El sistema defensivo del Antemural del Pacífico y Llave del Mar del Sur. Las fortificaciones de la Cuenca de Valdivia y la Bahía de Corral (Chile)

Abstract

[EN] From the Discovery of America, one of the priorities that had the Spanish Crown was to provide a good defensive system to all the territories to prevent for indigenous raids and try to curb piracy in the Caribbean area and Pacific surfaces. Between the Sixteenth and Eighteenth Centuries in the American colonial space, fortifications were built following various models from the Old Continent, like proposals from Italy, France or Flanders. One of the most sensitive areas was the Pacific and the key points for this defense were Valdivia Basin and Bay of Corral, and which were the Pacific and South Sea Key, a fortified system in which embody the great advances in architecture and engineering, and is a example of Spanish colonial military architecture. We want to present the history of this important defensive system, its main enclaves, the people involved in its construction and operation during the Modern Age.