Ginés de Lillo, a high ranking officer in the Spanish army

Spanish Army

The Spanish Army is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies - dating back to the 15th century.-Introduction:...

, was in 1603 nominated official visitor to the lands between the towns of Los Cauquenes and Choapa

Choapa

Choapa may refer to* Choapa River, a river of Chile located in the Coquimbo Region.* Choapa Province, one of the provinces making up the Coquimbo Region of Chile.- See also :* Las Choapas, Veracruz* Las Choapas...

, part of modern day Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

.

Visitor to Chile

The post was created in 1602 by Governor Alonso de Ribera

Alonso de Ribera

Alonso de Ribera de Pareja was a Spanish soldier and twice Spanish royal governor of Chile .-Early life:...

 with the objective of visiting and measuring lands in the hands of Spanish and indigenous people so as to understand the extent of Spanish power in Chile and to classify the extensive and disparate indigenous groups. In this way the Mapuche

Mapuche

The Mapuche are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina. They constitute a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who shared a common social, religious and economic structure, as well as a common linguistic heritage. Their influence extended...

 people could be put to work in the encomienda

Encomienda

The encomienda was a system that was employed mainly by the Spanish crown during the colonization of the Americas to regulate Native American labor....

 pseudo-feudal system.

The renunciation of his predecessors

Alonso de Ribera initially named Juan Morales de Negrete official visitor, but he turned the post down; the Governor's second choice was Melchor Jufré del Aguila, but he too was not interested. Thus the title went to Ginés de Lillo.

Named official visitor

On 21 August 1603 Ginés de Lillo began his work in the regions of Ñuñoa

Ñuñoa

Ñuñoa is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. Its inhabitants are primarily a middle and upper-middle class....

, Apoquindo, Manquehue, Vitacura

Vitacura

Vitacura is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. It is one of the most expensive and fashionable areas of Santiago...

, Tobalaba and Peñalolén

Peñalolén

Peñalolén is a Chilean commune in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. It was founded on November 15, 1984.-Demographics:...

. He then proceeded into the foothills of the Andes

Andes

The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...

 as far as Maipo

Maipo Province

Maipo Province is one of six provinces in the Santiago Metropolitan Region of central Chile. Its capital is San Bernardo.-Administration:As a province, Maipo is a second-level administrative division of Chile, governed by a provincial governor who is appointed by the president.-Communes:The...

 before assaying both sides of the road from Colina

Colina, Chile

Colina is a Chilean city and commune, capital of the Chacabuco Province, in the northern part of the Santiago Metropolitan Region.-Demographics:...

 and Aconcagua

Aconcagua

Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the Americas at . It is located in the Andes mountain range, in the Argentine province of Mendoza and it lies west by north of its capital, the city of Mendoza. The summit is also located about 5 kilometres from San Juan Province and 15 kilometres from the...

, Lo Negrete, Renca

Renca

Renca is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. It was founded on May 6, 1894.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Renca spans an area of and has 133,518 inhabitants , making the commune an entirely urban area...

 and Huechuraba

Huechuraba

Huechuraba is a city and commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region.Huechuraba has a mild mediterranean climate: relatively hot dry summers with temperatures reaching up to on the hottest days; winters are more humid, with typical maximum daily temperatures of ,...

. In 1604 he steered in the direction of Tango, on the northern bank of the Maipo River

Maipo River

Maipo River is the main river flowing through Santiago Metropolitan Region, Chile. Its headwaters are on the west slope of Maipo volcano, in the Andes. Its most famous tributary is Mapocho River. The Maipo River is by far the major source of irrigation and potable water for the region.-Course:In...

, Chiñigue, Pomaire

Pomaire

Pomaire is a Chilean town in the commune of Melipilla in Melipilla Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. Abundant natural clay in the hills surrounding the town bolstered a thriving pottery industry in the community....

, Melipilla

Melipilla

Melipilla is a Chilean commune and capital city of the province of the same name, located in the Santiago Metropolitan Region southwest of the nation's capital...

, the Puangue valley, Curacaví, Mallarauco and Ibacache, ending in Pudahuel

Pudahuel

Pudahuel is a census-designated commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. Santiago's international airport Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez is located there...

 where he stayed as a guest of the Society of Jesus

Society of Jesus

The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...

. He then measured the farms of Quilicura

Quilicura

Quilicura founded in 1902, is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. It is a satellite city on what was originally the outskirts of the city of Santiago, but as urban sprawl has set in it is now quickly urbanizing from what was recently prime agricultural land...

 owned by Don Bartolomé Blumenthal

Bartolomé Blumenthal

Bartolomé Blumenthal alias Bartolomé Flores is supposed to be the first German arrived in Chile...

. The same year he surveyed the sides of the Acuyo (Casablanca

Casablanca, Chile

Casablanca, meaning "white house", is a Chilean city and commune located in Valparaíso Province, Valparaíso Region.- Geography :The city of Casablanca is located on Route 68 between Santiago and the city of Valparaíso, at about 30 minutes southeast of Valparaíso and 50 minutes northwest of Santiago...

) valley from Cuesta de Zapata or Cordillera del Alamo to the sea, ending at Viña del Mar

Viña del Mar

Viña del Mar , is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Its long stretches of white sandy beaches are a major attraction for national and international tourists. The city is Chile's main tourist attraction. Known as "La Ciudad Jardín" , Viña del Mar is a Chilean Municipality located...

 in either the Peuco or the Penco valley.

In 1605 he visited Ocoa

Ocoa Valley

The Ocoa Valley is a landform in central Chile located by the La Campana National Park. This valley is a locus where considerable archaeological recovery has taken place, yielding considerable finds of pre-European contact period...

 and Quillota

Quillota

Quillota is a city and commune located in the Aconcagua River valley of central Chile's Valparaíso Region. It is the capital and largest city of the Quillota Province where many inhabitants live in the surrounding farm areas of San Isidro, La Palma, Pocochay, and San Pedro...

.

As well as being of use to the Governor, the document de Lillo produced is now a source of historical information on indigenous seats of power in central Chile, their authority and toponymy

Toponymy

Toponymy is the scientific study of place names , their origins, meanings, use and typology. The word "toponymy" is derived from the Greek words tópos and ónoma . Toponymy is itself a branch of onomastics, the study of names of all kinds...

, as well as the encomienda system and forced movement of these people.

The case of Bárbola de Oropesa

Bárbola de Oropesa, widow of Don Juan, Cacique

Cacique

Cacique is a title derived from the Taíno word for the pre-Columbian chiefs or leaders of tribes in the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles...

of Macul, testified that she was 'aggrieved' at the measurement and redistribution of lands visited by Ginés de Lillo in 1603. She was assigned less land than appeared to be lawfully, heritably hers. According to her testimony, she was a soft target and thus chosen to be the loser in an effort to right earlier injustices in land allocation.