Valdivia The abandoned city of Valdivia turned into an attractive site for Spain's enemies to control since it would allow them to establish a base amidst Spain's Chilean possessions. Recognizing this situation the Spanish attempted to reoccupy Valdivia in the 1630s but were thwarted by hostile Mapuches. The Dutch briefly occupied Valdivia in 1643. Having been told that the Dutch had plans to return to the location, the Spanish viceroy in Peru sent 1,000 men in twenty ships (and 2,000 men by land, who never made it) in 1644 to resettle Valdivia and fortify it. Spanish reflections on the war The precarity of Spanish control over Chile in the 17th century prompted comparison to the Eighty Year's War, with Chile, in the view of Diego de Rosales, having turned into an "Indian Flanders" (Flandes indiano). Purén indómito, a contemporary literary chronicle (1598–1600) which describes the events surrounding the Destruction of the Seven Cities, is notable for its realistic and unvarnished commentary, and for its criticism of both Spanish and Mapuche actions. Purén indómito, along with the military analysis presented by La guerra de Chile (published in 1647), challenged the prevailing Spanish tendency to view of the conquest of Chile as an "epic" series of "victories". References Sources Diego de Rosales, Historia General del Reino de Chile, Flandes Indiano, 3 tomos. Valparaíso 1877 - 1878. Historia general de el Reyno de Chile: Flandes Indiano Vol. 2 Libro V La Ruina de las Siete Ciudades Crescente Errázuriz, Seis años de la historia de Chile: 23 de diciembre de 1598- 9 de abril de 1605: memoria histórica, Impr. Nacional, Santiago de Chile, 1881. Atlas de Historia de Chile, Editorial Universitaria, pg. 48 Salazar, Gabriel; Pinto, Julio (2002). Historia contemporánea de Chile III. La economía: mercados empresarios y trabajadores. LOM Ediciones. . Villalobos, Sergio; Silva, Osvaldo; Silva, Fernando; Estelle, Patricio (1974). Historia De Chile (14th ed.). Editorial Universitaria. . Otero, Luis (2006). La huella del fuego: Historia de los bosques nativos. Poblamiento y cambios en el paisaje del sur de Chile. Pehuén Editores. . Arauco War Battles of the Arauco War 1590s in the Captaincy General of Chile 1600s in the Captaincy General of Chile Huilliche history Indigenous rebellions against the Spanish Empire Destroyed cities