For those not familiar with these formidable South American people, they were the only indigenous American tribes never to be conquered by the Spanish. In fact, it was not until the development of the machine gun and bolt action rifle in the late 19th century that the Mapuche were finally subdued by the successors to the Spanish, the Chilean Army.
The Mapuche resided in parts of present day Chile and Argentina, and had visited such savage defeats on the mighty Inca empire that the great Inca emperor Pachacuti had drawn his southern border at the border with the Mapuche tribes -- and then fortified it!
Soon the Spanish arrived and found the Mapuche as resolute in defence as the Inca had -- and the Mapuche even adopted cannibalism to further fill the Spaniards with dread. A defeated Spanish commander could, and often did, find himself on the menu that night.
By the late sixteenth century the Mapuche had largely adopted the weapons and tactics of the Spanish, as our range reflects. Their long pikes were expertly handled in desperate attacks, the Mapuche fighting "as crowded as Germans." Shooting was supplied by archery as was traditional, some archers also wielding the dreaded longoquilquil heavy club. The mounted arm was not spared either, and Mapuche became extremely accomplished horsemen capable not only of standing up to Spanish cavalry in the open field, but beating them.
It wasn't at all uncommon for the Mapuche tribes to field armies of 10,000 men or more. Woodcuttings from the period show the Mapuche armies drawn up in the same regular, tight formations as their Spanish foes.
Commanders would generally be mounted and would wear captured Spanish helmets and breastplates. Mike Broadbent sculpted this range. We were sure to make one more model for each type than you will commonly mount on a base, so that your bases of troops will not always be the same chaps rearranged.
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