View source for Corral, Chile

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{multiple issues|
{{original research |date= September 2023}}
{{more citations needed |date= September 2023}}
{{confusing |date= September 2023}}
}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name           = Corral
| settlement_type         = [[List of towns in Chile|Town]] and [[Communes of Chile|Commune]]
| nickname                = 
| motto                   = 
| image_skyline           = Corraldesdearriba.JPG
| image_caption           = View of Corral from the hills
| image_flag              = Bandera de Corral, Chile.svg
| flag_size               = 
| flag_alt                = Flag
| image_shield            = Escudo de Corral.svg
| shield_size             = 
| shield_alt              = Coat of arms
| image_map               = Comuna de Corral.svg
| map_caption             = Map of Corral in Los Ríos Region
| map_alt                 = Map of Corral in Los Ríos Region
| pushpin_map             = Chile
| pushpin_map_narrow      = yes
| pushpin_map_caption     = Location in Chile
| subdivision_type        = Country
| subdivision_name        = Chile
| subdivision_type1       = [[Regions of Chile|Region]]
| subdivision_name1       = [[Los Ríos Region|Los Ríos]]
| subdivision_type2       = [[Provinces of Chile|Province]]
| subdivision_name2       = [[Valdivia Province|Valdivia]]
| coor_pinpoint           = 
| coordinates             = {{Coord|39|53|18|S|73|25|57|W|region:CL-LR|display=inline,title}}
| government_footnotes    = <ref name="Munitel">{{Cite web |url=http://www.municipalidadcorral.cl/ |title=Asociación Chilena de Municipalidades |accessdate=7 February 2011 |language=es |archive-date=12 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512223327/http://www.municipalidadcorral.cl/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Official">{{Cite web |url=http://www.municipalidadcorral.cl/ |title=Municipality of Corral |accessdate=7 February 2011 |language=es |archive-date=12 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512223327/http://www.municipalidadcorral.cl/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
| government_type         = Municipality
| leader_title            = [[Alcalde]]
| leader_party            = ILE
| leader_name             = Miguel Hernández Mella
| established_title       = Founded
| established_date        = 1894
| unit_pref               = Metric
| area_footnotes          = <ref name="INE">{{Cite web |url=http://www.ine.cl/canales/chile_estadistico/censos_poblacion_vivienda/censo_pobl_vivi.php |title=National Statistics Institute |accessdate=13 December 2010 |language=es |archive-date=13 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101113145023/http://www.ine.cl/canales/chile_estadistico/censos_poblacion_vivienda/censo_pobl_vivi.php |url-status=live }}</ref>
| area_total_km2          = 766.7
| elevation_footnotes     = 
| elevation_m             = 61
| population_footnotes    = <ref name="INE"/>
| population_total        = 5084
| population_as_of        = 2012 census
| population_density_km2  = auto
| population_blank1_title = Urban
| population_blank1       = 3670
| population_blank2_title = Rural
| population_blank2       = 1793
| demographics_type1      = Sex
| demographics1_footnotes = <ref name="INE"/>
| demographics1_title1    = Men
| demographics1_info1     = 2,864
| demographics1_title2    = Women
| demographics1_info2     = 2,599
| population_demonym      = Corraleño
| timezone                = [[Time in Chile|CLT]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.world-time-zones.org/zones/chile-time.htm |accessdate=29 July 2010 |title=Chile Time |publisher=WorldTimeZones.org |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070911130719/http://www.world-time-zones.org/zones/chile-time.htm |archivedate=11 September 2007}}</ref>
| utc_offset              = −04:00
| timezone_DST            = [[Time in Chile|CLST]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.world-time-zones.org/zones/chile-summer-time.htm |accessdate=29 July 2010 |title=Chile Summer Time |publisher=WorldTimeZones.org |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070911130451/http://www.world-time-zones.org/zones/chile-summer-time.htm |archivedate=11 September 2007}}</ref>
| utc_offset_DST          = −03:00
| postal_code_type        = 
| postal_code             = 
| area_code               = 56 + 63
| blank_name              = [[Köppen climate classification|Climate]]
| blank_info              = [[Oceanic climate|Cfb]]
| website                 = [http://www.municipalidadcorral.cl Municipality of Corral]
}}
'''Corral''' is a town, [[Communes of Chile|commune]], and sea port in [[Valdivia Province]], [[Los Ríos Region]], [[Chile]]. It is located south of [[Corral Bay]]. During the colonial period, Corral was the headquarters of the [[Valdivian Fort System]], which protected [[Valdivia]]. Economic activities in Corral revolve around [[forestry]], [[aquaculture]], fishing, port services and both [[Heritage tourism|heritage]], and [[eco tourism]].

