Patagonia Verde Territory

 

History

 

The territory Patagonia Verde, starts its history in the colonization at the end of the XIX century.

 

However, long time before that the area was occupied by various originary people of the country. Amongst these there were the Huilliches, Mapuches, Tehuelches, Cuncos, Poyas and Chonos.

 

Due to the great extension of this land, from sea to mountain, the variety of native towns were distributed in different localities characterizing like this the activities which were given by the geographical and climate conditions of each place.

 

Close to the mountains were stablished the Cuncos, Tehyelches, Mapuches and Poyas, who practiced the hunting mainly and part of the harvesting and agriculture.

 

The Huilliches and Chonos were installed close to the coast and they were sailors and fishermen, they moved from the insular territory and the fjord and estuaries waters. They never got too much into the continent territory. They covered themselves with sea animals skins like sea lion.

 

During the colonization, inhabitants from various places in Chile and Argentina arrived at the place even though the access was very difficult and still complicates the people who live there.

 

The ones that came from the Araucanía region, arrived at the area through Argentina and due to the proximity with the neighbour country, also was a lot of activities from one country to the other, so this gave the comunes of Futaleufú and Palena a special characteristic where the cultures, traditions and accents get mixed.

 

So proximity and the constant movement between both countries also caused conflicts that needed the intervention of Queen Elisabeth II to be solved.

 

In 1905 arrived at the area inhabitants from the Chiloe island, and in 1911 the first inhabitants that arrived through Argentina.

 

The actual names of the five communes that belong to the Patagonia Verde territory; Cochamó, Hualaihué, Palena, Chaitén and Futaleufú, are inheritance by the native people who lived there in the past.