Diego de Almagro - Dismayed in Chile

Dismayed in Chile

Almagro promptly initiated the exploration of the new territory starting towards the valley of the Aconcagua River, where he was well received by the natives. However, the intrigues of his interpreter, Felipillo, who had previously helped Pizarro in dealing with Atahualpa, almost thwarted Almagro's efforts. Felipillo had secretly urged the local natives to attack the Spanish but they surprisingly desisted and did not believe the dangers they posed. Almagro then dispatched Gómez de Alvarado along with 100 horsemen and 100 foot to continue the exploration, which ended in the confluence of the Ñuble and Itata rivers where the Battle of Reinohuelén between the Spanish and hostile Mapuche Indians forced them to turn back north.

Almagro's own reconnaissance of the land and the bad news of Gómez de Alvarado's encounter with the fierce Mapuches, along with the bitter cold winter that settled ferociously upon them, only served to confirm that everything had failed. He never found gold or cities that Incan scouts informed him about; only communities of the indigenous population that lived from agriculture and fierce resistance from local tribes. The exploration of the territories of Nueva Toledo, which lasted 2 years, was marked by a complete failure for Almagro. Despite this, at first he thought staying and founding a city would serve well for his honor. The initial optimism that led Almagro to bring his son he had with the indigenous Panamanian Ana Martínez to Chile had faded. Some observers have pointed that out that if it were not for the urging of his explorers to leave, Almagro would probably have stayed permanently in Chile. He was urged, however, to return to Peru and this time take definitive possession of Cuzco so as to consolidate an inheritance for his son. Dismayed, Almagro initiated his plans of return to Peru on September 1536. He never officially founded a city in the territory of what is now present Chile.

The withdrawal of the Spanish from valleys of Chile was violent: Almagro authorized his soldiers to ransack the natives' properties, leaving their soil desolate; there was not one Spaniard that did not enslave a native for his service. The locals were captured, tied and forced to carry the belongings of the conquistadors without compassion.