Fort Tauco facts for kids
| Fuerte Tauco | |
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Fort Tauco
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| Location | Estero de Castro, Chonchi Chile |
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| Designer | Miguel de Zorrilla |
| Type | Coastal battery |
| Completion date | 1779 |
Fort Tauco, also known as Fuerte Tauco in Spanish, is an old coastal fort. It was built in 1779 in the town of Chonchi. This town is located in the Province of Chiloe in southern Chile. The fort was designed to protect the coast.
Contents
What is the History of Fort Tauco?
How Was Fort Tauco Built?
Back in 1767, the government of Chiloé became separate from the main government of Chile. It was then directly connected to the Viceroyalty of Perú. This was a big change for the Chiloé islands. It led to many new things, like building military forts. These forts were placed around the Chacao Channel and in the middle of the province.
Because of these changes, a Spanish engineer named Miguel de Zorrilla designed Fort Tauco. His goal was to build a fort that could protect the entrance to Castro. Castro was the capital city of the province at that time.
Zorrilla chose a narrow spot in the fjord (a long, narrow sea inlet) near Castro. To build the fort, a part of a hill was cut away. This created a flat area, like a terrace, for the fort. Here, three cannons and a large gun called a culverin were set up. A culverin was a long, heavy cannon used in the past.
Soldiers also had barracks at the fort. These were buildings where they could stay when they were on guard duty. To protect the fort from attacks from the sea, it had a strong wall in front of the terrace. This wall was made of bundles of sticks and branches, called fascines.
A lookout post was also built nearby. This helped keep watch over the fjord and warn the fort of any danger.
What Happened to Fort Tauco Later?
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Fort Tauco was never actually used in a real battle. During the wars for independence, it mostly served as an alert system. It helped communities in the area know if there was danger.
After 1826, the fort was left empty. In 1930, its cannons were moved to Castro. They were used as decorations in the city's main square for many years. During this move, the culverin was lost when it fell into the water.
In 1926, Fort Tauco was declared a national monument. But later, in 1983, this title was removed. This happened because a report said that Fort Tauco and other forts were completely destroyed.
However, the fort has since been restored. Three cannons were brought back from Castro to their original spots at the fort. Any old items found during digging at the fort are now kept at the Municipal Museum of Castro.
In 2015, more restoration work was done. A new wooden lookout was built on the old terrace. It now has information about the site and a lighting system that can be seen from the sea. These improvements were finished in early 2016.
See also
In Spanish: Fuerte Tauco para niños
