When
the first Spanish settlers arrived in the sixteenth century
three main tribes controlled Chile. Quechua tribes occupied
the northern region and Araucanian tribes occupied the central
and northern part of the southern region. The Incas occupied
northern and parts of central Chile. The first Spanish settlements
were, Santiago in 1541 and Concepcion in 1550 mainly because
of the pleasant climate and fertile soil. Repeated assaults
from the Araucanians lasted into the second half of the nineteenth
century.
By the mid-seventeenth century,
the population of the Spanish settlements and their surroundings
numbered approximately 100,000. This population grew to about
500,000 by mid-eighteenth century and to one million by 1830.
Those with European blood were concentrated in central Chile,
between Santiago and Concepcion; few settled in the northern
and southern regions. This pattern of dispersion began to change
only in the second half of the nineteenth century, with the
rapid growth of mining activities and the inmigration of non-Iberaian
Europeans.
Under
Spanish colonial rule, northern and central Chile were part
of the Viceroyalty of Peru. The south remained under the control
of the Araucanians almost until the nineteenth century. Independence
was first declared in 1810. At that time, central Chile was
to a large extend controlled by a small, upper class of Creoles
(locally born Europeans), most of them owned large estates.
A period of internal instability and striffe followed, which
resulted in the restoration of Spanish rule in 1814. Combined
Argentinian and Chilean forces under Jose de San Martin and
Bernardo O'Higgins, who crossed the Andes from Argentina, managed
to defeat and drive out the Spanish army and restore Chile's
independence (1818). O'Higgins became Chile's first president.
Chile defeated Bolivia and
Peru in a war (1879-1883) for the control of the Atacama Desert
and its rich mineral deposits. In the course of this war, Chilean
troops occupied Lima. Chile won the disputed territory. Bolivia
lost its outlet to the open sea and Peru the Tarapaca district.
A
multiparty, parliamentary regime came into being in 1891, however,
the interests of the upper class, comprised mainly of owners
of large states and wealthy business people, continued to predominate.
After a short period of military rule (1924-1925), followed
by the reinstatement of the democratically elected president
Arturo Alessandri, a new, more progressive, constitution came
in force (1925). Left-wing parties, including communist, gained
much influence from 1930s onward and played an important role
in elections of several presidents. However, the right-wing
parties ramained in actual control.
A presidential candidate
of the left-wing parties, Salvador Allende, won the elections
in 1970. Upon ussuming office, he nationalized the mines, industries,
and public services. Allende was deposed and died in a military
coup in September 1973, which was followed by 16 years of military
dictatorship by General Augusto Pinochet. Democratic elections
were held in 1989. Democracy was restored in 1990 with the asumption
of the presidency by Patricio Alwin Azocar, following free elections.
