Conflicts & Resolutions · Battle

Battle of Tucapel

1553 · 16th century · Part of the Arauco War

The Battle of Tucapel was fought in December 1553 in southern Chile, when Mapuche forces led by Lautaro destroyed a small Spanish column under Pedro de Valdivia, the conqueror and governor of Chile. Valdivia was captured and killed. The defeat opened the Arauco War, a conflict between Spain and the Mapuche that lasted for generations.

Battle of Tucapel
Image: Federico de Madrazo y Kuntz · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 2 state histories

Captaincy General of ChileAraucanía

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Battle of Tucapel. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/battle-of-tucapel
MLA
“Battle of Tucapel.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/battle-of-tucapel. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Battle of Tucapel.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/battle-of-tucapel.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Battle of Tucapel’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/battle-of-tucapel (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