Maullín, Chile 5.5

Maullín is Chilean town and commune in Llanquihue Province which is part of Los Lagos Region. The commune is located in at the outflow of Maullín River.HistoryIn 1674, there was a group of soldiers Basques in the present position of the commune. Which allowed early detection of movements of the attacks of internal and external enemies (mostly Dutchmen and Englishmen who entered through the Cape Horn). In 1787 was rebuilt the fort by Colonel Francisco Hurtado.During the Independence of Chile, follows a slow passage of many years, until a September 15, 1882, by Supreme Decree grants the rank of municipality.But the fate of Maullín and dynamic economic would be arrested by increasing industrialization and the opening of the Panama Canal.Into the early twentieth century, large ships arrived bringing manufactured goods from Europe. Until 1946 was a place where wood was exploited in large numbers, with numerous sawmills and docks on the river for shipping large cargo timber and by embancamiento sands at the mouth of rivers.DemographicsAccording to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Maullín spans an area of 860.8sqkm and has 15,580 inhabitants (8,146 men and 7,434 women). Of these, 6,896 (44.3%) lived in urban areas and 8,684 (55.7%) in rural areas. The population fell by 9% (1535 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.