Espíritu Santo was a Spanish fortress that existed a little to the north of what is now the Nacimiento

Nacimiento, Chile

Nacimiento is a Chilean city situated in the Biobío Province, Biobío Region, south of Santiago, and from the closest major city in the region, Concepción....

 commune of Biobío Province

Biobío Province

Biobío Province is one of four provinces of the Chilean region of Biobío . Its capital is Los Ángeles . It is bounded on the north, west and south by the provinces of Concepción, Arauco and Malleco, respectively, and on the east by Argentina. It has an area of of well-wooded and mountainous...

, Bio-Bio Region

Bío-Bío Region

The VIII Biobío Region , one of the fifteen first-order administrative divisions in Chile, comprises four provinces: Arauco, Biobio, Concepción, and Ñuble.The capital of the Region is Concepción...

 of 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...

. It was on the left bank of the Bio Bio River immediately below its confluence with the Tavolevo River

Tavolevo River

Tavolevo River, a tributary of the Bio Bio River. It has two tributaries the Culenco River flowing southeast from the Nahuelbuta Range in the Catirai region and the Nicodahue River that flows north from the Araucanía Region and its two tributaries the Esperanza and Maitenrehue Rivers that all...

. Built in 1585 by the Governor

Royal Governor of Chile

The Royal Governor of Chile ruled over the Spanish colonial administrative district known as the Kingdom of Chile. This district was also called the Captaincy General of Chile, and as a result the Royal Governor also held the title of a Captain General...

 Alonso de Sotomayor

Alonso de Sotomayor

Alonso de Sotomayor y Valmediano was a Spanish conquistador from Extremadura, and a Royal Governor of Chile.-Early life:He was born in Trujillo, in the province of Extremadura, the son of Gutiérrez de Sotomayor e Hinojosa and Beatriz de Valmediano...

 for defense of the valley of Catiray and was in correspondence with fort
Santísima Trinidad

Santísima Trinidad (fort)

Santísima Trinidad or Most Holy Trinity was a fortress in the Kingdom of Chile that existed on the north shore of the Bio-Bio River in what is now the Biobío Province. It was built directly across the river from Fort Espíritu Santo by the Royal Governor of Chile Alonso de Sotomayor in 1585...

, on the opposite shore of the Bio Bio. It was abandoned and destroyed by the year of 1600.

Source

• Francisco Solano Asta-Buruaga y Cienfuegos, Diccionario geográfico de la República de Chile, D. Appleton y Compania, Nueva York, 1899, pg. 269