Lautaro was the first Mapuche militar leader, who joined all the mapuche population, dispersed and organized around many chiefs. (Mapuches didn't have a national orgranisation).
As he was very young, he was taken away from his family and grew up between the spanish conquerors. With the name of Felipe he serve Pedro de Valdivia, and learned the Spanish tactics.
When he became an adult, he escaped and went back with his people. He organised a big Mapuche Army, introducing the horse and creating new tactics against the conquerors.
During his campaign his destroyed many recently founded (and poorly deffended)villages. He crossed the Bio Bio river - natural frontier between spanish and mapuche territories - and took the city of Concepción, the second biggest city of those days.
This revolution caused the death of Pedro de Valdivia in the battle of Tucapel .
After the battle of Concepción, Lautaro continued his campaing and moved to Santiago, the capital of Chile. But in the way, he died on the battle of Curalaba.
Lautaro is recognized because his tactical innovations, which are studied on many military schools around the world. He is also the responsable of giving the Mapuche a national sense.
External link
[[1] (In Spanish, contains a painting depicting Lautaro).