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The schooner Ancud was the ship sent by
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 ...
in 1843 to claim sovereignty over the Strait of Magellan. It was built for the purpose in the city of San Carlos de Ancud and commanded by John Williams Wilson, 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 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, Ascenc ...
. They called at a place known as Puerto Americano 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 handcopying the charts.


Back to Ancud

On July 26, they tried to pass
Taitao Peninsula The Taitao Peninsula (Spanish: ''Península de Taitao'') is a westward projection of the mainland of Chile, with which it is connected by the narrow Isthmus of Ofqui, over which the natives and early missionaries were accustomed to carry their bo ...
, 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 inhabi ...
, 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 Puerto Americano. 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

Continued south, they were baptizing the landforms that were not named on their maps. When they reach Punta Santa Ana, already 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 Fuerte Bulnes. 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, 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 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 Are ...
,
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 ...
.


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