Antártica Chilena Province

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Flag of the Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region showing the southern cross.

Provincia Antártica Chilena is a sector of Antarctica which Chile considers a province of Chile in the southernmost region, Magallanes, being one of four provinces in that region. The capital is Puerto Williams. The province is about 1,250,000 km² in area, which makes it almost twice as large as all other provinces of Chile combined. The province is divided into two municipalities (comunas):

• Comuna of Cabo de Hornos (until 2001 called Navarino, capital Puerto Williams), area 14,146 km², population as of census 2002: 2,262, of which 1,952 are in the capital.

• Comuna of Antarctica (capital Puerto Covadonga, which is the civilian name for the Base General Bernardo O’Higgins Riquelme, the main Antarctic base of Chile), area 1,236,000 km², population: see below.

The Comuna of Cabo de Hornos is is undisputedly recognised as part of Chile.

The Comuna of Antarctica, which encompasses most of the area of the province, is disputed, as it forms the Chilean sector of Antarctica, stretching to the South Pole, which is generally unrecognised as part of Chile. It is practically uninhabited except for research stations of various countries, although Chile attempts to give the appearance of permanent habitation at Villa Las Estrellas (near Eduardo Frei Montalva Station), by the presence of women and children, a small school, and even a bank, in order to support its territorial claim of the area. The official population figure for the area as of the census 2002 is given as 130 (115 male, 15 female). This does not include the staff of non-Chilean bases in the area.

Chilean Antarctic Territory map in Spanish, Chilean names. It shows the Chilean research stations

According to the Chilean argument, its claim to the Antártica Chilena Province is as old as Chile itself. The Tordesilhas Line established a west/east division of colonial territories between Portugal and Spain. On the first organisation of the new conquered territories, Carlos V, ruler of the Spanish Empire assigned to Pedro Sancho de la Hoz control over Terra Australis, which included the Southern part of South America, Tierra del Fuego Archipelago, and all southern undiscovered territories (Terra Australis Ignota). This gobernation eventually merged with other territories in the Captaincy General of Chile. Under the provisions of the Antarctic Treaty System, the territorial claims of Chile and all of the other signatories with claims to any part of the Antarctic continent proper are suspended for the duration of their membership in the System and hence neither Chile nor any other power is currently making efforts to establish true national sovereignty over any part of Antarctica proper.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• XII Region of Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica
• Argentine Antarctica and Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica, and South Atlantic Islands
• British Antarctic Territory
• Antarctic Treaty System
• Antarctic Peninsula
• Diego Ramirez Islands
• Ildefonso Islands

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