Ancud () is a

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 ...

in southern

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 eas ...

located in the northernmost part of the

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An isla ...

and province of Chiloé, in

Los Lagos Region Los Lagos Region ( es, Región de Los Lagos , ''Region of the Lakes'') is one of Chile's 16 regions, which are first order administrative divisions, and comprises four provinces: Chiloé, Llanquihue, Osorno and Palena. The region contains ...

. It is the second largest city of

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 ...

after Castro. The city was established in 1768 to function as the capital of the archipelago and held that position until 1982. Founded as

bulwark Bulwark primarily refers to: * Bulwark (nautical), a nautical term for the extension of a ship's side above the level of a weather deck * Bastion, a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification The Bulwark primarily refer ...

against foreign powers in

colonial times The ''Colonial Times'' was a newspaper in what is now the Australian state of Tasmania. It was established as the ''Colonial Times, and Tasmanian Advertiser'' in 1825 in Hobart, Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colon ...

, the city played an important role in the Chilean colonization of

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...

in the 19th century.

Geography

Numerous glaciations have dredged the

Chacao Channel The Chacao Channel ( es, Canal de Chacao) is located in Los Lagos Region, Chile and separates Chiloé Island from mainland Chile. The channel was created during the Quaternary glaciations by successive glaciers that flowed down from the Andes ...

to the north, separating

Chiloé Island Chiloé Island ( es, Isla de Chiloé, , ) also known as Greater Island of Chiloé (''Isla Grande de Chiloé''), is the largest island of the Chiloé Archipelago off the west coast of Chile, in the Pacific Ocean. The island is located in southern ...

from mainland Chile to the north, marking the border between two natural regions of Chile,

Zona Sur Zona Sur (''Southern Zone'') is one of the five natural regions on which CORFO divided continental Chile in 1950. Its northern border is formed by the Bío-Bío River, which separates it from the Central Chile Zone. The Southern Zone borders t ...

to the north and Zona Austral to the south. The

Pacific Ocean 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 conti ...

lies on the west as the Chilean Coastal Range continues as a chain of islands. To the southeast of the commune is

Quemchi Quemchi is a Chilean town and commune in Los Lagos Region, in Chiloé Province, on the eastern shore of Chiloé Island. It acquired certain celebrity because the famous Chilean writer Francisco Coloane was born near the town. The town is served ...

and

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 inha ...

to the south. The commune has a surface area of . To the west are the coastal villages of Pumillahue and Quetalmahue, among others. 25 kilometers west of Ancud lies

Islotes de Puñihuil Natural Monument Islotes de Puñihuil Natural Monument is a Chilean Natural Monument located southwest of Ancud. It consists of three islets off the western coast of Chiloé Island to the west and north of Puñihuil. The monument is notable for being the only kn ...

, a group of preserved islands that provide habitat to various penguin species.

History

Prior to its establishment as a Spanish settlement the site of Ancud was known as Puerto Inglés (lit. English port). It was on here that Hendrik Brouwer, the leader of the Dutch expedition to Valdivia died on August 7, 1643, before reaching

Valdivia Valdivia (; Mapuche: Ainil) is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder Pedro de Valdivia and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia, and Cau-Ca ...

. As consequence of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...

the Spanish authorities had the coastal fortification system of Chile updated and expanded. Inspired in the recommendations of former governor

Antonio Narciso de Santa María Antonio Narciso de Santa María (Alcántara, Spain; 1716 – 1777) was a Spanish colonel and Governor of Chiloé in the mid-18th century. Given the threat of war with Britain at the time Governor Antonio Narciso de Santa María highlighted for ...

, the Spanish founded the "city-fort" of Ancud in 1767–1768 and separated Chiloé from the

Captaincy General of Chile The Captaincy General of Chile (''Capitanía General de Chile'' ) or Governorate of Chile (known colloquially and unofficially as the Kingdom of Chile), was a territory of the Spanish Empire from 1541 to 1817 that was, for most of its existenc ...

into a direct dependency of the

Viceroyalty of Peru The Viceroyalty of Peru ( es, Virreinato del Perú, links=no) was a Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in South America, governed fro ...

. As with other 18th-century forts in Chile, the establishment of Ancud led through the new Ancud-Castro road to an expansion on local trade and

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

. Between 1839 and 1864 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 War ...

ran the Ancud Nautic School ( es, Escuela Náutica de Ancud) in the town. Among its alumni was Francisco Hudson.

