Concepción, Chile

Concepción is a major city located in south-central Chile.

It serves as the capital of the Biobío Region. The city is also the primary core of the Greater Concepción metropolitan area. This metropolitan area is one of the three largest conurbations in Chile. By urban area, Concepción is the second largest city in the nation. It sits approximately 500 km south of Santiago, the national capital. The city is a vital center for domestic trade and industry. It is part of the most heavily industrialized region in the country.

The history of the city began in 1550. Pedro de Valdivia founded the original settlement under the Spanish Empire. Its first name was Concepción de María Purísima del Nuevo Extremo. The original site was in the Bay of Concepción. This location is where the commune of Penco sits today. At that time, the settlement was near La Frontera. This was the boundary with the land of the Mapuche people. The Mapuche were an American Indian ethnic group. They remained independent from the Spanish until the 1870s.

Early life in the settlement was difficult due to conflict and nature. The city was overrun by Mapuche armies in 1554 and 1555. It was later restored by the governor García Hurtado de Mendoza. He built a fort on the Alto de Pinto in 1557. The town was refounded again in 1558 by Jerónimo de Villegas. For two centuries, it served as a military headquarters. The city also housed the Real Audiencia from 1565 to 1575. Despite a siege in 1564, the population grew to 10,000 people.

Natural disasters forced the city to change its location multiple times. Violent earthquakes and tsunamis struck the town in 1570, 1657, 1687, 1730, and 1751. A major earthquake and tsunami in 1751 caused extreme damage. This event destroyed the library of the local university. It also destroyed the university's funds and many historical texts. Because of this destruction, authorities moved the town. They relocated it to the Valle de la Mocha near the Bío Bío River.

The old site stayed empty until 1842. That was when the modern town of Penco was founded.

Concepción played a central role in the history of Chilean independence. The Chilean declaration of Independence was held at the Plaza de la Independencia.

In 1818, Bernardo O'Higgins took an oath for the War of Independence in the main square. Until 1851, elites from Concepción dominated executive power in Chile. The city also saw many immigrant groups arrive over time. By 1875, a British and German community lived in the province. By 1895, the Spanish presence in the area had grown significantly.

Today, the city is widely known as a "university city."

It contains many important educational institutions. The Universidad de Concepción was founded in 1919. It was the first secular private university in Chile. Other major schools include the Universidad del Bío Bío and the Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción.

The city also hosts many private universities like Universidad San Sebastián.

This large educational presence makes the city a major center for learning.

Seismic activity remains a significant part of life in the region. The area is seismically active, much like the rest of Chile. A violent earthquake in 1939 destroyed much of Concepción. In 1953, an earthquake damaged 15% of the town's buildings. A massive magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck on February 27, 2010. This event killed more than 521 people. Geologists used GPS data to study the results. They concluded the city had moved roughly to the west. The earthquake was felt as far away as São Paulo, Brazil.