Abtao Island (''Isla de Abtao'') is part of the

Chiloé Archipelago The Chiloé Archipelago (, , ) 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 and the Gulf of Corcovado in the s ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. During the

Chincha Islands War The Chincha Islands War, also known as Spanish–South American War (), was a series of coastal and naval battles between Spain and its former colonies of Peru, Chile, Ecuador, and Bolivia from 1865 to 1879. The conflict began with Spain's seiz ...

, the

Battle of Abtao The Battle of Abtao was a naval action fought on February 7, 1866, during the Chincha Islands War, between a Spanish squadron and a combined Peruvian-Chilean fleet, at the island of Abtao in the Gulf of Ancud near Chiloé Archipelago in sout ...

took place near the island on 7 February 1866.

Geography

The island is

volcanic A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...

, lying northwest–southeast off the east coast of the Challahue peninsula. It is about five kilometers long and averages about 800 meters in width. At its northwest end it terminates at Punta Barranco to the north and Punta Lilihue to the west. At about the northern third the island thins, and there is a protected port, Puerto Abtao, on the western side. At its southwest end it terminates at Punta Quilque. Its southern half is relatively flat, rising slightly higher, 47 meters, to the north with a broken terrain. The island is partially forested.

History

At the time of the

Spanish colonization of the Americas The Spanish colonization of the Americas began in 1493 on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic) after the initial 1492 voyage of Genoa, Genoese mariner Christopher Columbus under license from Queen Isabella ...

the island was the domain of the nomadic indigenous

Chono people The Chono, or GuaitecoUrbina Burgos 2007, p. 334. were a nomadic indigenous people or group of peoples of the archipelagos of Chiloé, Guaitecas and Chonos. The Chono people lived as hunter-gatherers traveling by canoe. Much of what is know ...

. The island's name "Abtao" is of Chono origin. The first recorded settlement on Abtao began in 1602 when about three hundred

Huilliche The Huilliche (), Huiliche or Huilliche-Mapuche are the southern partiality of the Mapuche macroethnic group in Chile and Argentina. Located in the Zona Sur, they inhabit both Futahuillimapu ("great land of the south") and, as the Cunco or Ve ...

who remained loyal to the Spanish fled from the city of Osorno after the

Destruction of the Seven Cities The Destruction of the Seven Cities () is a term used in Chilean historiography to refer to the destruction or abandonment of seven major Spanish outposts in zona Sur, southern Chile around 1600, caused by the Mapuche and Huilliche people, Huil ...

, and settled on the island. This population was not subject to the

encomienda The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish Labour (human activity), labour system that rewarded Conquistador, conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. In theory, the conquerors provided the labourers with benefits, including mil ...

, but was considered an independent group allied to the Spaniards of the

Governorate of Chiloé The Governorate of Chiloé was political and military subdivision of the Spanish Empire that existed, with a 1784–1789 interregnum, from 1567 to 1852. The Governorate of Chiloé depended on the Captaincy General of Chile until the late 18th cen ...

. The Spanish built a fort on nearby

Calbuco Island Calbuco Island (also Caicaén Island) is an island in the commune of Calbuco, Llanquihue Province, Los Lagos Region, Chile. The city of Calbuco is on the island. The island was separated from the mainland by Calbuco Channel, but a causeway ...

in 1603 to provide for the

protection Protection is any measure taken to guard something against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although ...

of this settlement and others in the

Gulf of Ancud 250px, Map of the Sea of Chiloé and nearby roads. The Gulf of Ancud is seen in the centre of the upper half. Gulf of Ancud () is a large body of water separating the Chiloé Island from the mainland of Chile. It is located north of the Gulf of C ...

and

. The island was one of the last Spanish possessions in Chile, not falling to the Chilean nationalists until 1826. The

took place on 7 February 1866 in the channel that separates the island from Punta Auco on the Challahue peninsula to the northwest. As part of the blockade on Valparaiso during the

the Spanish sent two ironclads to destroy the combined Chilean-Bolivian-Peruvian fleet. The attempt was unsuccessful. All three South American participants issued medals for the action. There is a small monument on the island to the battle, where, annually, Chilean Navy personnel commemorate the successful repulsing of the enemy.

Notes and references

{{Clear Calbuco Archipelago Islands of Los Lagos Region