The History of Chile

The flight from the USA to Santiago, Chile was a long one. When I wasn’t sleeping I was thinking about the university classes I took when I was a student at the PUCV in Valparaíso, Chile. My favorite class was a blend of history, current events, music and movies. For me, the history of Chile really helped expand my experience abroad. I decided to come up with a short history of the country, highlighting the important moments.

A General History of Chile:

The first people arrived in Chile in 12,000 BC and eventually formed two groups, the Inca from the north and the Mapuche from the south. The Mapuche rose in power in 2,500 BC and expanded from Patagonia to current day Valparaiso.

In 1533 the Spaniards conquered the Inca empire and inhabited the north. However, they were not able to conquer the Mapuche.

Under the leadership of Diego Portales, Chile gained their independence from Spanish rule in 1818.

After their independence, Chile was part of constant border disputes with Peru and Bolivia which resulted in a war, Chile v Peru and Bolivia in 1879. Chile won and gained territory to the northeast.

Salvador Allende was democratically elected as president of Chile in 1970. He was a socialist leader and not very popular with the upper class. In 1973 the United States backed a military overthrow of Allende and Augusto Pinochet took violent control of Chile. During his time, he was responsible for the murder of over 40,000 chileans who opposed him.   

Michelle Bachelet was elected the first female president from 2006-2018.

Camila Vallejo, a young socialist/communist student led student protests and walkouts in 2011 in order to provide students with free and quality public education. In 2012 the indigenous Mapuche community joined in the protest with the hope for better representation in Chile.

“When I was very young and the urge to be someplace else was on me, I was assured by mature people that maturity would this itch. When years described me as mature, the remedy prescribed was middle age.In middle age I was assured greater age would calm my fever and now that I am fifty-eight perhaps senility will do the job. Nothing has worked.”

-John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America