Good Fortune and Misfortune: A Short History of Valdivia

As I wind down my posts about Chile (next stop will be the Inland Northwest, U.S.), it seems fitting to give a thumbnail look at the history of the city that hosted me for a month. As the second oldest Spanish settlement in Chile, Valdivia has a storied past. Some of it has been viewed in greater depths in previous posts. What strikes me most is the trajectory of good fortune (for some) followed by misfortune that has dogged my adopted city for centuries.

Before the chronicles:

Monkey-puzzle trees by the river, courtesy of James Brunker

Good fortune: Some archaeologists (not all) believe humans may have lived in southern Chile up to 12,000 years ago, arriving not by foot across the Bering Strait but by boat across the Pacific. Before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors, the Huilliche Indians, connected by language to the Mapuches, lived in a large village known as Ainil on the site of present-day Valdivia. Because of its location near the ocean and alongside a network of rivers, wetlands, and canals, Ainil became an important hub for land and sea trade. Planted trees bordered thatch homes. Canoes laden with fish and shellfish plied the waters, and potatoes, quinoa and other crops grew on the surrounding plains.

Misfortune: In the mid-1500s, the Spanish conquistadors arrived.

A fledgling colony:

Pedro’s wife, Ines, in battle

Good fortune: In 1552, Pedro de Valdivia founded the city that bears his name — Spain’s southernmost settlement at the time. Streets, churches, homes and other buildings were constructed, and many well-educated settlers, including Jesuit priests, populated the region. Lucrative gold mines operated nearby, and Valdivia was awash in gold, silver, and other treasures. A 1575 earthquake damaged but did not destroy the town, which continued to flourish. It became known as the Seville of the Americas.

Misfortune: In 1599, the Huilliches and Mapuches joined forces and rebelled, destroying all cities within their territory, Valdivia included. Within five years, the last starving survivors left the ruins of Valdivia by boat. The Dutch briefly invaded, although they too were forced out by the Mapuches.

The second attempt at colonization:

Good fortune: In the mid-1600s, the Chilean government strengthened the bay to the west of Valdivia with 17 forts. The town became a fortified enclave south of independent Mapuche territory and an important base for colonizing southern Chile. Wooden homes, schools, and hospitals rose up, and the wealthiest had indigenous servants and African slaves. Much exploration of the region came about due to a centuries-long search for the riches of the fabled Enchanted City of the Caesars.

Misfortune: The fabled city was never found, and Valdivia limped along with a strong military presence. During the Chilean war for independence, Valdivia remained  faithful to the Spanish King until the English-born Lord Cochrane, commander of the newly created Navy, captured the settlement. Undoubtedly, its losing-side loyalties didn’t help the city to prosper.

German immigration:

Room in the Centro Cultural El Austral

Good fortune: In the mid-1800s, the newly independent country pushed to develop southern Chile, including the Mapuche territory, through immigration. Thousands of Germans, many of them skilled, educated, and wealthy, settled in Valdivia and the surrounding region. Shipyards were built, factories and mills (including the first steel mill in South America) sprang up. Farming, cattle-raising, and forestry spread across the land. In the first half of the twentieth century, Valdivia ranked as an important cultural, tourism, and industrial center, vying with the likes of Santiago and Valparaiso.

Misfortune: In 1960, the Valdivia Earthquake — the most powerful quake ever recorded — and its subsequent tsunami shattered the city.

After the earthquake:

Since 1960, much of Valdivia has been rebuilt and the population, at around 160,000, has doubled. Valdivia remains the most storied and one of the most important cities in southern Chile, known for its higher-education institutions, its leisurely paced lifestyle, and the natural beauty of its rivers and temperate rain forests.

Curious coda: How Valdivia became the capital of its own region

At the time of its founding, in 1552, Valdivia was Spain’s southernmost settlement in the Western Hemisphere. In spite of that distinction, when the government reorganized Chile’s regions in the 1970s, Valdivia, still reeling from the 1960 earthquake, was passed over as the capital of Los Lagos region. The honor went to Puerto Montt, a relative upstart with its 1853 founding. Valdivians fumed. In 2007, the Chilean president made a Solomonic decision to divide the lakes region in two, creating La Región de Los Ríos and establishing Valdivia as its capital.

Flag of La Region de Los Rios

Note: Some of the information for this post came from an entertaining book, Pinceladas Históricas de Valdivia, by Oscar R. Gayoso Aguilar.