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, holding the position of military and political center of the kingdom for the rest of the Chilean colonial period. The city was an important stage for the process of independence of Chile, with lawyer Juan Martínez de Rozas as a key figure. The solemn declaration on the Chilean liberation from the Spanish rule took place at the "Plaza de la Independencia". Until the election of Manuel Montt in 1851 as President and a short civil war the same year executive power in independent Chile was dominated by Concepción elites.