The Destruction of Santiago, now the capital of Chile, occurred on September 11th, 1541. It was a confrontation between Spanish conquistadors and a coalition of Mapuche-Picunche tribes. Background The execution of Solier and his companions, who had started a rebellion, the destroying of the Marga Marga mine, and the burning of the ship at Concón had lowered the spirits of the Spanish conquistadores. Apart from living in fear of an attack or rebellion from the indigenous peoples at any moment, these events had also reduced their numbers. With thirteen dead at Concón and five executed with Solier, the conquistadores were reduced to approximately 130 men, women, and children. Upon seeing that the Spanish were low in numbers, divided amongst themselves, and not receiving reinforcements, the Mapuche became motivated to unify themselves. All of the natives from Aconcagua, Santiago, and Cachapoal united under the single command of toqui Michimalonco with the intent of attacking the Spaniards and expelling them from their lands. Pedro de Valdivia believed that it would be preferable to disperse the indigenous forces before they could strike. For this reason, he chose 90-100 men and left for the Cachapoal valley at full gallop. Left behind in Santiago were 32 cavalry, 18 men armed with arquebuses, and between 300 and 350 yanakuna under the command of the Lieutenant General, Alonso de Monroy. The Mapuche knew of the Spanish’s movements, however, since there were spies among the friendly natives and the yanakuna. When they heard that Valdivia was leaving with his men, they decided that it was the opportune time to get rid of the foreigners. The Attack on Santiago At 4:00 a.m. on September 11, an army of natives, numbered between 8,000 and 10,000, came out of the forests surrounding Santiago. One of the guards, Santiago de Azoca, sounded the alarm and the defenders immediately took their posts, which had been previously assigned by Monroy and the maestre de campo Francisco de Villagra. The Mapuche, protected from the arquebus shots by the palisade, rained down arrows and stones upon the city’s defenders. The Spaniards were able to resist until sunrise, when they were able to neutralize the attack through effective means, but their low numbers made respite impossible. One after another, the conquistadores received wounds from minor to medium severity. Each wounded soldier would withdraw from the front line to be bandaged with a shirt sleeve or rag by