Year 1851 - Punta Arenas Colony

In Punta Arenas there was a penal colony. The Government had decided that the most cruel criminals should be sent to Magallanes to serve their sentences. In April 1851, the schooner "Infatigable" arrived at the Strait, on which the new Governor of the colony, Don Benjamín Muñoz Gamero , who had previously been a ship commander, was travelling. His first task was to finish the works started by his predecessor, build new buildings and order the cleaning of the surroundings of the city, leaving them free of trees, in order to begin planting.

*** INFORMATION: The main square of Punta Arenas had several names. After the settlers moved from the distant Fort Bulnes to the banks of the Carbón River, a plot of land with an important location, 100 meters long by 100 meters wide, was selected. That esplanade was pompously called Plaza Esmeralda, and that was the first name. It did not undergo major changes until 1871, when Governor Oscar Viel renamed Plaza Esmeralda with the name of Plaza Benjamín Muñoz Gamero, in honor of the famous and martyred governor of the territory of Magallanes assassinated in the Cambiazo mutiny of 1851. Here is a LINK https://youtu.be/Q2VPbTOfpdg

On María Isabel Street, the only one in the town and now Magallanes Street, there were houses on both sides, including the hospital, the residence of the Parish Priest, the cattle foreman and the barracks of the Artillery Company, called La Fija de Magallanes, which kept order among the exiles and prisoners.

A little further on was the Government House, made up of three bodies, 26 rooms and a central courtyard. Further north, on the current Avenida Bulnes, there was an open field, called Pampa Chica (sector of Rómulo Correa street), which was used for grazing animals and horse racing.

Life in the colony was peaceful and people worked with confidence. Governor Muñoz Gamero took care to build a women's ward in the hospital, build new houses to accommodate families, facilitate the use of drinking water, build a lighthouse and plan a dock.

Miguel José Cambiazo

Everything was going well until a lieutenant who would become famous for his horrendous crimes arrived in Punta Arenas to join the Artillery Company. This was Miguel José Cambiazo , only 26 years old, who came to the colony of Magallanes to serve a sentence. He was arrogant, daring and insolent. He disrespected his boss, Captain Gabriel Salas, on several occasions. Governor Muñoz Gamero did not look kindly on him. On the other hand, the exiles and the prisoners were sympathetic to him. Soon he began to cause disorder in the colony.