Concepción

Concepción is a city and commune in central Chile, and the geographical and demographic core of the Greater Concepción metropolitan area, one of the three major conurbations in the country. It has a significant impact on domestic trade being part of the most heavily industrialized region in the country. It is the seat of the Concepción Province and capital of the Bío Bío Region. It sits about 500 km south of the nation’s capital, Santiago.
The city was first settled in the Bay of Concepción, in the zone that would later become the commune of Penco, now part of the Concepción conurbation. The city’s demonym, penquista, comes from the place of its original foundation. The city center and historic district is located in the Valle de la Mocha , where it relocated after serious damages left by an earthquake in 1751.
The origin of Concepción dates back to 1550, when it was founded by Pedro de Valdivia as part of the Spanish Empire, under the name of Concepción de María Purísima del Nuevo Extremo, and was the capital of the Kingdom of Chile between 1565 and 1573, retaining the unofficial position of military capital for the rest of the colonial period. The city was an important site in the struggle for Chile’s independence, with the Chilean declaration of Independence being held at Concepción’s Plaza de la Independencia. Until the election of Manuel Montt in 1851 as president executive power in independent Chile was dominated by Concepción elites.The city is a known college town in Chile, as it is home to numerous educational institutions, including the University of Concepción, the University of the Bío Bío, and the Catholic University of the Most Holy Conception.