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

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 and t ...

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 east a ...

. During the

Chincha Islands War The Chincha Islands War, also known as Spanish–South American War ( es, Guerra hispano-sudamericana), 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 ...

, the

Battle of Abtao The Battle of Abtao was a naval battle 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 south- ...

took place near the island on 7 February 1866.

Geography

The island is

volcanic A volcano is a rupture 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 found where tectonic plates a ...

, 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 terrian. The island is partially forested.

History

At the time of the Spanish colonization of the Americas the island was the domain of the nomadic indigenous

Chono people The Chono people, 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 ...

. 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 of Chile. Located in the Zona Sur, they inhabit both Futahuillimapu ("great land of the south") and, as the Cunco subgroup, the north hal ...

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 ( es, Destrucción de las siete ciudades) is a term used in Chilean historiography to refer to the destruction or abandonment of seven major Spanish outposts in southern Chile around 1600, caused by the Mapuc ...

, and settled on the island. This population was not subject to the encomienda, 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 1826. The Governorate of Chiloé depended on the Captaincy General of Chile until the late 18th cent ...

. 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 Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost ...

in 1603 to provide for the

protection Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing 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 th ...

of this settlement and others in the Gulf of Ancud 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