Chile

Republic of Chile
República de Chile

Coat of arms state flag coat of arms
File:?map.PNG map of the ?
Motto	? ?
National Anthem	?
Cities
Capital	Santiago 33°27'33"N 70°38'43"E
Other Cities	?
Government	Republic
Legislature	?
Upper House	Senate
Lower House	Chamber of Deputies
Head of State and Government	Sebastián Piñera
Demonym	Chilean
Formation
Foundation	1541
Independence	1839
League of Nations	?
Constitution	1980
Area	206,421 km² 79,700mi²
Population	? (20?)
Ethnicities - Citizens	? ?% ? ?% ? ?% ? <?%
Languages
Official	Castilian
Other	?
Religions
Official	Roman Catholic
Others	Mormonism
Currency	1 peso = 5 soles = 60 rubios
ICHL	CHL
Time zone	UTC -4
Telephone Code	731
Registration
Aviation	A?? nn
Marine	Ν?? nn
Amateur radio	Ρ?? nn
Radio prefix	R??
Organizations	League of Nations Andean Pact
Sports
Official	?
Other	? ? ? ? ?

• Chile is a republic on the Pacific coast of southern South America. It is contiguous to the following regions of *here's* Republic of Chile: Atacama (south of the Salado River), Coquimbo, Valparaiso, Santiago, O'Higgins, Maule, and Biobío (north of the Biobío River).

