Dios for transport to Spain. Urracá escaped, reunited with his people, and lived in the mountains conducting guerrilla warfare against the Spanish forces for eleven years.

Recognition

Opposite the facade of Escuela Normal in the city of

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, capital of the province of Veraguas, stands a statue of Urracá with a warrior expression as if willing to attack the Spanish conquistadors. In his honor, the

Asociación Nacional de Scouts de Panamá The Asociación Nacional de Scouts de Panamá is a Panamanian Scouting, youth scouting organization founded in 1924 and accepted into the World Organization of the Scout Movement, World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) that same year. Alt ...

calls Scout Urracá the highest rank awarded to those who have made outstanding community service.

Notes

References

;Attribution *''This article is based on the translation of the corresponding article of the Spanish Wikipedia. A list of contributors can be found there at the'
History
''section.''

External links