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Valdivia and the Spanish Empire
FORTS, ARMIES AND TECHNOLOGY

Spanish Empire

In contrast with Mexico and Peru, Chile lacks large pre-Columbian monuments. Only some ruins of a secondary character remain. Due to this, it was not until the establishment of the Spanish empire that large constructions began to appear in these remote lands at the bottom of the world.

These constructions, these magnificent castles bring to mind times passed of pirates and empires, of galleons and of gold. Violent times in which the sword and the canon defined the innumerable skirmishes for land, treasure and the world.

Listening to the history of the Spanish empire from the point of view of their ancient enemies, the Anglo-Saxons, gives the impression that it had been a weak empire, or that it subjugated easily to the designs of its enemies and in the end, that it was a total failure. Nothing is further from the truth. After all, there are hundreds of millions of people in tens of countries throughout the world who share these ethnic and cultural roots. The Spanish empire was perhaps the most successful empire of all, since it brought the Hispanic culture to many corners of the planet where it still flourishes today.

It was not easy for the Spanish crown to maintain its dominions overseas. It was entangled for centuries in continuous wars with its western rivals as much in Europe as in America, from the southern part of the United States to Cape Horn, as well as its territories in the Philippines, North Africa and many others. These fights had their origins in economic factors as much as religious ones. And the two were often combined - the military force behind the weight of the Catholic church.

These continual struggles were hugely expensive and were financed in part by the treasures of the Philippines, Mexico and Peru and on the other hand with debts which provoked, in the end, the ruin of the Spanish empire. Another factor to take into account was the large impact that the wars and emigration had on the Hispanic population, which produced serious demographic upheaval in the country. 

In the end, tired of fighting, Spain lost its colonies in America and Asia and was militarily humiliated.  Yet nevertheless, for three centuries they had managed to maintain the majority of the New World. 

The precious metals of Peru and Bolivia were a very important financial source for the Spanish empire. The gold and silver from these regions served to buy silk in Manila, slaves in Africa and paid for voyages from Europe which brought new products to the colonies. Under no circumstances would the empire permit the loss of such a source of wealth.

Pirates, like Francis Drake, cruised the Magellan strait and appeared on the south coast of Chile. They targeted the most indefensible populations on the Pacific coast between Mexico and Chile and sporadically attacked communities and killed civilians on their short forays onto land. As their forces were small in number, working in this manner allowed them to take such territories in a definitive way. 

They were, we must not forget, too far from Europe bases to begin battle in a direct form. In the Atlantic, pirates were successful in establishing strategic points in places like Jamaica and other places in the West Indies. From these they were successful in inflicting damage on Spanish trade with Europe. In the Pacific, nevertheless, the pirates lacked such enclaves from where they could launch their attacks.

The most suitable places in the Pacific for establishing bases were Chiloé and Valdivia on the  Chilean coast. This last was defended with painstaking care for the Spanish empire and its forts evoke these lost times of adventurers and empires. In fact, Chile was always a source of worry and expense for the Spanish empire, one which had to be maintained with a permanent force of men with the purpose of protecting the coasts from potential European enemies and to maintain a line against the rebellions of the indomitable indigenous Mapuches.

Technology of the age:The Military Spanish Heroes

Almost all the elements employed in the construction were made on site. From the rock and the mortar to the gun-carriages of the canons. All the engineering work and construction of the Hispanic forts was managed by Hispanic military engineers in the eighteenth century and who constituted the main body of the engineers of the king. 

Spain, if a little behind in scientific investigation, it was certainly not so with military engineering. The challenge of American colonization and the needs of the military and civilians, as soon as the permanent fighting against their European enemies had driven the development of military technology aside from scientific study. 

The art of designing rock structures, called stonecutting, was established in numerous publications of this age. They described the precise proportions to contruct forts, to cast canons and fire them, and many other civilian as well as military technologies of the age. All were made with the help of highly skilled plans and artistic skill and with the help of the maths, geometry and algebra of this time, adapted to the art of war.

In 1583 Emperor Felipe II funded the Academy of Mathematics in Madrid under whose auspices were some of the greatest geniuses of military theory in their time, such as: Cristóbal de Rojas (1555-1614), author of Teoría y Práctica de la Fortificación (Theory and Practice of Fortification), considered one of the most celebrated military engineers of the age; Bernardino de Mendoza, author of Teoría y Práctica de la Guerra (Theory and Practice of War) (1595) which was translated into German, French, Italian and English; and the mathematician Pedro Ambrosio de Onderiz, who translated into Castellano La Perspective Speculation (The Speculative Perspective) of Euclid and who wrote the treatise Uso de Globos. In America, military engineers produced a lot of work, some of which was truly spectacular. Highlighted among these were the Mexican aqueducts of Zempoala, Querétano and Xalpa, dams, forts and much more. They also studied the development of inter-oceanic canals in Nicaragua and Panamá, centuries before the idea was finally realized.

For the foundation of metallic elements, bricks and tiles and also for the fabrication of gun-carriages, doors and other elements in wood, it was necessary to install workshops which were called Royal Factories. The most important was the installation on Valenzuela island which lies in front of Valdivia. Here, all types of things were produced, and used not only locally but taken to other places of the empire.

The forts were constructed mainly from rock but also from bricks and lime. This last came from Calera in the central zone which at this time was a Jesuit base.

Ballast and Canons

Many of the canons of Valdivia came directly from Spain or better from Peru, as in the earlier periods locally-cast pieces were of lesser quality. Over time, of course, the skill of the artisanship improved greatly. Part of the materials were produced locally, while the rest were brought from the capital.

One of the advancements were little ovens installed a small distance from the canons. These had the aim of heating the balls to the point of redness, a curious technique but highly effective against the wooden boats of this time; this is how it came to be named the red boat. The cannonballs were heated red before firing them at the enemy.

Valdivian Shipyards

Not all the boats of the Spanish Empire were constructed on the Iberian peninsula, many of them were armed directly in the colonies. This is the case with the famous galleons of Manila, which made the route between the Philippines to Acapulco, Mexico. In South America also, they constructed boats and in Chile the main shipyards were situated in Chiloé, with the secondary in Valdivia.

This last region, plain of fine-wooded forests and a considerable strategic advantage, lended itself very well to the construction of frigates and other medium-sized boats. These were used to complement the Pacific defenses and for commercial voyages.

It was from then therefore, that Valdivia began to contruct boats and still today it produces small boats for fishing or tourism. It is in Talcahuano - further north - where the drafts of large Chilean boats are formed. 

Articles: Omar Vega