Talcahuano () (From Mapudungun ''Tralkawenu'', "Thundering Sky") is a port

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

and

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Biobío Region The Biobío Region ( es, Región del Biobío ), is one of Chile's sixteen regions (first-order administrative divisions). With a population of 1.5 million, thus being the third most populated region in Chile, it is divided into three provinces: ...

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 is part of the Greater Concepción conurbation. Talcahuano is located in the south of the

Central Zone The Central Indo-Aryan languages or Hindi languages are a group of related language varieties Spoken across North India and Central India. These language varieties form the central part of the Indo-Aryan language family, itself a part of the ...

of Chile.

Geography

Together with ten other municipalities, it forms part of the Concepción Province, which in turn is one of four provinces that forms the VIII Region of

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 National Institute of Statistics may refer to: *National Institute of Statistics of Bolivia *National Institute of Statistics of Cambodia *National Institute of Statistics and Census of Costa Rica *National Institute of Statistics and Census of Nica ...

, Talcahuano spans an area of and has 250,348 inhabitants (121,778 men and 128,570 women). Of these, 248,964 (99.4%) 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 1,384 (0.6%) 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 59.9% (93,766 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses. With a population density of 1,873 inhabitants per square kilometre, it is the seventh most populated city of the country.

History

The official foundation date of Talcahuano is 5 November 1764 when

Antonio de Guill y Gonzaga Antonio de Guill y Gonzaga (died August 24, 1768) was a Spanish colonial administrator who served as Royal Governor of Panama and Royal Governor of Chile. Arauco War Governor Guill y Gonzaga celebrated the " Parliament of Nacimiento" with the Ma ...

declared it an official port. However, the site of Talcahuano began to appear in history books as early as 1544 when Genoese captain

Juan Bautista Pastene 200px, Map showing the September 1544 expedition led by Pastene. Giovanni Battista Pastene (1507–1580) was a Genoese maritime explorer who, while in the service of the Spanish crown, explored the coasts of Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru ...

discovered the mouth of the Biobío river while exploring the coast in his ships ''San Pedro'' and ''Santiaguillo''. In 1601

Alonso de Ribera Alonso de Ribera y Zambrano (; 1560 – March 9, 1617) was a Spanish soldier and twice Spanish royal governor of Chile (1601–1605 and 1612–1617). Early life Born in Úbeda, he was the illegitimate son of Hidalgo and Captain Jorge de Ribera Za ...

built Fort Talcahueno to defend remaining Spanish settlements near Concepción. The city is named after an Araucanian chief, Talcahueñu, who inhabited the region at the arrival of the Spanish. In Mapudungun, the language of the indigenous

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 ...

s, Talcahuano means "Thundering Sky". The port was well known to American whaleships of the 19th century. They often put in for fresh water, food, and various forms of entertainment for the crews. On 24 January 1939 at around 23.33 the city was hit by a major earthquake of 8.3 which had an epicenter close to the city of

Chillán Chillán () is the capital List of cities in Chile, city of the Ñuble Region in the Diguillín Province of Chile located about south of the country's capital, Santiago, near the geographical center of the country. It is the capital of the new � ...

. The Chilean Government requested from the British Government the help of two British cruisers

HMS Ajax (22) HMS ''Ajax'' was a ''Leander''-class light cruiser which served with the Royal Navy during World War II. She became famous for her part in the Battle of the River Plate, the Battle of Crete, the Battle of Malta and as a supply escort in the s ...

and

HMS Exeter (68) HMS ''Exeter'' was the second and last heavy cruiser built for the Royal Navy during the late 1920s. Aside from a temporary deployment with the Mediterranean Fleet during the Abyssinia Crisis of 1935–36, she spent the bulk of the 1930s assi ...

then visiting the city of

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

to head south to investigate. The ships arrived at Talcahuano on 25th, many of the city's main buildings had been destroyed with little power, food or water available to the survivors. The two ships crews helped with rubble clearing, rescuing those still trapped, recovering bodies as well as the ships taking trips north to Valparaiso with those injured and refugees. Tsunami Carried Boat-Chile 2010-Talcahuano

Tsunami Carried Boat-Chile 2010-Talcahuano

27 February 2010 earthquake

On 27 February 2010 Talcahuano was devastated by the 8.8 magnitude

2010 Chile earthquake The 2010 Chile earthquake and tsunami ( es, Terremoto del 27F) occurred off the coast of central Chile on Saturday, 27 February at 03:34 local time (06:34 UTC), having a magnitude of 8.8 on the moment magnitude scale, with intense shaking l ...

and its subsequent

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 ...

. These back-to-back disasters left 80% of the city's residents homeless. The tsunami is estimated to have been more than 7.5 feet high. After a week, there are only 20 reported deaths, and 18 missing. The city government estimates that it will take 10 years to recover from the quake and tsunami. The local government has been turning away tent aid, as they want to make permanent shelters rather than have permanent tent camps.

