Quiquilhue

Quiquilhue lies on the eastern shore of the great island of Chiloé, near the mouth of the Gamboa River. Huilliche and Chono inhabitants knew the place by this name before the Spanish founded Santiago de Castro here in 1567. The sheltered inlet and fresh water made it a suitable site for a settlement overlooking the channels of the archipelago.

Martín Ruiz de Gamboa’s expedition subdued the indigenous population and established Castro as the centre of the new Spanish province. After the destruction or abandonment of Spanish towns farther north at the end of the sixteenth century, Chiloé became isolated from the rest of colonial Chile and depended largely on sea communications. Jesuit missionaries based at Castro later travelled through the islands, visiting communities and establishing churches.