Constitución () is a city and commune of

Talca Province Talca Province ( es, Provincia de Talca) is one of four provinces of the central Chilean region of Maule (VII). Its capital is the city of Talca. Administration As a province, Talca is a second-level administrative division of Chile, governed b ...

, Maule Region,

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 ...

. It was historically a popular

seaside resort A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the Germ ...

. However, following the growth of the industrial sector (

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distrib ...

and

pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit Engineering * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Molded pulp, a packaging material ...

) tourism has since declined. Constitución is a minor port in

History

Before the arrival of the Spanish, the area that would later be the city of Constitución was inhabited by the Chango people and the

Mapuche The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who s ...

tribe. Both indigenous groups used the area for fishing and seasonal habitation. When the Spaniards came to the region, the European explorers, and those who followed, used the area as a port for their

galleons Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships first used as armed cargo carriers by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries during the age of sail and were the principal vessels drafted for use as warships until the Anglo-Dutch Wa ...

and merchant ships on their voyages to South American and other

Pacific 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 ...

ports.

''Nueva Bilbao''

While numerous attempts were made to establish a permanent settlement in the area, Santiago Oñederra was the first successful colonizing pioneer, circa 1791. The founding of the settlement was proposed by Oñederra to the Chilean government, and authorized by Governor Ambrosio O'Higgins in 1794. The settlement was originally named New Bilbao (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

: ''Nueva

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

'') after the

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

city in Northern

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Renaming to ''Constitución''

In 1828, New Bilbao was renamed ''Constitución''. On 4 August 1828, Congress approved the designation of Constitución as a major Chilean port. Four days later, Vice President Jose Antonio Pinto signed the decree.Aravena, Luz K., et al.; 2007
''Cambio de Nombre'' ("Change of name")
From: "History", Constitución in Internet Microsite. (In Spanish) Beginning in 1828, Constitución was designated as part of Maule Region and later included in the

.Aravena, Luz K., et al.; 2007
''Un final desconocido'' ("An unknown destination")
From: "History", Constitución in Internet Microsite. (In Spanish) (Source: http://www.luz-katherine.com/constitucion/biblio.htm )

21st century

After the devastating 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Chile on 27 February 2010, an estimated 350 people died in Constitución from a

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...

.Padget, Tim (1 March 2010)
"Chile: Prepared for the Quake but Not the Tsunami"
''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

''. Retrieved 4 March 2010. Two weeks before the earthquake, the local people were trained to head for the hills if unable to stand during the tremor, as the likelihood of a tsunami was high. The tsunami was estimated to be high. Pedro Muñoz, a fisherman, with his skiff, rescued celebrants of the end of summer from an island on the Maule River, making two trips between the island and the riverbank, before being swamped and killed by the third tsunami wave, on his third trip. Constitución was damaged by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami. Restoring power in the city in the immediate aftermath was impossible because of damage from the tsunami.Wall Street Journal
"Chile Power Firms: Slow Process Restoring Power In Quake Zones"
Matthew Cowley, 2 March 2010 (accessed 3 March 2010)

Geography

The town is dominated both economically and geographically by the large cellulose plant of

Celulosa Arauco y Constitución Celulosa Arauco y Constitución (also called CELCO or ARAUCO) is a Chilean wood pulp, engineered wood and forestry company controlled by Anacleto Angelini's economic group; Empresas Copec. In 2006 CELCO/ARAUCO had five pulp mills in Chile and o ...

. Celulosa Arauco y Constitución has had numerous legal cases with regards to contamination of the local environment. The artificial forests of eucalyptus and pinewood dominate the local landscape. Critics argue that this destroys the natural habitat for local wildlife and leaves the soil acidic and infertile.

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, Constitución spans an area of and has 46,081 inhabitants (23,389 men and 22,692 women). Of these, 37,202 (80.7%) 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 8,879 (19.3%) 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 descr ...

s. The population grew by 14.2% (5,741 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Constitución is a third-level administrative division of Chile 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 counc ...

