Map of Chile
Chile facts and history in
brief
Chile is a long, narrow country that stretches
about 4,265 kilometres from Peru in the north to the
southern tip of the continent, on the west coast of
South America.
The name probably comes from chilli, a native word meaning
where the land ends.
The country is a land of great variety with a breathtaking
landscape with snow-capped volcanoes, thick forests,
and huge glaciers.
Many rocky, windswept islands line the rugged Pacific
shores.
Chile's climate varies from the very dry in the north
to the very wet in the south.
In 1533 the Spanish defeated the Inca' of Peru and seized
their gold and silver.
Spain ruled Chile from the 1500's to the early 1800's
as the Viceroyalty of Peru, while the Roman Catholic
Church sent missionaries to Chile to convert the indigenous
people to Christianity.
In 1810 Chile declared it's independence.
Spanish forces from Peru regained control for Spain.
In 1818, Bernardo O'Higgins defeated the Spanish, introduced
a constitution and established many new institutions
to set Chile on a path to nationhood.
In the 1890s, Civil War broke out over the struggle
for power between the President and Congress.
Congress remained the strongest force in Chilean politics
until 1925.
Chile remained neutral during World War I (1914-1918).
In 1970 Salvador Allende Gossens, the first Marxist
to be elected democratically in the Western Hemisphere
came to power.
In 1973, a military leaders formed a junta, led by General
Augusto Pinochet Ugarte overthrew the Allende's government.
The Araucanian, the Quechua and the Aymara people are
the largest indigenous Indian groups in Chile.
Their ancestors fought the Spaniards and their descendants
for about 350 years.
Chileans are of mixed Spanish and native ancestry (Called
mestizos and form about 75% of the population), or of
European descent and about 3% native 'Indians'.
Most Chileans are well educated with free state primary
education, and children must attend eight years of primary
school.
There are many public and private high schools and 23
Universities.
Soccer is Chile's most popular spectator sport by far.
Railways, roads, and airlines connect cities and towns
in northern and central Chile, in the south, ships are
still a major means of transport.
The official language is Spanish, and most Chileans
are Roman Catholics.
Santiago is Chile's largest and capital City,
with about 80% (more than 4 million) Chileans living
in its metropolitan area.
Santiago was founded in 1551, burnt down by natives
six months later, to be rebuilt soon afterwards and
has been the principal settlement and capital since.
Santiago have many modern skyscrapers in busy commercial
districts and many Spanish-style buildings with red
tile roofs and patios.
Monuments and public buildings border tree-lined streets,
with many parks, gardens, and large plazas.
The city receives a total of about 35 centimetres of
rain annually.
Temperatures average about 20 °C in January and about
9 °C in July.
Hui Chin and I've enjoyed our stay very much at
the Easter Islands.
What we expected as boring 3 days stay turned out to
be a very exciting experience.
Our visit to Santiago was similarly enjoyable with many
hilarious moments, like our encounter at a McDonald's.
With total lack of Spanish we wanted to get some burgers.
Hui Chin pointing to the pictures on the wall and showing
we wanted two, plus two Sundaes and two white coffees.
Alright! It sounds simple, you try it.
The funny part came, when the young girl lifted and
turned the cash register up and around
to show Hui Chin how much will it all
cost us.
We still laugh about this, every now and again.
List of my photo
pages in this Chile series.
Easter Island or Isla
de Pascua or Rapa Nui
Hangaroa
Santiago
Site
Index
Back to Top
Photos Index
Thanks for coming, I hope you
have enjoyed it, will recommend
it to your friends, and will come
back later to see my site developing
and expanding.
I'm trying to make my pages
enjoyable and trouble free for everyone,
please let me know of any mistakes
or trouble with links, so I can
fix any problem as soon as possible.
These pages are best viewed with monitor
resolution set at 640x480 and kept simple
on purpose so everyone can enjoy them
across all media and platforms.
Thank you.
Webmaster
|
