Cauquen

Cauquenes lies among the rivers and hills of the Maule country in central Chile. Before the Spanish foundation, indigenous communities lived in the district, which colonial sources associated with the Promaucaes. Vineyards, wheat fields and livestock later became important features of the surrounding countryside.

In 1742 Governor José Antonio Manso de Velasco founded the villa of Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes de Manso del Tutuvén between the Tutuvén and Cauquenes rivers. The land was donated by the local chief Ascencio Galdámez and his wife Micaela de Araya. By 1745 the new settlement had sixteen houses, a church and a square marked out for royal justice. It acquired a town council, and in 1826 it received the name and title of the city of Cauquenes.