, headed by an '' alcalde'' (mayor) who is directly elected every four years. In 2008-2012 the ''alcalde'' was Hugo Tilleria Torres, who was replaced by Carlos Valenzuela Gajardo. Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Constitución is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Pablo Lorenzini ( PDC) and Pedro Pablo Alvarez-Salamanca ( UDI) as part of the 38th electoral district, together with Curepto, Empedrado, Pencahue, Maule,

San Clemente San Clemente (; Spanish for " St. Clement") is a city in Orange County, California. Located in the Orange Coast region of the South Coast of California, San Clemente's population was 64,293 in at the 2020 census. Situated roughly midway between ...

, Pelarco, Río Claro and San Rafael. The commune is represented in the Senate by Juan Antonio Coloma Correa (UDI) and Andrés Zaldívar Larraín (PDC) as part of the 10th senatorial constituency (Maule-North).

actively funds social and economic regeneration projects in constitucion, providing much needed funding for the municipality. Critics argue this dependence prevents the administration from being able to question issues regarding pollution with Arauco.

Economy

The Maule region of which Constitucion is part has the second lowest income per capita in Chile, with only Aysen receiving less income per capita. The residents of Maule receive per capita less than 25% of the national average income and around 10% of the income per capita in Antofagasta. Illiteracy is currently 7% in Maule versus the 3% country wide average. The main employment sources are the primary sectors, fishing, farming, forestry and low level artesanal production. One of the city's main employers is

, a wood pulp, engineered wood, and forestry company. Until his 2007 death, the company was owned and controlled by Italian-born

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

billionaire

Anacleto Angelini Anacleto Angelini Fabbri (January 17, 1914 – August 28, 2007) was an Italian-born Chilean businessman. At the time of his death, he was South America's wealthiest person, with an estimated net worth of US$6 billion. He was chairman at AntarChil ...

and has since been taken over by his nephew, Roberto Angelini Rossi, current chairman of Angelini's holding company,

AntarChile AntarChile is the main holding company of the Angelini Group of Companies, one of the largest conglomerates in South America. This company has major investments in various sectors like industrial, forestry, fisheries and energy. The origins of ...

. Despite lawsuits and protests, AntarChile was given permission in 2006 to discharge pollutants from the plant into the sea. An earthquake and tsunami in 2010 caused the plant's closure for three months due to power outages and damage.

Transportation

Railway expansion first came to the Maule Region in mid-1889 when rail-line construction began by the North and South American Company. Service began on August 13, 1892, when lines were opened between

Talca Talca () is a city and commune in Chile located about south of Santiago, and is the capital of both Talca Province and Maule Region (7th Region of Chile). As of the 2012 census, the city had a population of 201,142. The city is an importan ...

and Curtiduría. The next railway portion to be completed was to Pichamán on November 1, 1894. Rails were laid along the northern bank of the Maule River, opposite Constitución. Constitución's first station was established in 1902. and remained in use until 1915 when a new station was constructed. Constitución is home for the end-of-the-line station of the ''Ramal de Maule'' also known as the Ramal Talca-Constitución, a rural train that runs an 80 kilometer (50 mile) rail line from

. The scenic train affords views of the Andean foothills as well as the Pacific Ocean. Currently, the Ramal is facing shutdown due to lack of use. From the late 1800s on, rail travel had been Chile's main form of transportation. In the 21st century, however, Chileans have largely changed their transportation preference to buses and private cars. As a result of this switch, passenger rail travel has become obsolete. The city is served by Quivolgo International Airport.

References

External links

*
Municipality of Constitución
*
Arauco Constitución

RAMAL Constitución

Imagina Natural
{{DEFAULTSORT:Constitucion, Chile Populated places in Talca Province Communes of Chile Port cities in Chile Populated places established in 1794 1794 establishments in the Spanish Empire Coasts of Maule Region