The town is connected by road to Valdivia and [[Caleta Chaihuín]], as well as via ferry to [[Niebla, Chile|Niebla]].

==History==
[[File:Fuertecorral.JPG|250px|thumb|left|Corral and its fort as seen from [[Niebla, Chile|Niebla]]]]
The settlement of Corral originated as the headquarters of the [[Valdivian Fort System]], which was built in 1645 to protect the city of [[Valdivia]]. 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.<ref name=Guarda1953-153>Guarda 1953, p. 153.</ref> 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.<ref name=Guarda1953-153/> Indigenous [[Cunco people|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.<ref name=Guarda1953-155>Guarda 1953, p. 155.</ref>{{Huh? |date=September 2023}}

The modern core of Corral grew around the fort Castillo de Corral in the 1770s.<ref name=angulo1997>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</ref> By 1798 this settlement outside the fort had a population of 49.<ref name=Guarda1953-154>Guarda 1953, p. 154.</ref><ref name=angulo1997/> During the [[Chilean Independence War]], Corral and Valdivia were united with [[Chiloé Archipelago|Chiloé]] as royalist strongholds. In 1820, [[Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald|Thomas Cochrane]], commander of the newly created [[Chilean Navy]], [[Capture of Valdivia|captured Corral and Valdivia]] in an amphibious attack.{{Citation needed |date=September 2023}}

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.{{Explanation needed |date=September 2023}}

Hydraulic sawmills were built in Corral in 1847–1848.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Conjuntos urbanos arquitectónicos Valdivia, ss. XVIII-XIX |last=Guarda O.S.B. |first=Gabriel |publisher=Ediciones Nueva Universidad |year=1980 |language=Spanish |author-link=Gabriel Guarda |pages=83}}</ref>

===Decline===
[[File:The center of Corral was almost completely destroyed by a tsunami - Autumn 1960.png|250px|thumb|left|The destroyed center of Corral in 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]] resulted in the loss of most domestic and international traffic to in Corral.{{Citation needed |date=September 2023}}

In 1910, [[Altos Hornos y Acerías de Corral]] opened in Corral what was then the largest [[steel mill]] in South America.<ref>It was the first steel mill in South America and was estimated to cost over two million US dollars.{{Explanation needed |reason=So was it the first or the largest? |date=September 2023}} {{Cite magazine |title=First Steel Mill in South America |date=14 October 1909 |magazine=American Machinist |volume=32 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zr9MAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA670 668]}}</ref> It produced high-cost [[pig iron]] using charcoal, and was labour-intensive.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Finer, Herman |year=1947 |title=The Chilean Development Corporation |location=Montreal, Canada |publisher=International Labour Office |page=30 |url=http://staging.ilo.org/public/libdoc/ilo/ILO-SR/ILO-SR_NS5_engl.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150811182652/http://staging.ilo.org/public/libdoc/ilo/ILO-SR/ILO-SR_NS5_engl.pdf |archivedate=11 August 2015 |url-status=dead |access-date=11 August 2015}}</ref><ref>[[CORFO]] subsidized a reorganization to try to save the facility.{{When |date=September 2023}}{{Why |date=September 2023}} {{Cite book |author=Butland, Gilbert J. |year=1951 |title=Chile : an outline of its geography, economics, and politics |location=London |publisher=Oxford University Press for the Royal Institute of International Affairs |page=97}} The reorganization included an expansion to try to reach production of 29,000 tons a year. {{Cite book |editor=Prebisch, Raúl |editor-link=Raúl Prebisch |year=1954 |title=Study of the Prospectsof Inter-Latin-American Trade |location=New York |publisher=United Nations |page=101 |url=http://archivo.cepal.org/pdfs/1954/S5400005.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150811191200/http://archivo.cepal.org/pdfs/1954/S5400005.pdf |archivedate=11 August 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> The steel mill proved to be an economical failure and was finally closed in 1958.{{Citation needed |date=September 2023}}

