Corral is a town, commune, and sea port in

Valdivia Province Valdivia Province (; ) is one of two Provinces of Chile, provinces of the southern Chilean Regions of Chile, region of Los Ríos Region, Los Ríos (XIV). The provincial capital is Valdivia (city), Valdivia. Located in the province are two importan ...

, Los Ríos Region,

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. It is located south of Corral Bay. During the colonial period, Corral was the headquarters of the Valdivian Fort System, which protected

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 ...

. Economic activities in Corral revolve around

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. Nelu ...

, fishing, port services and both

heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset A heritage asset is an item which has value because of its contribution to a nation's society, knowledge and/or culture. Such items are usually physical assets, but some countries also ...

, and eco tourism. The town is connected by road to Valdivia and Caleta Chaihuín, as well as via ferry to Niebla.

History

The settlement of Corral originated as the headquarters of the Valdivian Fort System, which was built in 1645 to protect the city of

. At the time, Spanish ships sailed along the Valdivia River to Valdivia, but Corral soon took over the role of receiving major ships. The fort of Corral had no more than four cannons until 1749.Guarda 1953, p. 153. Renewed interest in the defense of Valdivia led Juan Zermeño to expand and improve the fort between 1767 and 1773, when work was halted to focus on the battery of Chorocamayo. The renovation was executed by Juan Garland, who extensively modified Zermeño's plans. Indigenous Cuncos, who were at war with the Spanish, had planned to attack Corral in 1770 and had built for that reason a road from Punta Galera to the port, which the Spanish garrison dismantled.Guarda 1953, p. 155. The modern core of Corral grew around the fort Castillo de Corral in the 1770s.Angulo, S.E. (1997). "La Artillería y los Artilleros en Chile. Valdivia y Chiloé como antemural del Pacífico". ''Militaria: revista de cultura militar'', 10, pp. 237-264 By 1798 this settlement outside the fort had a population of 49.Guarda 1953, p. 154. During the Chilean Independence War, Corral and Valdivia were united with Chiloé as royalist strongholds. In 1820, Thomas Cochrane, commander of the newly created

Chilean Navy The Chilean Navy () is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense (Chile), Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso. History Ori ...

, captured Corral and Valdivia in an amphibious attack. Through the early 20th century, Corral was an important port for traffic between the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans, as Chilean port were declared open to ships sailing under any state flag. Hydraulic sawmills were built in Corral in 1847–1848.

Decline

The center of Corral was almost completely destroyed by a tsunami - Autumn 1960

Corral's economy experienced a series of events in the 20th century that led its decline. Train routes that connected Valdivia and Osorno to central Chile, as well as the opening of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

resulted in the loss of most domestic and international traffic to in Corral. In 1910, Altos Hornos y Acerías de Corral opened in Corral what was then the largest

steel mill A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-fini ...

in South America. It produced high-cost

pig iron Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate good used by the iron industry in the production of steel. It is developed by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with si ...

using charcoal, and was labour-intensive. The steel mill proved to be an economical failure and was finally closed in 1958. Corral was for a time an important whaling port. The local whaling industry was disrupted for the duration of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, when it was impossible to import needed supplies, but resumed afterwards. Whaling in Chile declined dramatically in the 1960s and ended altogether in 1983. Remnants of whaling infrastructure are still visible on land. The decline of Corral culminated in 1960 with the Great Chilean Earthquake. With a magnitude of 9.4–9.6, it remains the largest ever recorded. Houses, roads, and port facilities were destroyed. The resulting tsunami obliterated the neighborhood of Corral Bajo and approximately 30% of nearby Corral Alto. Among the losses were a series

stilt house Stilt houses (also called pile dwellings or lake dwellings) are houses raised on Stilts (architecture), stilts (or piles) over the surface of the soil or a body of water. Stilt houses are built primarily as a protection against flooding; they als ...

s between Corral Bajos and Amargos. After the earthquake many families in corral relocated to the neighborhood of La Aguada. As of 2015, only one pier, privately owned by a local company for the shipping of wood chips, remained. The maximum permissible draught is 12.20 metres.

Demographics

According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Corral spans an area of and has 5,463 inhabitants (2,864 men and 2,599 women). Of these, 3,670 (67.2%) lived in urban areas and 1,793 (32.8%) in rural areas. The population fell by 5.2% (302 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Corral 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, borough cou ...

, headed by an

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

who is directly elected every four years. The 2008–2012 alcalde was Gaston Peréz González (ILE). Within the

electoral divisions of Chile This article covers the electoral division of Chile, which involves two distinct systems: # Chamber of Deputies of Chile, Chamber of Deputies and Senate of Chile, Senate: Chile is divided into electoral districts and senatorial constituencies for ...

, Corral 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 Bourb ...

by Alfonso De Urresti ( PS) and Roberto Delmastro ( RN) as part of the 53rd electoral district, together with

, Lanco, Mariquina and Máfil. The commune is represented in the as part of the 16th senatorial constituency (Los Ríos Region).

Notes and references

;Bibliography *

External links