Country Area 92.3 km2 | Region Biobio Founded 1764 | |
Talcahuano is a port city and commune in the Biobio Region of Chile. It is part of the Greater Concepcion conurbation. Talcahuano is located in the south of the Central Zone of Chile.
Contents
Map of Talcahuano
Downhill industrial talcahuano 2013
Geography
Together with ten other municipalities, it forms part of the Concepcion Province, which in turn is one of four provinces that forms the VIII Region of Biobio Region.
History
The official foundation date of Talcahuano is November 5, 1764 when Antonio Guill y Gonzaga declared an official port. However, Talcahuano began to appear in history books as early as 1544 when Genoese captain Juan Bautista Pastene discovered the mouth of the Biobio river while exploring the coast in his ships “San Pedro” and “Santiaguillo”. In 1601 Alonso de Ribera built Fort Talcahueno to defend remaining Spanish settlements near Concepcion.
The city is named after an Araucanian chief, Talcahuenu, who inhabited the region at the arrival of the Spanish. In Mapudungun, the language of the indigenous Mapuches, Talcahuano means “Thundering Sky”.
The port was well known to American whaleships of the 19th century. They often put in for fresh water, food, and various forms of entertainment for the crews.
Economy
Talcahuano contains Chiles main naval base which is home of the historical relic, the Huascar, a Peruvian ironclad ship (British-made), which was captured in 1879 during the War of the Pacific. It is also the base of the Chilean submarine fleet and the ASMAR shipyard.
Culture
Talcahuano entered football history when Ramon Unzaga Asla, a player for the local club Estrella del Mar, invented the famous bicycle kick (also known as "chilena") there in 1914.
The city is home to Club Deportivo Huachipato, a football club in Chiles Primera Division, playing at Estadio CAP.