Alonso de Ercilla

Timeline

1. 1533–1555Madrid · Community of MadridErcilla was born into a noble family in Madrid and received a humanist education from childhood. Around 1555 he sailed for the New World, joining the Chile colonial expedition and witnessing firsthand the Arauco War between the Spanish and the Mapuche.
2. 1556–1563Arauco · Araucanía RegionOn the battlefields of Chile, Ercilla took part in military operations against the Mapuche while beginning his epic La Araucana. Written in octaves, the poem narrates the war and depicts the bravery of Mapuche chiefs such as Caupolicán, combining a colonial perspective with humanitarian sympathy, and began circulating in the military camps.
3. 1563–1594Madrid · Community of MadridAfter returning to Europe, Ercilla continued completing the parts of La Araucana, published in three parts in Spain between 1569 and 1590 to scholarly acclaim. In later years he was active in Madrid's literary circles, dying in his hometown in 1594; his work became the earliest major American-themed epic in Spanish literary history.