Ancud () is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be de ...

in southern

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

located in the northernmost part of the

island An island or isle is a piece of subcontinental land completely surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island in a river or a lake island may be ...

and province of Chiloé, in

Los Lagos Region Los Lagos Region ( es, Región de Los Lagos , ''Region of the Lakes'') is one of Chile's 16 regions, which are first order administrative divisions, and comprises four provinces: Chiloé, Llanquihue, Osorno and Palena. The region contains ...

. It is the second largest city of

Chiloé Archipelago The Chiloé Archipelago ( es, Archipiélago de Chiloé, , ) is a group of islands lying off the coast of Chile, in the Los Lagos Region. It is separated from mainland Chile by the Chacao Channel in the north, the Sea of Chiloé in the east an ...

after Castro. The city was established in 1768 to function as the capital of the archipelago and held that position until 1982. Founded as

bulwark Bulwark primarily refers to: * Bulwark (nautical), a nautical term for the extension of a ship's side above the level of a weather deck * Bastion, a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification The Bulwark primarily refe ...

against foreign powers in colonial times, the city played an important role in the Chilean colonization of

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and ...

in the 19th century.

Geography

Numerous glaciations have dredged the

Chacao Channel The Chacao Channel ( es, Canal de Chacao) is located in Los Lagos Region, Chile and separates Chiloé Island from mainland Chile. The channel was created during the Quaternary glaciations by successive glaciers that flowed down from the Andes to ...

to the north, separating

Chiloé Island Chiloé Island ( es, Isla de Chiloé, , ) also known as Greater Island of Chiloé (''Isla Grande de Chiloé''), is the largest island of the Chiloé Archipelago off the west coast of Chile, in the Pacific Ocean. The island is located in southern ...

from mainland Chile to the north, marking the border between two natural regions of Chile,

Zona Sur Zona Sur (''Southern Zone'') is one of the five natural regions on which CORFO divided continental Chile in 1950. Its northern border is formed by the Bío-Bío River, which separates it from the Central Chile Zone. The Southern Zone borders ...

to the north and

Zona Austral The Zona Austral (''Southernmost Zone'') is one of the five natural regions into which CORFO divided continental Chile in 1950 corresponding to the Chilean portion of Patagonia. It is surrounded by the Zona Sur and the Chacao Channel to t ...

to the south. The

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

lies on the west as the Chilean Coastal Range continues as a chain of islands. To the southeast of the commune is Quemchi and

Dalcahue Dalcahue is a port city and a commune in Chiloé Province, on Chiloé Island, Los Lagos Region, Chile. Demographics According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute, the Dalcachue commune spans an area of and had 10,693 inhab ...

to the south. The commune has a surface area of . To the west are the coastal villages of Pumillahue and Quetalmahue, among others. 25 kilometers west of Ancud lies Islotes de Puñihuil Natural Monument, a group of preserved islands that provide habitat to various penguin species.

History

Prior to its establishment as a Spanish settlement the site of Ancud was known as Puerto Inglés (lit. English port). It was on here that

Hendrik Brouwer Hendrik Brouwer (; 1581 – 7 August 1643) was a Dutch explorer and governor of the Dutch East Indies. East Indies Brouwer is thought to first have sailed to the Dutch East Indies for the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in 1606. In 1610, ...

, the leader of the Dutch expedition to Valdivia died on August 7, 1643, before reaching

Valdivia Valdivia (; Mapuche: Ainil) is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder Pedro de Valdivia and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia, and Cau-Cau ...

. As consequence of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754– ...

the Spanish authorities had the coastal fortification system of Chile updated and expanded. Inspired in the recommendations of former governor

Antonio Narciso de Santa María Antonio Narciso de Santa María (Alcántara, Spain; 1716 – 1777) was a Spanish colonel and Governor of Chiloé in the mid-18th century. Given the threat of war with Britain at the time Governor Antonio Narciso de Santa María highlighted for t ...

, the Spanish founded the "city-fort" of Ancud in 1767–1768 and separated Chiloé from the

Captaincy General of Chile The Captaincy General of Chile (''Capitanía General de Chile'' ) or Governorate of Chile (known colloquially and unofficially as the Kingdom of Chile), was a territory of the Spanish Empire from 1541 to 1817 that was, for most of its existenc ...

into a direct dependency of the

Viceroyalty of Peru The Viceroyalty of Peru ( es, Virreinato del Perú, links=no) was a Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in South America, governed fro ...

. As with other 18th-century forts in Chile, the establishment of Ancud led through the new Ancud-Castro road to an expansion on local trade and

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...

