Destruction of Santiago

Following an earlier successful rebellion, a coalition of Mapuche -Picunche tribes that included native peoples 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. 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. The laid seige to the palisades surrounding the city until the Spanish were nearly defeated. A mistress of Pedro de Valdivia caused the fighters to disperse when she decapitated several Native people they were holding in jail in the city and threw their heads out. While this extremely disturbing act did cause the forces to retreat, the city was effectively destroyed from fire and the attack.