Climate

Ancud has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''Cfb'') with significant precipitation in each month. Winters are cool and wet with a July average of . Precipitation during this time of the year is very high, averaging around and humidity is high, averaging around 87-88%. Summers are mild with a January average of and during this time, precipitation is lower though still significant, averaging in January. Temperatures rarely exceed . The average annual precipitation is and there are 200 days with measureable precipitation. However, precipitation is highly variable from year to year with 1993 being the driest, recording only and 1977 being the wettest at . The record high was on January 27, 1975, and the record low was on June 30, 1970.

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 inc ...

of the National Statistics Institute, Ancud spans an area of and has 39,946 inhabitants (19,793 men and 20,153 women). Of these, 27,292 (68.3%) 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 12,654 (31.7%) 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 6.5% (2,430 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses. The

demonym A demonym (; ) or gentilic () is a word that identifies a group of people (inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place (hamlet, village, town, city, region, province, ...

of a person from Ancud is ''Ancuditano'' for a man and ''Ancuditana'' for a woman.

Administration

As a commune, Ancud is a third-level

administrative division of Chile The administrative division or territorial organization of Chile exemplifies characteristics of a unitary state. State administration is functionally and geographically decentralized, as appropriate for each authority in accordance with the law. ...

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 Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) ...

who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Federico Krüger Finterbüch. Within the

electoral divisions of Chile Chile has two distinct electoral division systems: * To elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Senate, Chile is divided into several electoral divisions, namely electoral districts and senatorial constituencies. * To elect members of t ...

, Ancud is represented in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

by Mr. Gabriel Ascencio ( PDC) and Mr. Alejandro Santana ( RN) as part of the 58th electoral district, together with Castro,

Curaco de Vélez Curaco de Vélez is Chilean commune in Chiloé Archipelago which is part of Chiloé Province and Los Lagos Region. The commune is located in western Quinchao Island while the eastern part is administered by the commune of Quinchao. History Curaco ...

Quinchao Quinchao is a Chilean commune located in Chiloé Province, Los Lagos Region. The seat of government lies in the town of Achao on the island. Geography The commune of Quinchao includes most of the Quinchao Island (sharing its territory with the ...

, Puqueldón,

Chonchi Chonchi is a Chilean town and commune located in Los Lagos Region. The commune consists of the town of Chonchi and the following villages: * Rauco * Quinched * Vilupulli * Teupa * Terao * Petanes * Notue * Quiao * Huillinco * Cucao Demographic ...

, Queilén, Quellón, Chaitén,

Hualaihué Hualaihué () is a Chilean commune located in Palena Province, Los Lagos Region. The communal capital is the town of Hornopirén. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Hualaihué spans an area of and ...

, Futaleufú and Palena. The commune is represented in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

by Camilo Escalona Medina ( PS) and Carlos Kuschel Silva (RN) as part of the 17th senatorial constituency (Los Lagos Region).

Education

Previously the area had a German school, Deutsche Schule Ancud-Chiloe.Deutscher Bundestag 4. Wahlperiode Drucksache IV/3672

Archive
.

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Comm ...

(West Germany). 23 June 1965. Retrieved on 12 March 2016. p. 21/51.

Landmarks

Cathedral

Colonial fort system

The fort system of Ancud together with nearby the forts of Agüi one of the four fort systems that existed in colonial Chiloé. The fort system of Ancud is made up of two forts and four

batteries Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

. Fuerte Real de San Carlos was built as late as 1824 by orders of

Antonio de Quintanilla Antonio Quintanilla ( Pámanes, Spain; 1787 - † Almería, Spain; 1863) was a Spanish brigadier and Governor of Chiloé from 1820–1826. He was the last royalist to hold the position. Background Quintanilla was the son of Francisco de Quinta ...

, the last Spanish governor of Chiloé. The

arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...

(polvorín) of this can still be seen at the centre of a small plaza. The battery of San Antonio is the best preserved part of the fort system.

Gallery

File:Ancud-Fuerte San Antonio.jpg, Fuerte San Antonio File:AncudCostanera.jpg, Avenida Salvador Allende File:AncudCostanera2.jpg, Avenida Salvador Allende File:AncudCatedral.jpg, Cathedral File:AncudPlaza.jpg, Plaza de Armas and Town Hall File:AncudMonumento.jpg, Firebrigade Monument

References

External links

* *
Municipality of Ancud

Satellite view of the Chiloé archipielago (Google maps)

Satellite view of Ancud (Google maps)
{{Authority control Communes of Chile Port cities in Chile Populated places established in 1768 Populated places in Chiloé Province 1768 establishments in the Spanish Empire Populated coastal places in Chile