Santa Juana, Chile

Santa Juana is a commune of the Concepción Province, in the Bio-Bio Region of Chile. It lies south and west of the Bio-Bio River in the valley of Catirai and is 48 kilometers from Concepcion, Chile.

History

The Mapuche originally named the valley where Santa Juana is now located the "Valley of Catirai", and the inhabitants "Catirayen". [Montero de Tortora, Lo que fue Catirai y es Santa Juana de Guadalcazar. pg. 6,7] This town originated with a fort and town in established March 1626 by Governor Luis Fernandez de Cordova with title of "Santa Juana de Guadalcázar", in memory of the name of wife of the viceroy of Peru Diego Fernández de Córdoba, Marquis of Guadalcázar. It was repaired and expanded in 1648 by the governor Martín de Mujica y Buitrón. It was destroyed by the Mapuches in 1722, but restored two years later.

In 1739 the Governor José Antonio Manso de Velasco made important adjustments, improving and properly supplying the fortress and constructing between the river and the small Laguna de Rayenantú behind it, deep ditches, that turned the enclosure into an island, and increasing its population to serve as its garrison for the defense of the region and the wooded valleys of the southern mountainous area. Governor Antonio de Guill y Gonzaga obtained the title of "Villa" for the town in 1765I. Municipalidad de Santa Juana, 2007. Antecedentes Históricos. Estudios realizados por la Universidad de Concepción en los empalzamientos del Fuerte Santa Juana de Gualdalcázar. Disponible en http://www.santajuana.cl/Fuerte%20Historico.asp] , but the wars with the Indians did not allow it to make any progress even though it constituted the refuge of the extinguished towns of Coya, Monterey and San Jerónimo. It was also one of the towns that was burned in 1821 at the order of Vicente Benavides the rebellious royalist. It was later ruined in the earthquake of the February 20, 1835. As a result of this last disaster it was six years later moved to its present more suitable location.

Santa Juana was head of the Department of Lautaro between 1841I. Municipalidad de Santa Juana, 2007. Anexos: Datos Históricos de Nuestra Comuna. Disponible en http://www.santajuana.cl/anexos.asp ] and 1865I. Municipalidad de Coronel, 2007. Historia de Coronel. Coronel: Su desarrollo urbano y poblacional. Disponible en http://www.coronel.cl/historia/desarrollo.htm ] . On May 30, 1865, Coronel became the new capital of the departmentI. Municipalidad de Coronel, 2007. Historia de Coronel. Coronel: Su desarrollo urbano y poblacional. Disponible en http://www.coronel.cl/historia/desarrollo.htm ] . With the Law of Independent Communes, December 22, 1891, the Decree of Creation of Municipalities was promulgatedI. Municipalidad de Santa Juana, 2007. Anexos: Datos Históricos de Nuestra Comuna. Disponible en http://www.santajuana.cl/anexos.asp ] , with which created the Municipality of Santa Juana, in which Santa Juana administers Santa Juana, Santo Domingo and San Jerónimo, whose boundries were determined by the decrees of November 13, 1885, March 29 and December 1, 1886.

References

Sources

* [http://books.google.com/books?id=CYYCAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA31&vq=Andali%C3%A9n&source=gbs_search_r&cad=0_1#PPA742,M1 Francisco Solano Asta-Buruaga y Cienfuegos, Diccionario geográfico de la República de Chile, D. Appleton y Compania, Nueva York, 1899] pg. 742
* Montero, Elsa; Lo que fue Catirai y es Santa Juana de Guadalcázar. Santiago: Editorial Universitaria, 1967. 24 p. , Ubicación: Sección Chilena 10;(1010-26), N° sistema: 603103