Dawson Island () is an island in 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 Tierra del Fuego to the south. The strait is considered the most important natural pass ...
that forms part of the
Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla G ...
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...
, 100 km south of the city of
Punta Arenas
Punta Arenas (; historically Sandy Point in English) is the capital city of Chile's southernmost region, Magallanes and Antarctica Chilena. The city was officially renamed as Magallanes in 1927, but in 1938 it was changed back to "Punta Aren ...
in
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 ...
, and part of the
Municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
of Punta Arenas. It is located southeast of
Brunswick Peninsula
Brunswick Peninsula () is a large peninsula in Magallanes y la Antártica Region, Patagonia, Chile, at .
Geography
The Brunswick Peninsula is triangular in shape, joined to the mainland in the north by a wide isthmus. It widens to almost in t ...
. It is often lashed with harsh
Antarctic
The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...
weather. The settlements are Puerto Harris, Puerto San Antonio and Puerto Almeida.
History
This area was inhabited for thousands of years by the indigenous peoples. At the time of European encounter, the
Kawésqar
The Kawésqar, also known as the Alacalufe, Kaweskar, Alacaluf or Halakwulup, are an indigenous people of South America, indigenous people who live in Chilean Patagonia, specifically in the Brunswick Peninsula, and Wellington Island, Wellington, ...
lived on the island (they were called the Alcalufe by the
Yahgan and the Europeans adopted that term). They lived west of the Yahgan and throughout the islands west of Tierra del Fuego.
Beginning in the late 19th century, Europeans began to settle in the region, developing large sheep ranches on the main island. Miners also flocked to the area in search of gold. Chile used Dawson Island for an internment camp for the
Selknam Selknam or Selk'nam may refer to:
*Selk'nam people
The Selk'nam, also known as the Onawo or Ona people, are an indigenous people in the Patagonian region of southern Argentina and Chile, including the Tierra del Fuego islands. They were one ...
and other native people, to get them out of areas that settlers were trying to develop. Major sheep ranchers hired armed men to hunt down the indigenous people for bounty in the
Selk'nam genocide
The Selk'nam genocide was the genocide of the Selk'nam people, one of three indigenous tribes populating the Tierra del Fuego in South America, from the second half of the 19th to the early 20th century. The genocide spanned a period of betwe ...
, as they persisted on hunting in their former territory and considered sheep as game.
In 1890, the Chilean government granted
Salesian
, image = File:Stemma big.png
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
, abbreviation = SDB
, formation =
, founder = John Bosco
, founding_location = Valdocco, Turin ...
missionaries from Italy a 20-year concession to Dawson Island to educate, care for, and try to assimilate indigenous peoples into European-Chilean culture. One of the structures from the Salesian operation remains. It has been designated a Chilean national monument.
After the
1973 Chilean coup d'état
The 1973 Chilean coup d'état Enciclopedia Virtual > Historia > Historia de Chile > Del gobierno militar a la democracia" on LaTercera.cl. Retrieved 22 September 2006.
In October 1972, Chile suffered the first of many strikes. Among the par ...
, the military dictatorship of
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...
used the island to house political prisoners suspected of being
communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
activists, including government ministers and close friends of the deposed President
Salvador Allende
Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (, , ; 26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean physician and socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 3 November 1970 until his death on 11 September 1973. He was the fir ...
, most notably
Orlando Letelier
Marcos Orlando Letelier del Solar (13 April 1932 – 21 September 1976) was a Chilean economist, politician and diplomat during the presidency of Salvador Allende. A refugee from the military dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet, Letelier ...
,
Luis Corvalán
Luis Nicolás Corvalán Lepe (14 September 1916, in Puerto Montt – 21 July 2010) was a Chilean politician. He served as the general secretary of the Communist Party of Chile (PCCh).
Corvalán joined the Communist Party of Chile at the age of f ...
,
Clodomiro Almeyda and
José Tohá
José Tohá González (February 6, 1927 – March 15, 1974) was a Chilean journalist, lawyer, and politician of the Socialist Party (PS).
Biography
Tohá was born in Chillán, the son of Spanish immigrant José Tohá Soldavilla and of Brunilda Go ...
. They were under the strict control of the
Chilean Navy
The Chilean Navy ( es, Armada de Chile) is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso.
History
Origins and the Wars ...
as each individual case was investigated. In addition, according to an
International Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...
report in 1974
The Chile Information Project: Dawson Island
/ref> and the Report of the Chilean National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation (Rettig Report
The Rettig Report, officially The National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation Report, is a 1991 report by a commission designated by Chilean President Patricio Aylwin (from the ''Concertación'') detailing human rights abuses resulting in dea ...
) some 99 political detainees were held here who were sentenced to forced labor. Others have estimated that as many as 400 prisoners were held at the two camps. Members of the International Red Cross, BBC, and Brazilian press corps were permitted to visit the camps. In 1974 the military said they had transferred elsewhere or released detainees from both camps.
In September 2009 director Miguel Littín
Miguel Ernesto Littin Cucumides (born 9 August 1942) is a Chilean film director, screenwriter, film producer and novelist. He was born to a Palestinian father, Hernán Littin and a Greek mother, Cristina Cucumides.
Career
Miguel Littin dir ...
released a film called ''Dawson Isla 10
''Dawson Isla 10'' is a 2009 Chilean drama film, written and directed by Miguel Littín, a Chilean film director. The screenplay is based on ''Isla 10'', a book by Sergio Bitar about his experiences as a political prisoner; "Isla 10" was the subs ...
''. It was based on a memoir of the same name written by Sergio Bitar, a former political prisoner during the Augusto Pinochet regime.
See also
*
References
{{Authority control
Internment camps
Islands of Tierra del Fuego
Strait of Magellan
Prison islands