The Spaniards under Gómez de Alvarado, after…
June 1536 CE
The Spaniards under Gómez de Alvarado, after crossing the Itata River, are intercepted by a numerous contingent of Mapuches, perhaps as many as twenty-four thousand, armed with many bows and pikes.
The Mapuches launch a number of assaults that are successfully repulsed by the Spanish.
Frustrated by these reverses and by disorientation caused by the horses, iron weapons, and armor of the conquistadors (all of which are unknown to the Mapuches), the natives retreat, leaving many dead and more than one hundred prisoners.
The Spanish lose only two men but others are wounded.
Discouraged by the ferocity of the Mapuches, and the apparent lack of gold and silver in these lands, Gómez de Alvarado decides to return and inform Almagro what has happened.
This battle has a strong influence on Almagro's entire expedition, and motivates, in part, its full retreat the following year to Peru.