American Colonies

Located in South America, the long coastal strip of territory which forms Chile lies between the southern Andes and the Pacific Ocean. It borders Peru and Bolivia to the north, and Argentina to the east. Its capital is Santiago, located in the upper central region of the country.

There is evidence of humans living in southern Chile around 10,500 BC, immediately after the disappearance of the Clovis culture. They appear to have been an entirely separate group of migrant-descendants, due to the lack of cultural similarities with the Clovis people. Instead they, and a long western coastline of similar groups, are seen as being part of the Western Stemmed tradition.

Colonial interest within the Spanish Colonies began with the 'Realm of Chile', which involved the long strip of land down the Pacific coast of South America. The region was first entered by a now united-Spain's conquistadors in 1535, when Diego de Almagro led his men south from Peru in search of gold.

Almagro had taken part in the conquest of Peru, during which he had captured amazing wealth. This allowed him to finance a new expedition at great expense, although it proved more difficult than expected to cross the Andes mountains. Reaching the other side, territory was claimed for Spain which would become part of today's republic of Chile, but Almagro found no gold and native hostility eventually persuaded him to return to Peru.

A fresh expedition in 1536 was led by Pedro de Valdivia, with this following a different route through the Atacama desert. This expedition strived harder to establish friendly relations with the natives, and an advantageous base was eventually found in the River Mapocho valley.

The Spanish realm or kingdom of Chile was officially created as an administrative division of the viceroyalty of Peru, and was locally administered by royal governors. Valdivia founded the capital of Santiago de la Nueva Extremadura on 12 February 1541.

During its drive towards independence during the wars of the early nineteenth century, Chile's rebel forces were led by Jose de San Martin and Bernardo O'Higgins, the colourful illegitimate Irish-Spanish son of a former captain-general of Chile.

He grew up in Chile but completed his studies in England, and he returned to Chile to become a gentleman farmer on his late father's lands. When the country began its path towards independence, he joined the anti-royalist faction in an increasingly influential role, albeit as part of a colonial elite which did not especially represent the ethnic mixture of most inhabitants.

Confirmed as an independent state in 1818, much of northern Chile is desert, while temperate central Chile contains the bulk of the population and the larger cities, including Santiago. Southern-central Chile is also temperate - and farmable - containing a lake and forest region. The southernmost third is cut by deep fjords, largely an inhospitable region with low temperatures, being wet and windy and limited in resources.

The country's economy is based on primary economic activities such as agricultural production, copper, iron, and nitrate mining, and the marine resources of its long coast. A growing appreciation of the influence of indigenous culture has emerged, with the population largely mestizo, a blend of Spanish and native South American bloodlines.

Chile has become one of the more heavily-urbanised Latin American societies, one with a burgeoning middle class. It also has a history of retaining representative democratic government. Other than a period in which a military junta held power between September 1973 and March 1990, the country has been relatively free of the coups and constitutional suspensions which are common to many of its neighbours.

The Americas

South American States

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