Economy

Talcahuano contains Chile's Productive development Pillar of the development of the city, the productive activities represent the motor of the advance of Talcahuano in a globalized world. From tourism, our marine gastronomy, the nautical qualities of the bay, to industry, trade in services, products and the logistics platform. Talcahuano is an integral city that grows hand in hand with the spirit of its inhabitants. main naval base which is home of the historical relic, the ''Huáscar'', a Peruvian ironclad ship (British-made), which was captured in 1879 during the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific ( es, link=no, Guerra del Pacífico), also known as the Saltpeter War ( es, link=no, Guerra del salitre) and by multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought ...

. It is also the base of the Chilean submarine fleet and the ASMAR shipyard.

Administration

As a commune, Talcahuano 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 who is directly elected every four years. The 2016 - 2020 alcalde is Henry Campos Coa (

UDI Udi may refer to: Places * Udi, Enugu, a local government areas and city in Nigeria * Udi, a place in the Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh, India People * Udi Gal (born 1979), Israeli Olympic sailor * Udi Vaks (born 1979), Israeli Olympic judoka ...

). The commune of Talcahuano has seventeen districts, the three most populous being Carriel, San Vicente and San Miguel, which together account for about 46% of the population of the commune. Only two of the districts contain any rural population: Tumbes with 5% rural and Carrie with ½%. * El Portón * Valdivieso * Cerro Fuentes * La Aduana * Cerro Buenavista * Tumbes * Isla Quiriquina * San Vicente * Estadio *

Huachipato Club Deportivo Huachipato is a Chilean football club based in Talcahuano that is a current member of the Chilean Primera División. The club was founded 7 June 1947 and plays its home games at the Estadio CAP, which has a capacity of 10,500 p ...

* Estadio Higueras * San Miguel * El Arenal * Carriel * Las Salinas * Barranquilla * Zunico Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Talcahuano is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Sergio Bobadilla, Félix González, Francesca Muñoz, José Miguel Ortiz, Leonidas Romero, Gastón Saavedra, Jaime Tohá and Enrique van Rysselberghe as part of the 20th electoral district. The commune is represented in the Senate by Alejandro Navarro Brain ( MAS) and Jacqueline Van Rysselberghe Herrera (

) as part of the 12th senatorial constituency (Biobío-Cordillera).

Culture

Sports

Talcahuano entered football history when Ramón Unzaga Asla, a player for the local club Estrella del Mar, invented the famous

bicycle kick In association football, a bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick, scissors kick, is an acrobatic strike where a player kicks an airborne ball rearward in midair. It is achieved by throwing the body backward up into the air and, before d ...

(also known as "chilena") there in 1914. The city is home to

Club Deportivo Huachipato Club Deportivo Huachipato is a Chilean football club based in Talcahuano that is a current member of the Chilean Primera División. The club was founded 7 June 1947 and plays its home games at the Estadio CAP, which has a capacity of 10,500 ...

, a football club in Chile's Primera División, playing at

Estadio CAP Estadio Huachipato-CAP Acero (''Compañía de Acero del Pacífico''), is a football stadium in Talcahuano, Chile. It is the home field of the Huachipato football team. Until 2012, Naval also played its home matches there until 2012. Opened in ...

. The city is also the birthplace of

Sammis Reyes Sammis Daniel Reyes Martel (born October 19, 1995) is a Chilean-born former professional American football tight end. He was the first player from Chile to play in the NFL. Reyes grew up playing basketball as a youth member of the Chile nati ...

, a former Chilean men's national basketball player who converted to

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

. In 2021 he became the first Chilean to play in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

, an American football league based in the United States.

In literature

It featured prominently in Miles Smeeton's book ''Once Is Enough'', a sailor's classic.''Once Is Enough'', by Miles Smeeton. International Marine Publishing, 2003. It is mentioned by the character Charlie Marlow in Joseph Conrad's book ''

Lord Jim ''Lord Jim'' is a novel by Joseph Conrad originally published as a serial in ''Blackwood's Magazine'' from October 1899 to November 1900. An early and primary event in the story is the abandonment of a passenger ship in distress by its crew, ...

''. A chapter of ''

In Search of the Castaways ''In Search of the Castaways'' (french: Les Enfants du capitaine Grant, lit=The Children of Captain Grant) is a novel by the French writer Jules Verne, published in 1867–68. The original edition, published by Hetzel, contains a number of ill ...

'' by Jules Verne is set in its bay. File:Centrotalcahuanopuerto.jpg, Center of Talcahuano File:Marinalarge.jpg, Casino of Talcahuano File:Iglesiatalcahuano.jpg, Church of Talcahuano File:Huascar1.jpg, Monitor ''

Huáscar Huáscar Inca (; Quechua: ''Waskar Inka''; 1503–1532) also Guazcar was Sapa Inca of the Inca Empire from 1527 to 1532. He succeeded his father, Huayna Capac and his brother Ninan Cuyochi, both of whom died of smallpox while campaigning near Q ...

'' File:Panoramica Talcahuano.jpg, View of Port

External links

*http://www.talcahuano.cl
Satellite view of Talcahuano
(Google Maps)

References

{{Authority control Communes of Chile Fortifications in Chile Port cities in Chile Populated places established in 1764 Populated places in Concepción Province 1764 establishments in the Spanish Empire