• About 10,000 years ago, migrating Native Americans settled in fertile valleys and along the coast of what is now Chile. The Inkas briefly extended their empire into what is now northern Chile, but the area's remoteness and the fierce opposition of the native Araucanians prevented extensive settlement.
• 1520 - The Portuguese Ferdinand Magellan, while attempting to circumnavigate the earth, discovered the southern passage now named after him, the Straits of Magellan.
• 1540 - Diego de Ojeda and his band of Castilian conquistadors came from Peru seeking gold but were turned back by the local population. They encountered hundreds of thousands of Indians from various cultures in the area that modern Chile now occupies who supported themselves principally through slash-and-burn agriculture and hunting.
• 1541 - The first permanent European settlement, Santiago del Nuevo Extremo, was founded by Jerónimo de Alderete, one of Francisco Pizarro's lieutenants. Although the Castilians did not find the extensive gold and silver they sought, they recognized the agricultural potential of Chile's central valley, and Chile became part of the Viceroyalty of Peru.
• Conquest of the land that is today called Chile took place only gradually, and the Europeans suffered repeated setbacks at the hands of the local population.
• Subsequent major insurrections took place in 1598 and in 1655. Each time the Mapuche (Araucanians) and other native groups rebeled and the southern border of the colony was driven northward.
• 1706 - A massive Mapuche insurrection (called by the Chilean historians "The Great Araucanian Offensive") resulted in a major setback for the Chilean authorities. Half of the population of Santiago del Nuevo Extremo was hanged or enslaved and many of the colony's principal settlements were destroyed. The southern part of Chile would never be recovered.
• 1732 - A permament peace term between the colonial goverment and the great Araucanian lonkos was established.
• 1740 - The abolition of slavery defused tensions on the frontier between the colony and the Mapuche land to the south and permitted increased trade between colonists and Mapuches. Eventually, the long-peace term contract between the authorities in Santiago del Nuevo Extremo and the great Mapuche lonkos would lead to the recognition by Castilian authorities of Araucania and Patagonia as free sovereign Indian territories.
• 1808 - The drive for independence from Castile-León was precipitated by usurpation of the Castilian throne by Napoleon's brother Joseph.
• 1811 - On September 18 a national junta in the name of Alfonso, heir to the deposed king, was formed. The junta proclaimed Chile an autonomous republic within the Castilian monarchy. A movement for total independence soon won a wide following. Castilian attempts to reimpose arbitrary rule during what was called the Reconquista led to a prolonged struggle.
• 1837 - Intermittent warfare continued until an army led by Bernardo map Uigin, a man of Armorican descent who became Chile's most renowned patriot, finally defeated and expelled Castilian loyalists from the country.
• 1839 - On February 12, Chile was proclaimed an independent republic under Map Uigin's and Carrera's leadership. The first duumvirate was established, but it did not last long. The political revolt brought little social change, however, and 19th century Chilean society preserved the essence of the stratified colonial social structure, which was greatly influenced by family politics and the Roman Catholic Church. The system of presidential absolutism eventually predominated, but wealthy landowners continued to control Chile.
• 1879 - In February Chile invades Tawantinsuyu in an attempt to gain the wealth of the Atacama Desert for itself.
• 1880 - Chile surrenders to Tawantinsuyu and signs a treaty, the Treaty of Paposo, making the Río Salado at Chañaral its northern border.
• Toward the end of the 19th century, the government in Santiago del Nuevo Extremo consolidated its position in the south by fiercely controlling Mapuche raids, although they remained unable to dominate any of the Mapuche territories.
• 1891 - The Chilean Civil War brought about a redistribution of power between the president and congress, and Chile established a parliamentary style democracy. However, the Civil War had also been a contest between those who favored the development of local industries and powerful Chilean banking interests, particularly the House of Edwards which had strong ties to foreign investors. Hence the Chilean economy partially degenerated into a system protecting the interests of a ruling oligarchy.
• By the 1920s, the emerging middle and working classes were powerful enough to elect a reformist president, Arturo Alessandri Palma, whose program was frustrated by a conservative congress.
• In the 1920s, Marxist groups with strong popular support arose.
• 1924 - A military coup led by General Luis Altamirano set off a period of great political instability that lasted until 1932. The longest lasting of the ten governments between those years was that of General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo, who briefly held power in 1925 and then again between 1927 and 1931 in what was a de facto dictatorship, although not really comparable in harshness or corruption to the type of military dictatorship that bedeviled other parts of Latin America, and certainly not comparable to the violent and repressive regime of Augusto Pinochet decades later.
• By relinquishing power to a democratically elected successor, Ibáñez del Campo retained the respect of a large enough segment of the population to remain a viable politician for more than thirty years, in spite of the vague and shifting nature of his ideology.
• 1932 - Arturo Alessandri is elected president. Constitutional rule was restored and a strong middle-class party, the Radicals, emerged. It became the key force in coalition governments for the next 20 years.
• During the period of Radical Party dominance (1932-52), the state increased its role in the economy.
• 1934 - A treaty, the Treaty of Copahue, with Araucania and Patagonia establishes the southern border of Chile at the Biobío River.
• 1938 - Pedro Aguirre Cerda is elected president. Dies in office.
• 1941 - Jerónimo Méndez acting vice-president.
• 1942 - Juan Antonio Rios is elected president. Dies in office.
• 1946 - Alfredo Duhalde acting vice-president.
• 1946 - Gabriel González Videla is elected president.
• 1952 - Carlos Ibáñez del Campo is elected president for a second term.
• 1958 - Jorge Alessandri succeeded Ibáñez bringing Chilean conservatism back into power democratically for another term.
• 1964 - Eduardo Frei Montalvo is elected president.
• 1970 - Salvador Allende is elected president.
• 1974 - Augusto Pinochet establishes a military dictatorship.
• 1990 - Patricio Aylwin is elected president.
• 1994 - Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle is elected president.
• 2000 - Ricardo Lagos is elected president.
• 2006 - Michelle Bachelet is elected president.
• 2010 - Sebastián Piñera is elected president.
• 2014 - Michelle Bachelet is elected president for a second term.
• 2018 - Sebastián Piñera is elected president for a second term.

