HISTORY OF CHILOé

It is believed that the first settlers of Chiloé arrived through the Bering Strait, about 8000 BC. The oldest human remains that are found on the island are in the town of Ancud, and date from between 5000 and 6000 years old.

The chonos and then huiliches inhabited the islands of the (archipelago) and many of the traditions of the area were inherited from these groups, such as curanto, a meal that is cooked in a hole in the ground, which was prepared by the Chonos. For their part, the huilliches were farmers and developed crops such as potatoes.

Subsequently in the time of the Spanish conquest in 1540 Alonso de Camargo sighted the coast of the island and Pedro de Valdivia years later led an expedition to collect geographic information, under the command of Captain Francisco de Ulloa, who came to Canal Chacao in 1553. In 1567 the city of Castro was founded.

Later, despite the battles between Spanish and Mapuche, the island was considered a strategic point for Spain. In 1748 the Municipality of Chiloé was created, which was dependent of Lima instead of being under the General Captaincy of Chile. In 1608 came the first mission of the Jesuits, who founded the first church of Castro in 1612, in order to evangelize the natives. It was the Jesuits who conducted chapels throughout the archipelago, so now you can find more than 150 churches scattered throughout the island.

Now in the late eighteenth century, the Camino Real, a land route that joined Valdivia and Chiloé facilitating trade was created. After the Independence of Chile, the island became the supply center for foreign whalers and the leading producer of railway sleepers in South America.

In 1843 the schooner Ancud, of the Chilean Navy took possession of the Strait of Magallanes, which until then had no effective sovereignty. This allowed the emigration of chilotes towards the Patagonia Argentina which then re-entered into Chilean territory and settled in Aysen and Magallanes.

In the late twentieth century, salmon farming increased on the island, opening Chiloe to a modern lifestyle that exists throughout the country.