Battle of the Maule

Battle of the Maule
Part of the Inca Empire wars of conquest

Huamán Poma de Ayala's picture about the confrontation between the Mapuches (left) and the Incas (right)
DateProbably at some time between 1471 and 1493, or 1532.[1]
Location
Unknown, probably near the Maule River, Cachapoal River or Biobío River.[1]
Result Undefined(Stalemate?) [1]
Belligerents
Inca Empire Mapuche Purumaucas and their Antalli, Pincu, and Cauqui allies
Commanders and leaders
Emperor Túpac Yupanqui
General Sinchiruca		 Unknown
Strength
20,000[2] 18,000–20,000
Casualties and losses
Numerous Numerous

The Battle of the Maule was fought between a coalition of Mapuche people of Chile and the Inca Empire of Peru. Traditionally this battle is held to have occurred near what is now Maule River, in Central Chile. The account of Garcilaso de la Vega depicts the three-day battle, which is generally believed to have occurred in the reign of Tupac Inca Yupanqui (1471-93 CE).[3]

Historian Osvaldo Silva conjectures instead the battle occurred much after Tupac Inca Yupanqui's conquest of northern Chile with 1532 being a possible date. Silva claims the battle was not decisive at all as the Inca army was already in retreat from a new incursion to Mapuche lands in the south. Arguably the Inca's advances in Chile were halted by their unwillingness to commit greater resources in fighting the Mapuche.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d Silva Galdames, Osvaldo (1983). "¿Detuvo la batalla del Maule la expansión inca hacia el sur de Chile?". Cuadernos de Historia (in Spanish). 3: 7–25. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  2. ^ Thomas Carlyle " Fraser's magazine for town and country , Vol 30" page 43
  3. ^ The history of the Inca campaign in Chile and this battle are known from the Comentarios reales of de Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, Segunda Parte : Libro VII Cap. 18, 19 and 20. These were derived from Inca sources. The Spanish histories of Jerónimo de Vivar, Crónica y relación copiosa y verdadera de los reinos de Chile and Vicente Carvallo y Goyeneche, Descripción Histórico Geografía del Reino de Chile, Tomo I, Capítulo I mention it also.