Yumbel is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and commune of the Province of Bío Bío in the region of the same name,

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 ...

History

Yumbel originated from the small fort of ''San Felipe de Austria'', raised in 1585 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 Sotomayor Alonso de Sotomayor y Valmediano (; 1545–1610) was a Spanish conquistador from Extremadura, and a Royal Governor of Chile. Early life He was born in Trujillo, in the province of Extremadura, the son of Gutiérrez de Sotomayor e Hinojosa ...

, on the cerro del Centinela (Hill of the Sentinel). This fort was destroyed by 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 ...

and replaced in 1603, by Governor

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 ...

as fort ''Santa Lucia de Yumbel''. Destroyed in 1621 it was rebuilt the same year. It remained in use until 1648 when it was abandoned and its garrison sent to the fort of

Nacimiento, Chile Nacimiento (, ) is a Chilean city situated in the Bío Bío Province, Bío Bío Region, south of Santiago, and from the closest major city in the region, Concepción. It was first used as a fort for the Spanish army to advance and control th ...

. Governor

Ángel de Peredo Angel is a given name meaning " angel", " messenger". In the English-speaking world Angel is used for both boys and girls. From the medieval Latin masculine name ''Angelus'', which was derived from the name of the heavenly creature (itself deri ...

again constructed it in 1663 as fort ''Nuestra Señora de Almudena''. When

Francisco de Meneses Brito Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Meaning of the name Francisco In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comm ...

populated it three years later he renamed it ''San Carlos de Austria de Yumbel''. During the term of

Diego González Montero Justiniano Diego González Montero Justiniano was interim Royal Governor of Chile twice, from February to May 1662 following the death of Pedro Porter Casanate Pedro Porter y Casanate (April 30, 1611 – February 27, 1662) was a Spanish Navy officer, explor ...

a town that had evolved was given the name of ''Santa Lucia de Yumbel''. Governor

Antonio de Guill y Gonzaga Antonio de Guill y Gonzaga (died August 24, 1768) was a Spanish colonial administrator who served as Royal Governor of Panama and Royal Governor of Chile. Arauco War Governor Guill y Gonzaga celebrated the " Parliament of Nacimiento" with the Ma ...

gave it the recognition as a town in 1766. It grew little until 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 ...

when it was occupied by both sides at times and then was burned by the Spanish guerrilla

Juan Manuel Picó ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philippi ...

and the end of 1820. The town was reduced to ruins in the earthquake of February 20, 1835, and was reestablished to the north of the old location on August 29, 1836. It alternated for some time with the town of San Luis Gonzaga as the capital of the

Department of Rere Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

, until the decree of June 2, 1853 confirmed Yumbel as the capital. On March 19, 1871, Yumbel was made a city.

Geography

The city lies a few kilometers northeast of the confluence of the Laja and Bío Bío rivers. The Biobío River marks boundary between two

natural regions of Chile Because Chile extends from a point about 625 kilometers north of the Tropic of Capricorn to a point hardly more than 1,400 kilometers north of the Antarctic Circle, within its territory can be found a broad selection of the Earth's climates. In 1 ...

, the Zona Central to the north and the

Zona Austral The Zona Austral (''Southernmost Zone'') is one of the five natural regions into which CORFO divided continental Chile in 1950 corresponding to the Chilean portion of Patagonia. It is surrounded by the Zona Sur and the Chacao Channel to the ...

to the south.

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, Yumbel spans an area of and has 20,498 inhabitants (10,442 men and 10,056 women). Of these, 10,935 (53.3%) 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 9,563 (46.7%) 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 0.2% (38 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Yumbel 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 2008-2012 alcalde is Camilo Cabezas Vega ( PH). 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 ...

, Yumbel 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 Jorge Sabag ( PDC) and Frank Sauerbaum ( RN) as part of the 42nd electoral district, together with

San Fabián San Fabián is the easternmost of 21 communes in the Punilla Province of central Chile's. Ñuble Region. The capital is the town of San Fabián de Alico. The commune spans an area of . Administration As a commune, San Fabián is administere ...

Ñiquén Ñiquén is a commune of the Punilla Province, located in the north of the Ñuble Region of Chile. Geographically, it is delimited by the Perquilauquén River to the north and the Ñiquén River in the south. Its boundary to the north is the com ...

, San Carlos, San Nicolás,

Ninhue Ninhue () is a commune and town in the Itata Province, Ñuble Region, Chile. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Ninhue spans an area of and has 5,738 inhabitants (2,920 men and 2,818 women). Of thes ...

Quirihue Quirihue () is a Chilean city in Quirihue, Itata Province, Ñuble Region. It is located about 72 kilometers northwest of Chillán and 410 km southwest of Santiago. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Instit ...

Cobquecura Cobquecura is a commune in the Region of Ñuble (Spanish: ''comuna'') in the Province of Itata Chile's Region of Ñuble. The town is located on the northwest Pacific coast of the Itata Province about southwest of the national capital of Sant ...

Treguaco Treguaco (), also spelled as Trehuaco (), is a Chilean city and Communes of Chile, commune in Itata Province, Ñuble Region. The commune spans an area of . Demographics According to data from the 2002 Census of Population and Housing, the Tregua ...

, Portezuelo,

Coelemu Coelemu is a Chilean commune and city in Itata Province, Ñuble Region. According to the 2002 census, the commune population was 16,082 and has an area of . Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Coelem ...

Ránquil Ránquil is a Chilean Communes of Chile, commune in Itata Province, Ñuble Region. The communal Capital (political), capital is the town of Ránquil. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute (Chile), Nation ...

Quillón Quillón is a Chilean city and commune and Diguillín Province, Ñuble Region. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Quillón spans an area of and has 15,146 inhabitants (7,699 men and 7,447 women). ...

Bulnes Bulnes may refer to: People * Eduardo Pérez Bulnes (1785–1851), Argentine statesman * Francisco Bulnes (politician) (1847–1924), Mexican intellectual * Manuel Bulnes (1799–1866), Chilean military and political figure * Manuel Bulnes Pinto ...

and Cabrero. 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 Alejandro Navarro Brain ( MAS) and Hosain Sabag Castillo ( PDC) as part of the 12th senatorial constituency (Biobío-Cordillera).

References

External links

*
Municipality of Yumbel
{{Communes in Bío Bío Region Communes of Chile Populated places in Bío Bío Province 1585 establishments in the Spanish Empire