Talk:Battle of Peteroa
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[edit] Mapuches strength
"Most of the Spanish chroniclers and eyewitness cited the Mapuche forces to 40,000 strong , but they fail to mention the native auxiliary friendly to the Spanish, and, that the Mapuches won many battles in numerical inferiority. In addition to this, the Spanish army at this time was the best of the world."
These are all the contemprary chroniclers and what they say:
- This army was of ten thousand warriors according to a chronicler who was a participant, Pedro Mariño de Lobera. See his Crónica del Reino de Chile, Capítulo LV. He mentions 50 Spaniards and some indian amigos in the Spanish force and 300 Indians being killed along with Lautaro. Asiaticus (talk) 22:52, 10 March 2008 (UTC)
- Alonso de Gongora Marmolejo in his Historia de Chile desde su descubrimiento hasta el año de 1575 , Capítulo XXII has no numbers on strength of the force but from the earlier engagement with Pedro de Villagra it had 600 and after repelling the Spanish raised many more from the local indians. So it would be stronger than 600 warriors but he does say more than 300 warriors were killed in the battle along with Lautoro. Asiaticus (talk) 22:08, 10 March 2008 (UTC)
- According to Gerónimo de Vivar, Crónica y relación copiosa y verdadera de los reinos de Chile Capítulo CXXIX "Lautaro with more than a thousand Indian warriors" was at the Battle of Peteroa and that "Lautaro and another captain and more than two hundred and fifty Indians" were killed. Spanish force was 40 cavalry and 30 arquebusiers. Asiaticus (talk) 22:52, 10 March 2008 (UTC)
Nothing like 40,000 men involved. Numbers like that only occured in the first battles when the Spanish arrived in the Battle of Andalien, Battle of Penco and prior to the effects of war, and plaugues that were visted on the population. Lautaro only had 300(Marmolejo), or 600 (Ercilla) or 8,000 men(Lobera) to invade Spanish territory because of the plaugue in Aruacania in 1555-56. Vivar seems to have the most reliable numbers but Lobera and Marmolejo are not that different except for Lobera numerating the Indians as 8,000 and 10,000 warriors. I am thinking this is the handywork of Lobera's Jesuit editor adding to his numbers years later. 22:56, 10 March 2008 (UTC)
Ercilla Alonzo. La Araucana. 1993. Ediciones Cátedra. Madrid. Hereafter cited. Page 84 Chapter I: Alonso de Ercilla y Zuñiga (1533-1596) was a Spanish nobleman whose active life, was divided between war, diplomacy, life at court and poetry. The epic poem- La Araucana. Is used by Historian as a prime documentary source about the Araucanian war.
