--- title: "This Mapuche Warrior fought the Spanish with actual knife hands" date: "2018-04-02" modified: "2020-10-21" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/mapuche-warrior-fought-spanish-actual-knife-hands/" categories: - "History" - "War History" --- # This Mapuche Warrior fought the Spanish with actual knife hands ![]() The Mapuche Tribes of what is today Chile and Argentina banded together to fight the Spanish colonizers of South America. During the Arauco War in 1557, the natives were fighting the forces of governor García Hurtado de Mendoza but were ultimately unsuccessful. That did not end the fighting. --- But at the Battle of Lagunillas, the Spanish captured more than 150 warriors. As a punishment for their uprising, the governor ordered that some of the warriors should lose their right hand and nose, while leaders like one young man named Galvarino would lose both hands. The amputee POWs were then released as a warning to other natives. [That's not what happened](). Galvarino let the Spaniards take both of his hands without flinching or saying a word. He even asked the Spanish to kill him but they would not. When he was released, he returned to his army and urged the the Mapuche general Caupolicán to continue to fight the good fight. ![]() Once back in camp, he raised his handless arms in the air and warned his fellow warriors this was the fate that awaited them if they didn't win the war. Caupolicán appointed Galvarino to command a new unit, but the warrior could no longer carry a weapon. No problem: Galvarino attached knives to both his cauterized wrists, knives which historians describe as being *as big as lances*. ![]() *Galvarino Concept Art* Less than a month after his initial capture, Galvarino was back in combat, this time at the Battle of Millarapue. The plan was to surprise a Spanish encampment and destroy the army before its superior firepower could be brought to bear. The natives didn't knock out the Spanish cannons, however, the ambush failed, and the colonizers would kill 3,000 native fighters. In a Spanish account of the Arauco Wars titled *Crónica,* Galvarino is said to have waved his men forward with his knife hands, saying "Nobody is allowed to flee but to die, because you die defending your mother country!" ![]() Galvarino was captured during the battle and subsequently hanged, but not before he was able to kill the opposing army's vice-commander. The Arauco War lasted a total of 300 years and the [Mapuche still resist]() governments to this day. ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()