Discovered in 1574, these islands were visited by corsairs and pirates, serving as a prison for Chilean independence patriots in the 19th Century, and were the settings of one of the most famous novels of our time.
Today they are home to a population of over 1000 people, who live mainly from lobster fishing and tourism, and are consecrated as a model of sustainability.
In 1574 the Spanish explorer and sailor Juan Fernández was searching for the quickest route between the Peruvian port of El Callao and Penco in Chile. By deviating towards the west of the cost he managed to avoid the Humboldt current that would have slowed down the journey towards the south of the continent, and here he discovered the uninhabited islands of Juan Fernández and Desventuradas.
During the 17th Century and the first half of the 18th Century, the Juan Fernández Islands were sporadically occupied by Dutch, English and French sailors, pirates and corsairs who, in the midst of their raids ravaging the seas and coasts of America, would reach this point on the Pacific to stock up, take refuge or replenish the strength of their crews, decimated by hunger and diseases such as scurvy.
The island of Robinson Crusoe is known worldwide thanks to Daniel Defoe’s novel. Published in 1719, it is based on the true story of a Scottish sailor, Alexander Selkirk, who, after being abandoned on the uninhabited island, spent four years and four months living entirely alone before being rescued in 1709.
By order of the Spanish Crown, aiming to populate and defend Juan Fernández, in 1750 the first population arrives on the island of Robinson Crusoe, then known as Más a Tierra (Closer to Land), made up of 171 settlers, men and women, under the command of Governor Juan Navarro de Santaella.
Among these were two priests, a surgeon, an engineer in charge of drawing the map of the island, and 22 convicts assigned to fortify the bay, as well as livestock and weapons. This is how the construction of the Santa Barbara fort and the town of San Juan Bautista began.
During the war of independence after the Battle of Rancagua that marked the start of the Spanish Reconquest of Chilean territory in 1814, around 300 patriots accused of leading the revolution were exiled to the Juan Fernández Island in precarious conditions and confined to the caves dug over Cumberland Bay, which would later be declared a National Monument in 1979. The reestablishment of the Republic after the battle of Chacabuco in 1817 put an end to the confinement of the patriots after spending 27 months in isolation.
Since its discovery, there have been a series of attempts at colonization by various nations, none of which were successful until the arrival of the Swiss citizen Alfred Von Rodt in 1877, who leased the islands that had made Robinson Crusoe famous, to the Chilean State, with the intention of creating a diverse and harmonious community with nature and developing trade.
Descendent of a wealthy family from Bern, upon arrival on the island, then populated by 64 inhabitants, he ventured into the trade of wolf skins, logging for charcoal and installing the first lobster canning factory, companies which, although not achieving the expected success, allowed for the settlement of an island community that remains to this day, with the descendants of the first European settlers.
In 1895 the Chilean Government issued a decree declaring the Juan Fernández Islands a colony. One year later, the plan for a town in San Juan Bautista and the concession of sites for fishermen were approved.
During the First World War, and after having remained hidden in the southern fjords of Chile following the German defeat in the Falkland Islands, the German battleship Dresden made landfall on the shores of Juan Fernández to refuel and repair its damaged machines. The Chilean government, neutral in the war, allowed it to carry out these operations in 72 hours. However, before the deadline, on March 14th 1915, the ship was spotted by the English navy and the Dresden was attacked.
Faced with imminent defeat, the captain, Emil Fritz Lüdecke decided to sink her to prevent capture. The crew was evacuated and the wounded transferred to the mainland. The Dresden is currently 78 meters below sea level, 500 meters from the shore at Cumberland Bay.
In 1935 the State of Chile created the Juan Fernández Archipelago National Park, the second oldest in the country, comprising 9,571 hectares, establishing the protection of the Santa Clara and Alejandro Selkirk islands and most of Robinson Crusoe Island.
Towards the end of the 19th Century, the lobster fishing industry was in the hands of various companies on the continent. Due to the isolation and lack of supervision from Valparaiso, these groups had total control of the economy of the island, and had been abusing this power. The companies managed the delivery of goods, the general store, the boat and fishing equipment, leaving the islanders in a position of absolute dependence, without control of their exports or resources. This period of history is known as the “los patronados” in the chronology of Juan Fernández’ history.
In the 1940s, tired of years of abuse and exploitation of both themselves and the sea, the fishermen decided to act. They built clandestine boats at night, working by torchlight, which would be independent and hidden from the companies. These independent boats allowed for the creation of the Juan Fernández Fishermen’s Cooperative in 1967, and with it, the eradication of extractivist companies.
The Villagra Group was a group of islanders who organized themselves in response to territorial and political isolation from continental Chile. They built public works for the benefit of local development such as an aerodrome, roads, houses and drinking water infrastructure, inspired by the ideas of civil responsibility and progress. This group contributed significantly to the sociocultural, economic and political development of Juan Fernández.
UNESCO declared the Archipelago a Biosphere Reserve, in order to promote the protection of the endemic flora and fauna of the island that was being threatened by the introduction of exotic species from the continent. Biósfera, con el fin de promover la protección a la flora y fauna endémica del lugar, amenazada por la introducción de especies exóticas desde el continente.
The Juan Fernández Multiple-Use Coastal Marine Protected Area and 5 Marine Parks (Crusoe and Selkirk Seamounts, Selkirk Lobería, El Arenal, Tierra Blanca and El Palillo) are approved. The initiative, promoted by the community, establishes twelve miles of water exclusively for artisanal fishing, research and tourism, and as a whole includes the protection of an area of over 12,000 km2.
With the declaration of the Nasca - Desaventuradas Marine Park, for the protection of an area of 297,000 km2 of the ocean around the islands of San Ambrosio and San Félix, Chile becomes the country with the largest protected marine area in the Americas.
The Mar de Juan Fernández Marine Park is created, covering an area of 262,000 km2, and the Juan Fernández Multiple-Use Coastal Marine Protected Area is extended to 24 nautical miles from the coastline, completing a total area of 24,000 km2.
