Information on Concepción, Chile: Concepción's History of Mapuche Raids and Earthquakes

Concepción's history of earthquakes may end up being her salvation. Because of a previous earthquake, engineers and local authorities have been stressing the needs to build quake resistant buildings in the major towns. However, due to lack of money, many Chileans were not able to abide by the building codes. Poor indigenous people built adobe, mud homes which are destroyed by the massive quake.


"Concepción was a military outpost on the border between the Spanish controlled areas of what was then a portion of the Viceroyalty of Peru, and the Mapuche nation, a fierce ethnic group that was not brought under Chilean control until the 1870's. Even today there is an uneasy situation as the Mapuche Indians struggle to take back the forests.Concepción did not have an easy early history. Subject to Mapuche raids and earthquakes, the city was moved several times to its present location. In spite of its precarious situation, Concepción, familiarly called Conce, held a vital position in early Chilean history. It was the site of the Real Audiencia, the most important government organization during Spanish colonial times and it was from here that Spanish forces attempted to subdue the independence efforts.Due to earthquakes, the city has been rebuilt at various times. You won't see colonial buildings clustered around a central plaza, but you will see a modern city and port supported by the coal, steel, petrol-chemical, and fishing industries. Associated with the nearby port of Talcahuano, Conce is a vital part of the Lake Region. The people of Concepción are proud of their role in Chile's political, economic and cultural growth....."