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Bernardo O'Higgins Statue, Plaza de Armas, ChillánSource: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Estatuabernardo.jpg
Author: Quilmo 93
Chillán Viejo dates back to 1565, when the Spanish established a fort named San Ildefonso at the site. The city was initially founded in 1580 by Martin Ruiz de Gamboa. It however suffered regular attacks by the Mapuche tribe and was eventually destroyed in an attack in 1599.
Governor Francisco de Quiñónex immediately rebuilt it that same year, but in 1655 it was again destroyed, this time by the combined forces of the Mapuche and the Pehuenches. Again and again it was rebuilt and destroyed, if not by hostile natives, then by nature, in the form of earthquakes that struck the region in 1657, 1751 and 1835. After the earthquake of 1835, the city was relocated to present-day Chillán while this former site became known as Chillán Viejo or "Old Chillán".
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