Quiriquina Island,

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 ...

is located at the entrance to the Bay of Concepción, 11 km north of

Talcahuano Talcahuano () (From Mapudungun ''Tralkawenu'', "Thundering Sky") is a port city and commune in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is part of the Greater Concepción conurbation. Talcahuano is located in the south of the Central Zone of Chile. Geo ...

. (''Quiriquina'' is a Mapuche word meaning "many True thrushes"). In April, 1557, Don Garcia de Mendoza, Spanish governor of 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 ...

, arrived at Concepción with a large force of infantry and established himself upon Quiriquina. He then used it as a base for his campaign against 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 ...

in the continuing

Arauco War The Arauco War was a long-running conflict between colonial Spaniards and the Mapuche people, mostly fought in the Araucanía. The conflict began at first as a reaction to the Spanish conquerors attempting to establish cities and force Mapuche ...

. In 1835, shortly after earthquake in the nearby city of Concepción,

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...

, voyaging around the world on board HMS ''Beagle'', visited the island. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the Chilean government used Quiriquina to

intern An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and gove ...

the crew of the German cruiser . Then-lieutenant

Wilhelm Canaris Wilhelm Franz Canaris (1 January 1887 – 9 April 1945) was a German admiral and the chief of the ''Abwehr'' (the German military-intelligence service) from 1935 to 1944. Canaris was initially a supporter of Adolf Hitler, and the Nazi re ...

, who escaped with two other crew members, was among the internees. 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 Pinochet regime used the island as a

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

for

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...

s from Concepción and the Bío Bío Region. This camp was active from 11 September 1973 to April 1975.Derechos Chile website about Quiriquina's use as concentration camp
Quiriquina Island
, retrieved on 14 February 2013 On the northwest of the island there is a lighthouse. To the southeast there is ''Fort Rondizzoni'', which consisted of dormitories, mess facilities, latrines, and an infirmary, all for the guards.Memoria viva website about Quiriquina's use as concentration camp

retrieved on 14 February 2013

References

Sources

* Francisco Solano Asta-Buruaga y Cienfuegos
''Diccionario geográfico de la República de Chile''
Segunda edición corregida y aumentada, Nueva York, D. Appleton y Compañía. 1899.] page 632
Sclerorhynchid teeth from the Late Cretaceous of the Quiriquina Formation
{{Authority control Islands of Biobío Region Imprisonment and detention Coasts of Biobío Region

See also

References

Sources