. Between 1839 and 1864 the

Chilean Navy The Chilean Navy ( es, Armada de Chile) is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso. History Origins and the Wa ...

ran the Ancud Nautic School ( es, Escuela Náutica de Ancud) in the town. Among its alumni was

Francisco Hudson Punta Arenas by sea from Ancud, and in orange Hudson's proposed route. The red dot shows the 20 km wide Ofqui Isthmus the only obstacle that makes this route intransitable. --> Francisco Hudson Cárdenas ( Curaco de Vélez, Chile, July 1, 1826 – ...

Climate

Ancud has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''Cfb'') with significant precipitation in each month. Winters are cool and wet with a July average of . Precipitation during this time of the year is very high, averaging around and humidity is high, averaging around 87-88%. Summers are mild with a January average of and during this time, precipitation is lower though still significant, averaging in January. Temperatures rarely exceed . The average annual precipitation is and there are 200 days with measureable precipitation. However, precipitation is highly variable from year to year with 1993 being the driest, recording only and 1977 being the wettest at . The record high was on January 27, 1975, and the record low was on June 30, 1970.

Demographics

According to the 2002

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of the National Statistics Institute, Ancud spans an area of and has 39,946 inhabitants (19,793 men and 20,153 women). Of these, 27,292 (68.3%) lived in

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, ...

s and 12,654 (31.7%) in

rural area In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are des ...

s. The population grew by 6.5% (2,430 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses. The

demonym A demonym (; ) or gentilic () is a word that identifies a group of people (inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place (hamlet, village, town, city, region, province, ...

of a person from Ancud is ''Ancuditano'' for a man and ''Ancuditana'' for a woman.

Administration

As a commune, Ancud is a third-level

administrative division of Chile The administrative division or territorial organization of Chile exemplifies characteristics of a unitary state. State administration is functionally and geographically decentralized, as appropriate for each authority in accordance with the law. ...

administered by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural coun ...

, headed by an

alcalde Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) ...

who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Federico Krüger Finterbüch. Within the

electoral divisions of Chile Chile has two distinct electoral division systems: * To elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Senate, Chile is divided into several electoral divisions, namely electoral districts and senatorial constituencies. * To elect members of t ...

, Ancud is represented in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon ...

by Mr. Gabriel Ascencio (

PDC PDC may refer to: In science and technology Chemistry, biology and medicine * Phosducin, a human protein and gene in the retina * Pyridinium dichromate (Cornforth reagent), a chromium-based oxidant * Pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, an enzyme ...

) and Mr. Alejandro Santana ( RN) as part of the 58th electoral district, together with Castro, Quemchi,

, Curaco de Vélez, Quinchao, Puqueldón, Chonchi, Queilén, Quellón, Chaitén, Hualaihué, Futaleufú and Palena. The commune is represented in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

by Camilo Escalona Medina ( PS) and Carlos Kuschel Silva (RN) as part of the 17th senatorial constituency (Los Lagos Region).

Education

Previously the area had a German school, Deutsche Schule Ancud-Chiloe.Deutscher Bundestag 4. Wahlperiode Drucksache IV/3672

Archive
.

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the German Federalism, federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representat ...

(West Germany). 23 June 1965. Retrieved on 12 March 2016. p. 21/51.

Landmarks

Cathedral

Colonial fort system

The fort system of Ancud together with nearby the forts of Agüi one of the four fort systems that existed in colonial Chiloé. The fort system of Ancud is made up of two forts and four batteries. Fuerte Real de San Carlos was built as late as 1824 by orders of Antonio de Quintanilla, the last Spanish governor of Chiloé. The

arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

(polvorín) of this can still be seen at the centre of a small plaza. The battery of San Antonio is the best preserved part of the fort system.

Gallery

File:Ancud-Fuerte San Antonio.jpg, Fuerte San Antonio File:AncudCostanera.jpg, Avenida Salvador Allende File:AncudCostanera2.jpg, Avenida Salvador Allende File:AncudCatedral.jpg, Cathedral File:AncudPlaza.jpg, Plaza de Armas and Town Hall File:AncudMonumento.jpg, Firebrigade Monument

References

External links

* *
Municipality of Ancud

Satellite view of the Chiloé archipielago (Google maps)

Satellite view of Ancud (Google maps)
{{Authority control Communes of Chile Port cities in Chile Populated places established in 1768 Populated places in Chiloé Province 1768 establishments in the Spanish Empire Populated coastal places in Chile