The Atacama War

Background

• The Atacama War was a war between the Empire of Tawantinsuyu and the Republic of Chile over the rich nitrate and mineral deposits in the Atacama Desert.
• In 1835 the Inka Empire of Tawantinsuyu had been restored leaving the Castilians in control (in the south) only of Chile.
• In 1837 Bernardo map Uigin, defeated and expelled Castilian loyalists from the country and, on February 12, 1839, Chile was proclaimed an independent republic.
• In 1866 the border between the two nations was settled by treaty at the 24th parallel south. The treaty also entitled Tawantisuyu and Chile to share in the tax revenue on mineral exports out of the territory between the 23rd and 25th parallels.
• In 1874 a treaty between the two nations superseded this, entitling Tawantisuyu to collect full tax revenue between the 23rd and 24th parallels, but fixed the tax rates on Chilean companies for 25 years.
• The need to improve its balance of payments attracted Chile to the mineral wealth in the Tawantinsuyun provinces of Arica, Parinacota, and Tarapacá.
• The pretext for acquiring this wealth came on November 27, 1873, when the Chilean Talal Nitrate & Railway Company signed a contract with the Tawantinsuyun government in which it would have been authorized to extract sodium nitrate duty-free for 25 years.
• In February 1878, Tawantisuyu's House of the People found the contract incomplete because it had not been approved by the House of Nobles. Subsequently, the government would approve the contract only if the company would pay a tax of ten centavos per talens of mineral extracted.
• Chile claimed that the treaty of 1874 did not allow for such a tax hike. The company complained that the increased payments were illegal, mounted significant pressure and demanded that the Chilean government intervene.
• In December 1878, when the Talal Nitrate & Railway Company refused to pay, the Tawantisuyun government threatened to confiscate its property. Chile responded by sending a warship to the area.
• On February 14, 1879, Tawantisuyu announced the seizure and auction of the company. Chile, in turn, threatened that such action would render the border treaty null and void.

The War

• Chile sent 2,000 troops across the 24th parallel, armed with breech-loading rifles, Gatling guns and steel-barrelled artillery. On February 14, 1879, they occupied the port city of Antofagasta without a fight. Several armored warships, armed with torpedoes, were sent to blockade the ports of Antofagasta and Arica. What had proven true in the time of Pizarro and San Martín was still true; the successful invasion of Tawantinsuyu depended on control of the Pacific. An army crossing the Atacama Desert was dependent on the navy for supplies.
• Tawantinsuyu then declared war on Chile. Chile declared war on Tawantinsuyu on April 5, 1879.
• Naval victories at Iquique on May 21, 1879, and at Angamos on October 8, 1879, encouraged the Chilean army to advance farther north quickly occupying the coastal region. The army crossed the Loa River on November 12, 1879, and headed for the Camarones River.
• They reached the Camarones River on December 15, 1879, and found their passage across the river blocked by a very large Tawantinsuyun army on the other side.
• Meanwhile, the Tawantinuyun navy engaged the Chilean navy at the port city of Ilo, devastating the Chilean navy.
• A Christmas truce was called for the duration of the year while the two governments entered into negotiations. In order to avoid further defeats the Chilean government surrendered on January 15, 1880, and sued for peace, recalling its troops back across the 24th parallel.

The Results

• As a result of their defeat Chile gave up all claims to the Atacama region.
• Instead of asking for a monetary indemnity, the Tawantinsuyun government required the Chilean government to accept the 25th parallel as the border between the two nations. They also agreed to extend the railroad line from Antofagasta to Copiapó by way of Taltal. This changed Paposo from a sleepy desert town to a thriving border-crossing community.
• A treaty in 1904, the Treaty of Paposo, made this arrangement permanent.

Government

Provinces

Province Provincia	Area	Capital	Population	Notes
Atacama (A)	62,647 km² 24,188 mi²	Copiapó
Coquimbo (C)	40,580 km² 15,668 mi²	La Serena
Valparaíso (V)	16,396 km² 6,331 mi²	Valparaíso		Includes the Desventurada Islands and the Juan Fernandez Islands
Santiago (S)	15,403 km² 5,947 mi²	Santiago
Map Uigin (U)	16,387 km² 6,327 mi²	Rancagua
Maule (M)	30,296 km² 11,697 mi²	Talca
Bío Bío (B)	24,712 km² 10,584 mi²	Concepción

• Thus, the total area of the republic is 206,421 km² (79,700 mi²), slightly smaller than *here's* Israel or larger than the American state of Kansas.

Borders

• Chile is bordered on the
  • North by Tawantinsuyu
  • East by Araucania and Patagonia
  • South by Araucania and Patagonia
  • West by the Pacific Ocean

Culture

Religion

The Chilean people are primarily Catholic, about 80% of the entire population, although there has been a recent boom of Mormonism conversion, specially in the southern regions.