Ancud

Ancud stands on the northern coast of Chiloé, overlooking the waters that separate the island from the mainland. Its sheltered position made it an important harbour and a place from which to guard the approaches to the archipelago. The surrounding island was home to indigenous communities before the arrival of the Spanish.

In 1768 Governor Carlos de Beranger founded the fortified villa of San Carlos de Chiloé, bringing settlers from Chacao. Forts around the bay, including San Carlos and San Miguel de Agüi, formed part of a defensive system protecting shipping and the Spanish possessions in the south. Beranger designed and built San Carlos between 1768 and 1771; the fort marked the site around which the new town grew. Agüi was begun in 1779, initially using timber and fascines. From 1784 the town was the seat of the intendancy of Chiloé, administered under the Viceroyalty of Peru.

Chiloé remained a royalist stronghold during the wars of independence. An expedition under Antonio Pareja sailed from the island in 1813, while later Chilean campaigns sought to capture it. The Chilean commander Ramón Freire directed the final expedition against the strongly defended town itself. After fighting at Pudeto and Bellavista in 1826, the Treaty of Tantauco brought the archipelago under Chilean rule. In 1834 San Carlos received the name Ancud and became a city.