Chiloe

Chiloe is famous for myths and legends with roots in its native population but with some European influence. Even though the island was Christianized by Spanish conquerors (you can visit many of the Jesuit wooden churches all over the island) its inhabitants are also very superstitious. A singing, fair-haired beauty similar to the German Lorelei is called la pincoya. It is said that if she dances towards the coast the sea will bring a lot of fish. A ghost ship carrying the souls of wrecked sailors, similar to the Flying Dutchman, is called caleuche. And if someone tells you he or she was seduced in the forest, it might have been the fiura or the trauco, which is often blamed for venereal disease or an awkward pregnancy. A very pitiful figure is the invunche; as a baby his orifices, including his eyes, were closed and one leg was sewn to his back, so that he walks on three legs.


The Isla Grande of Chiloé is South America's largest island and among its most striking cultural anomalies. Divided by the gentle peaks of the Coastal Range, Chiloé's eastern and western coasts are two worlds apart. To the west is a wilderness of endless beaches, dune habitat, and temperate rainforests, much of it protected in one of Chile's most forgotten national parks. To the east are the scattered islands of the Chiloé archipelago, sheltered from Pacific storms, intensely cultivated, home to a traditional culture of subsistence farmers, fishermen, and craftsmen.


The Jesuit order made this corner of the earth their special responsibility, erecting schools and over two hundred elegant wooden churches, nine of which are protected as national monuments. A rich mythology - populated by strange trolls, sea monsters, and eerie ghost ships - is yet another mark of Chiloé's singular history. 
Today, Chiloé balances wild, unbridled nature with one of South America's most remarkable traditional cultures. Renowned for its seafood, its woolen handicrafts, and the warmth of its people, Chiloé is still a largely unknown destination for walking and biking, fishing, paddling and birding. 
The town of Castro, characterized by its fleets of yellow fishing boats and distinctive palafito houses built on stilts above the tides, is easily accessible and provides a full range of tourist services. The charming islands of the archipelago, meanwhile, can only be visited by boat or kayak.



Historical Description


In the 16th century the inhabitants of the Chiloé archipelago followed a sedentary way of life, based on a mixed farming and fishing economy. Spanish navigators had discovered the Archipelago by the mid-16th century, but colonization did not begin until 1567, when Martín Ruiz de Gamboa founded the towns of Santiago de Castro and Chacao on the Isla Grande de Chiloé.


The Spaniards were impressed by the mild, receptive character of the local people. The universal encomienda system was applied, whereby the indigenous people paid tributes to the Spanish crown by working for the settlers in return for food and religious instruction. There were occasional native revolts, of which the most serious occurred in 1712, occasioned by the harsh treatment of the natives by the encomenderos of the time, who accused the Jesuits of having inspired the revolt, which was brutally repressed.


Missionaries had arrived with the first settlers, from the orders of St Francis and Our Lady of Mercy. Following an exploratory visit in 1608, the Society of Jesus began sending its members to initiate the process of evangelization that was to shape the cultural features of the Archipelago and to result in the building of the churches that figure in the present nomination.


The Jesuit strategy was encapsulated in the Peripatetic Mission. Annual tours were made by groups of Jesuits setting out from their College in Castro during the temperate months. They spent a few days at each of their missions according to a planned schedule; the missions had been founded close to the shore so as to permit these tours to be made by boat. While there they would attend to the spiritual and material needs of the communities. At first these missions were not permanently inhabited, but over time the Jesuits began building chapels and lodgings for their members, constructed by the local community using local materials and techniques. They appointed laymen, chosen from the leading families, to serve as fiscales, to care for the church and its cemetery and to minister to the basic spiritual needs of the community. 


This was in the Jesuit tradition, which encouraged active development of their own social and religious life by indigenous communities. By the end of the 19th century over a hundred churches had been built; between fifty and sixty survive to the present day.


Pirate raids were a feature of the 17th century, and the Spaniards living in the towns began to desert them in favour of greater security in the countryside. By so doing they took over the lands of the indigenous people, increasing racial and cultural assimilation between the two groups. The majority Chilota group in the Archipelago is the result of this process of interbreeding (mestizaje). Christianity was embraced by the natives whilst the Spaniards adopted the local language, Veliche (now extinct), for communication. The Spaniards also adopted the way of life of the local people, engaging in fishing and agriculture and using their technologies.
When the Jesuits were expelled in 1767 their work was continued by the Franciscans, who appreciated the value of the Jesuits' work and actively continued it. They used the Peripatetic Mission as the basis for the creation of nine centres, each with its own area of work. This was to become the present parish system, created in 1840.


Despite the efforts of the Spanish colonial power, the towns became no more than administrative centres, and by the time colonial rule came to an end there were no more than five towns (villas) in Chiloé. The strategic importance of the Archipelago was recognized, however, and it was dependent on the Captaincy General of Lima rather than that of Chile. The military garrison was stationed in the fortress of San Carlos de Ancud, founded in 1768.


The Chilota population was deeply loyal to the Spanish Crown. When the struggle for Chilean independence began in 1810, Chiloé became the headquarters of the Spanish operation to recover Chile and Peru. Although this failed, Chiloé remained a Spanish enclave after Chile finally won its independence in 1818; it remained the last toehold of Spanish rule in South America until it was incorporated into the new Republic eight years later.
Chiloé enjoyed a period of prosperity in the 19th century. Its ports were visited by ships travelling south and its timber was a major export. This came to an end at the end of the century, as a result of the opening of the Panamá Canal and the over-exploitation of the islands' cypress and larch trees. During the first half of the 20th century the economy also suffered from serious problems in agriculture and stockbreeding. As a result there was substantial Chilota emigration southwards, to Patagonia and the Magallanes Straits area. At the present time the economy of the Archipelago is developing on the basis of the controlled industrial exploitation of the natural resources (timber and fish) and traditional agriculture and fishing.