A Look At The Past
Chile's history as a nation began rather inconspicuously on the banks of the Mapoche River on February 12, 1541, when the Spanish conquistador Pedro de Valdivia founded Santiago de la Nueva Extremadura. At the time, several distinct indigenous groups called Chile home, including the more advanced northern tribes (which had already been conquered by the Incas), the fierce Mapuche warriors of the central region, and the nomadic hunting and gathering tribes of Patagonia. In Spain's eyes, Chile did not hold much interest because of its lack of riches such as gold, and the country remained somewhat of a colonial backwater until the country's independence in 1818, which was led by the son of an Irish immigrant, Bernardo O'Higgins. Spain did, however, see to the development of a feudal landowning system whereby prominent Spaniards were issued a large tract of land and an encomienda, or a group of Indian slaves, that the landowner was charged with caring for and converting to Christianity. Thus rose Chile's traditional and nearly self-supporting hacienda, known as a latifundio, as well as a rigid class system that defined the population.
Chile experienced an economic boom in the early 20th century in the form of nitrate mining in the northern desert, a region that had been confiscated from Peru and Bolivia after the War of the Pacific in 1883. Mining is still a huge economic force, especially copper mining, and Chile's abundant natural resources have fostered industries in petroleum, timber, fishing, agriculture, tourism, and wine.
Chile enjoyed a politically democratic government until the onset of a vicious military dictatorship, led by General Augusto Pinochet, who took power from 1973 to 1990. In 1970, voters narrowly elected the controversial Dr. Salvador Allende as Chile's first socialist president. Allende vowed to improve the lives of Chile's poorer citizens by instituting a series of radical changes that might redistribute the nation's lopsided wealth. Although the first year showed promising signs, Allende's reforms ultimately sent the country spiraling into economic ruin. On September 11, 1973, military forces led by General Augusto Pinochet and supported by the U.S. government toppled Allende's government with a dramatic coup d'état, during which Allende took his own life. Upper-class Chileans celebrated the coup as an economic and political salvation, but nobody was prepared for the brutal repression that would haunt Chile for the next 17 years. Most disturbing were the series of tortures and "disappearances" of an estimated 3,000 of Pinochet's political adversaries, including activists, journalists, professors, and any other "subversive" threats. Thousands more fled the country.
In recent years, the attempts to bring Pinochet to trial for human rights violations have made news. However, in late 2005, a tax scandal involving 130 offshore accounts proved to be his downfall, and many of his staunchest supporters have now turned their back on him. Following this, in December 2005, Pinochet was placed under house arrest after being charged for involvement in disappearances during his dictatorship, but as of publication the final verdict is not in.
Chile has traveled a long, sorrowful road to get to where it is today, but now the country enjoys a firmly entrenched democracy, and it is one of the safest and most economically prosperous countries in South America. Today, corruption is relatively unheard of here, unlike in its neighbors Argentina and Peru.
Chile Today
Today, the Chilean economy is considered one of the (if not the) strongest economies in Latin America. Chile still suffers from an unhealthy dose of classism; however, the country boasts a larger middle class than its neighbors Peru and Bolivia, with about 30% of the population living under the poverty level. Politically, in January 2006, Chile made history by electing Michelle Bachelet its first female president.
