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History of Chile
Home » Chile » Chile Overview and History » History of ChileThe country of Chile was virtually unknown to the outside world until the middle of the fifteenth century due to the fact it is surrounded on three sides by nearly impenetrable barriers. It was the Incas who eventually began the conquests on the continent that would eventually move on to Chile. Under the leadership of Tupac Yupanqui, an Inca army was able to cross six hundred miles of salt basins that today are the Atacama Desert. After arriving finally into the central valley, the Incas stumbled upon the Mapuche, one of three nomadic Araucanian peoples who lived in the area.
The Incas were able to press forward approximately half way down the valley’s five hundred mile length. However, the Mapuches defeated them in their attempt to cross over the Rio Maule into the Lake District. The Incas were able to set up a definite presence in the area they had gained, and decided against pursuing the Mapuche any further.
Less than a century later, in 1541, a bold Spanish army led by Pedro de Valdavia attempted to gain the Mapuche territory. They crossed into the central valley and founded Santiago in February. Soon after the founding of Santiago, the army advanced into Mapuche realms and established strongholds there. Unfortunately, in 1553, the Mapuche beheaded the Spaniard Valdavia.
For the next four hundred years the Spanish found it necessarily to remain on the defense in the central valley. During these years, the areas under Spanish control were able to trade unequivocally with Peru, which resulted in much smuggling and privateers along the coast.
Eventually, Chile was able to obtain its independence from Spain in 1817 under Bernardo O’Higgins and an Argentinian, Jose de San Martin, after seven years of war. The Mapuche territory in the south refused to give in to the new Chilean government. They were able to maintain their own autonomy until the middle of the century, when numerous settlers advanced into the area.
Diego Portales, the dictator of Chile from 1830 to 1837, fought a war with Peru in 1836-1839 in which he was able to increase Chilean territory. In addition, the country gained more land during the War of the Pacific with Peru and Bolivia from 1879 to 1883. In this battle Chile won widespread areas from Peru and Antofagasta, Bolivia’s single outlet to the sea.
Even though Chile’s independence established a system of representative democracy, the country still struggled in maintaining a smooth political history. In 1970, a Marxist government was established under the leadership of Dr. Salvador Allende in order to fix the problems of the reigning liberal party. Allende hastily established relations with Cuba and the People’s Republic of China, nationalized many private companies, and initiated Marxist economic and social reforms. Unfortunately, Allende’s attempts to radically alter the country’s direction instigated a second political crisis.
In 1973, Allende was overthrown and killed by a right-wing government under the leadership of General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte who was assisted by the United States Central Intelligence Agency in taking hold of power. This terminated a 46-year era of constitutional government in Chile. Pinochet’s government maintained control for the next decade and a half, often turning to terror in order to suppress disgruntlement.
In 1990, Pinochet was forced to hand over the presidency to the elected Patricio Aylwin Azocar. Since this change in leadership, Chile’s political system has remained secure. There still remains, however, substantial tension between the military and the government over issues of human rights violation during the Pinochet era.
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