Chillán, in the Bío-Bío región of central…
1580 CE
Chillán, in the Bío-Bío región of central Chile, lying in the fertile Central Valley, is founded in 1580 at the site of Chillán Viejo (future birthplace of the Chilean liberator Bernardo O'Higgins) as San Bartolomé de Chillán by Martín Ruiz de Gamboa, who is campaigning against the local indigenous peoples at the time.
However, this moniker does not fare well, and is replaced by the current name, which in the local Indian language means "where the Sun is sitting".