Corral was for a time{{When |date=September 2023}} an important [[whaling|whaling port]].<ref name=turismoballena>{{Cite web |url=https://oficinadeturismodecorral.jimdofree.com/historia-de-corral/historia-ballenera/ |title=La Industria Ballenera en Corral |access-date=2021-04-22 |website=oficinadeturismodecorral.jimdofree.com |url-status=live |publisher=Comuna de Corral |language=Spanish |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423130221/https://oficinadeturismodecorral.jimdofree.com/historia-de-corral/historia-ballenera/ |archive-date=23 April 2021}}</ref> The local whaling industry was disrupted for the duration of the [[First World War]], when it was impossible to import needed supplies, but resumed afterwards.<ref name=turismoballena/> [[Whaling in Chile]] declined dramatically in the 1960s and ended altogether in 1983.<ref name=quiroz2015>{{cite journal |last1=Quiroz |first1=Daniel |date=2015 |title=Balleneros en la niebla: Una mirada para-etnográfica de la caza de ballenas en Chile |language=es |trans-title=Whalers in the fog: Para-ethnographic outlook of whaling in Chile |url=https://scielo.conicyt.cl/scielo.php?pid=S0717-73562015000200015&script=sci_arttext&tlng=e |journal=[[Chungara (journal)|Chungara]] |volume=47 |issue=2 |doi=10.4067/S0717-73562015005000025 |access-date=November 12, 2015 |doi-access=free |archive-date=23 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423130217/https://scielo.conicyt.cl/scielo.php?pid=S0717-73562015000200015&script=sci_arttext&tlng=e |url-status=live }}</ref> Remnants of whaling infrastructure are still visible on land.<ref name=turismoballena/>

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.<ref name=navcar20>{{Cite book |title=Sesenta historias del Terremoto del 60 |last=Navarrete |first=Daniel |year=2020|publisher=Libros Verde Vivo |isbn=9789560919069 |language=Spanish |last2=Carrillo |first2=Daniel|page=20}}</ref> Among the losses were a series [[stilt house]]s between Corral Bajos and Amargos.<ref name=navcar20/> After the earthquake many families in corral relocated to the neighborhood of La Aguada.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Reconstrucción de la memoria histórica del barrio La Aguadam1906-2010 |last=Schwerter Langenbach |first=Carolina |publisher=Unidad de Comunicaciones Consejo de la Cultura y las Artes Región de Los Ríos |year=2010 |pages=36 |language=Spanish |last2=Basso Zapata |first2=Ismael}}</ref> As of 2015, only one pier, privately owned by a local company for the shipping of wood chips, remained.<ref name="Taylor">{{Cite book |author=Ian Taylor & Company |chapter=8.13 Corral |title=Port Information Chile |year=2015 |page=71 |url=http://www.iantaylor.com/prontus_iantaylor/site/artic/20080422/asocfile/20080422172505/port_chile.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304090602/http://www.iantaylor.com/prontus_iantaylor/site/artic/20080422/asocfile/20080422172505/port_chile.pdf |archivedate=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead |access-date=11 August 2015}}</ref> The maximum permissible draught is 12.20 metres.<ref name="Taylor" />

==Demographics==
According to the 2002 census of the [[National Statistics Institute (Chile)|National Statistics Institute]], Corral spans an area of {{cvt|766.7|sqkm|0}} 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.<ref name="INE"/>

==Administration==
As a commune, Corral is a third-level [[administrative division of Chile]] administered by a [[municipal council]], headed by an [[alcalde]] who is directly elected every four years. The 2008–2012 alcalde was Gaston Peréz González (ILE).<ref name="Munitel"/><ref name="Official"/>

Within the [[electoral divisions of Chile]], Corral is represented in the [[Chamber of Deputies of Chile|Chamber of Deputies]] by Alfonso De Urresti ([[Socialist Party of Chile|PS]]) and Roberto Delmastro ([[National Renewal (Chile)|RN]]) as part of the 53rd electoral district, together with [[Valdivia, Chile|Valdivia]], [[Lanco, Chile|Lanco]], [[San José de la Mariquina|Mariquina]] and [[Máfil]]. The commune is represented in the {{Current senators (16th senatorial constituency of Chile)}} as part of the 16th senatorial constituency (Los Ríos Region).

{{Geographic Location (8-way)
| Centre = ''Corral''
| Northwest = 
| North = [[Valdivia]]
| Northeast = 
| East = [[Paillaco]]
| Southeast = 
| South = [[La Unión, Chile|La Unión]]
| Southwest = 
| West = Pacific Ocean
}}

==See also==
*[[Altos Hornos y Acerías de Corral]]
*[[Guape]]
*[[Morro Gonzalo]]

==Notes and references==
{{Reflist}}

;Bibliography
*{{Cite book |title=Historia de Valdivia |last=Guarda Geywitz |first=Fernando |publisher=Imprenta Cultura |year=1953 |location=Santiago de Chile |pages= |language=Spanish |author-link=Gabriel Guarda}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Corral, Chile}}
*[http://www.municipalidadcorral.cl/ Municipality of Corral] {{in lang|es}}
{{Clear}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corral, Chile}}
{{Communes in Los Ríos Region}}

[[Category:Communes of Chile]]
[[Category:Populated places in Valdivia Province]]
[[Category:Port settlements in Chile]]
[[Category:Populated coastal places in Chile]]
[[Category:Coasts of Los Ríos Region]]