Carelmapu (lit. from
Mapudungun
Mapuche ( , ; from 'land' and 'people', meaning 'the people of the land') or Mapudungun (from 'land' and 'speak, speech', meaning 'the speech of the land'; also spelled Mapuzugun and Mapudungu) is either a language isolate or member of the s ...
"Green Land") is a port and town () at the western end of
Chacao Channel
The Chacao Channel () is located in Los Lagos Region, Chile and separates ChiloƩ Island from mainland Chile. The channel is about 40 km long and 4 km wide and connects the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Ancud. The channel was created during the Quat ...
,
southern Chile. Carelmapu was established by the Spanish in 1602 as San Antonio Ribera de Carelmapu following the
Destruction of Seven Cities. In 1643 Carelmapu was sacked and its church vandalized by the Dutch corsair
Hendrick Brouwer. On March 6, 1676 Carelmapu received the exhausted survivors of
Pascual de Iriarte's expedition to the
Strait of Magellan
The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and the Tierra del Fuego archipelago to the south. Considered the most important natura ...
.
Fort system
During
colonial times Carelmapu was the site of a small fort system made up of Fuerte de Carelmapu just west of Carelmapu, the sentinel outpost of Astillero and the
battery of Coronel. The last two were not located in Carelmapu proper but further east along the northern shores of
Chacao Channel
The Chacao Channel () is located in Los Lagos Region, Chile and separates ChiloƩ Island from mainland Chile. The channel is about 40 km long and 4 km wide and connects the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Ancud. The channel was created during the Quat ...
. The original Fuerte de Carelmapu was built in wood in 1603. At present remnants of it can be found in a deteriorated state.
References
Populated places in Llanquihue Province
Populated coastal places in Chile
Populated places established in 1602
1602 establishments in the Viceroyalty of Peru
Coasts of Los Lagos Region
{{LosLagos-geo-stub