The schooner Ancud was the ship sent by

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 ...

in 1843 to claim sovereignty over 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 ...

and establish

Fuerte Bulnes Fuerte Bulnes is a Chilean fort located by the Strait of Magellan, 62 km south of Punta Arenas. It was founded in 1843 on a rocky hill at Punta Santa Ana, and named after President Manuel Bulnes Prieto. The fort was built to further th ...

, the first Chilean settlement in the strait. It was built for the purpose in the city of San Carlos de Ancud and commanded by

John Williams Wilson John Williams Wilson (1798–1857), also known as Juan Guillermos, was an English- Chilean sailor and politician. Born in Bristol, he entered the newly founded Chilean navy in 1824 and rose to the rank of commander. He was appointed governor of ...

, a British-born Chilean captain.

Mission

The ''Ancud'' sailed out from Ancud on May 22, 1843. The crew were carrying supplies for the estimated seven months journey, as well as supplies to settle a colony in the Strait of Magellan. On board were 23 crew (20 men, 2 women, 1 child), of which about half would stay in the Magallanes region with the mission of establish a permanent settlement.

From Ancud to Puerto Americano

They brought two lifeboats, but lost one of them during a storm south of Queitao in

Guaitecas Archipelago The Guaitecas Archipelago is a sparsely populated archipelago in the Aisén region of Chile. The archipelago is made up of eight main islands and numerous smaller ones. The eight largest islands are from northwest to southeast: Gran Guaiteca, Asc ...

. They called at a place known as

Puerto Americano Puerto Americano is a natural harbour in the fjords and channels of Patagonia. The harbour lies southwest of Tangbac Island near where the west-east Nihualac Channel meets the north-south Moraleda Channel in Aysén Region. In the summer of 179 ...

or Tangbac, where two American ships were anchored: the schooner ''Betzei'' and the brig ''Enterprise'', both seal hunters. Williams tried unsuccessfully to buy from the ''Enterprise'' captain a boat and some nautical charts by Robert Fitz Roy, but only got a negative answer for the boat and just permission to copy the charts. They stayed in Puerto Americano until July 3 dedicated to building a boat. Meanwhile, the naturalist Bernardo Philippi was responsible for hand-copying the charts.

Back to Ancud

On July 26, they tried to pass

Taitao Peninsula The Taitao Peninsula ( Spanish: ''Península de Taitao'') is a westward-facing landmass on the south-central Pacific west coast of Chile. The peninsula is connected to the mainland via the narrow Isthmus of Ofqui, over which tribal peoples and ea ...

, but bad weather, together with a failure of the rudder and a starboard crack drove them back to seek shelter again in Puerto Americano, arriving there on August 2. The next day Williams sent Miller, Philippi and five more men by boat back to Chiloé with orders to reach

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 ...

, about 300 km away, and from there travel by road about 80 km to Ancud to get supplies, the rudder repaired and inform the governor about their journey. They returned 23 days later with a boat carrying supplies. After discovering a smuggling plot by the ''

Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterpris ...

'', Williams ordered its captain to withdraw his ship from

. As he did not obey, the next day the brig was seized and Williams threatened to fire on them if they ignored the order. The Enterprise was retired from Puerto Americano to a beach nearby and the next day, when the schooner Ancud had left to continue his journey, was reported to Americans that if they were meeting them again in Chilean territory without a formal permission of local authorities they will proceed to confiscate the boat.

Strait of Magellan

Continuing south, they were naming landforms that were not called out on their maps. When they reached Punta Santa Ana in the Strait on September 21, 1843, all the crew of the schooner went ashore and took formal possession of the surrounding territory on behalf of Chile and started the process to build

. Before leaving to scout eastward on September 26 they left in Santa Ana a sign engraved with the words "Republic of Chile" and "Viva Chile!". After scouting the area, and having met a tribe of

Tehuelches The Tehuelche people, also called the Aónikenk, are an Indigenous people from eastern Patagonia in South America. In the 18th and 19th centuries the Tehuelche were influenced by Mapuche people, and many adopted a horseriding lifestyle. Once a ...

, they left the strait on 4 December to their way back.

Replica

A full size replica of the ship was open to visitors in the Nao Victoria Museum in

Punta Arenas Punta Arenas (, historically known as Sandy Point in English) is the capital List of cities in Chile, city of Chile's southernmost Regions of Chile, region, Magallanes Region, Magallanes and Antarctica Chilena. Although officially renamed as ...

References

* * Chilean Navy Websit
Goleta Ancud
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ancud (1843) Schooners Two-masted ships 1843 ships Auxiliary ships of the Chilean Navy Ships built in Chile Strait of Magellan Argentina–Chile border