Corral is a town, commune and sea port in Valdivia Province, Los Ríos Region, Chile. It is located south of Corral Bay. Corral is best known for the forts of Corral Bay, a system of defensive batteries and forts made to protect Valdivia during colonial times. Corral was the headquarters of the system. Economic activities in Corral revolve around forestry, aquaculture, fishing, port services and both heritage and eco tourism. The town is connected to Valdivia by a gravel road, to Caleta Chaihuín by an asphalted road and to Niebla on the other side of the bay by a ferry service. History The settlement of Corral grew out from the headquarters of the forts of Corral Bay that were built in 1645 to protect the city of Valdivia. By that time Spanish ships sailed through Valdivia River all the way to Valdivia but Corral soon took over the role of receiving major ships. Until 1749 the fort of Corral had no more than four cannons. Renewed interest in the defense of Valdivia led Juan Zermeño to design an expansion of the fort. This expansion and modernization was carried out from 1767 to 1773 when works halted to focus on the battery of Chorocamayo. The works were led by Juan Garland who made extensive modifications to Zermeño's plans. With the Spanish king's Decree of Free Trade of 1778 cities in Spanish America were allowed to have direct commerce with Spain, which greatly stimulated commerce in Corral that benefited from trade routes across Cape Horn. Indigenous Cuncos who were at war with Spanish had planned to attack Corral in 1770 and built for that reason a road from Punta Galera to the port, which the Spanish garrison dismantled. The modern nucleus of Corral grew around the fort Castillo de Corral in the 1770s. By 1798 this settlement outside the fort had 49 inhabitants. During the Chilean Independence War Corral and Valdivia functioned together with Chiloé as a prominent royalist strongholds. In 1820 Thomas Cochrane, commanding the newly created Chilean Navy, took Corral and Valdivia by an amphibious attack. From the times of Chile's independence until the early 20th century Corral gained prominence as an important port for traffic between the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean, as Chilean port were declared open to ships sailing under any state flag. After being incorporated into Chile the forts in Corral fell gradually into disuse. Since