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HISTORY OF CHILE

Most of Chile south of the Rapel River was first dominated by the Araucanians, a Native American tribe remarkable for its fighting ability. The tribes occupying the northern portions of Chile had been subjugated during the 15th century by the Incas of Peru. The region was then known to its native population as chili, a Native American word meaning "where the land begins or ends". The first European to visit what is now Chile was the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who landed at Chiloé Island following his voyage, in 1520, through the strait that now bears his name. In 1535, after the Spanish under Francisco Pizarro had completed their conquest of Peru, Diego de Almagro, one of Pizarro's aides, led a gold-hunting expedition from that country overland into Chile. The expedition spent nearly three fruitless years in the country and then withdrew to Peru.

Pedro de Valdivia, another of Pizarro's officers, led a second expedition into southern Chile in 1540. Despite fierce resistance from the Araucanians, Valdivia succeeded in establishing several settlements, including Santiago in 1541, Concepción in 1550, and Valdivia in 1552. In 1553, however, the Araucanians organized a successful uprising, killing Valdivia and many of his followers and devastating all the towns except Concepción and La Serena. The rebellion was the initial phase of warfare that lasted nearly a century. The Araucanians were the only important Native American people who did not quickly succumb to Spanish attack. Strife continued intermittently during and after the Spanish colonial period and did not end until late in the 19th century.

In the Spanish colonial organization, Chile was originally a dependency of the viceroyalty of Peru and later had its own government. The country developed slowly, because it had no important silver or gold deposits to attract the Spanish. Moreover, it was far from the main centres of Spanish colonization in Peru and was difficult to reach. Farming in the Central Valley was the chief occupation, and Chile supplied Peru with foodstuffs, especially wheat. The townspeople lived by trade.

In 1810 Chile joined other Spanish colonies in breaking political ties with Spain. On September 18 of that year, celebrated thereafter as the Chilean independence day, the Santiago town council deposed the colonial governor of Chile, delegating his powers to a council of seven. Although this act marked the formal establishment of Chilean independence from Spain, intermittent warfare against Spanish troops, dispatched from Peru, continued for more than 15 years. A royalist army was decisively defeated at Chacabuco on February 12, 1817, ending Spanish control of northern Chile. One year later Bernardo O'Higgins, one of the revolutionary leaders, proclaimed the absolute independence of Chile. Nevertheless, royalist forces controlled nearly all of southern Chile until 1818, and were not completely expelled from the country until 1826.

Bernardo O'Higgins, who had been named Director-General of Chile in 1818, ruled the country with dictatorial powers until 1823, when popular hostility to his regime forced his resignation. A liberal constitution, establishing a republican form of government, was then adopted, but political strife among numerous organizations contending for power kept Chile in turmoil until 1830. In that year conservative elements, headed by General Joaquín Prieto, overthrew the government. In 1831 Prieto became President, but the leading person in the government was Diego Portales, who filled various cabinet posts during Prieto's administration. A new constitution, vesting immense powers in the executive department of the government, was adopted in 1833. Abortive armed attempts to remove the Conservatives from power were made by liberal groups in 1835, 1851, and 1859.

Despite its authoritarian character, the Conservative Party government fostered domestic policies that contributed substantially to the commercial and agricultural development of Chile. Steps were taken to exploit mineral resources, railways were constructed, and immigration was encouraged. A school system and cultural institutions were established. The chief development in Chilean foreign relations during this period of Conservative dominance was a series of conflicts with neighbouring countries-first with Bolivia and Peru in 1836, and then with Argentina, beginning in 1843. Armed hostilities with Argentina were narrowly averted on several occasions over the ownership of Tierra del Fuego. Eventually in 1881 a treaty was signed, granting half of Tierra del Fuego to Chile.

Divisions resulting from disagreements with the Roman Catholic Church had taken place, meanwhile, within the Conservative Party. Beginning in 1861 its liberal wing, in coalition with the Liberal Party, instituted a number of constitutional reforms including prohibition of consecutive presidential terms. Endeavours to promote public welfare and the further development of national resources were intensified, notably by new railway and highway projects and the creation of a postal system. In 1865 Chile became embroiled in a Spanish-Peruvian war that continued sporadically until 1869. Spanish forces even attacked the port of Valparaiso, but in the end they were beaten.

Chilean interests subsequently began the exploitation of the immensely valuable nitrate deposits in the Atacama Desert. Rejecting Bolivian and Peruvian heavy taxes to mine the region, the Chilean government in February 1879 ordered its military forces into the Bolivian port of Antofagasta. Two months later Peru, an ally of Bolivia, declared war on Chile, precipitating the War of the Pacific. This was a rare example of a war that pays for itself. In the course of this war, Chilean troops even occupied the Peruvian capital, Lima. As a result of its victory in this conflict, terminated in 1883, Chile acquired considerable territory including the province of Antofagasta from Bolivia (Bolivia lost its outlet to the sea), and the province of Tarapacá from Peru. Peru also yielded Tacna and Arica to Chile, on condition that after ten years a plebiscite be held. Although the two countries failed to agree on conditions for a plebiscite, disposition of the disputed areas was achieved in 1928 by negotiation, Tacna becoming a possession of Peru and Arica went to Chile. The nitrate deposits made possible the continued growth of the economy. After this war, in 1885, Chile for the first time was able to annex Araucania, and subjugate the Araucanian indians. In that same year Chile aquired Isla de Pascua (Easter Island) in the Pacific. These new territories helped expand the economy and led people and other immigrants to leave the original central valley; they helped to expand and develop the new conquered lands.

In 1891 political forces closely allied with the Roman Catholic clergy organized a revolt against the administration of President José Manuel Balmaceda, a Liberal Party leader. Under the leadership of Captain Jorge Montt, a naval officer, the rebels, who termed themselves Congressionalists, seized the Chilean fleet and the rich nitrate provinces in the north. In August they defeated a government army near Valparaíso. This city fell to the rebels, as did Santiago, virtually ending the war. More than 10,000 lives had been lost and considerable property destroyed. Balmaceda committed suicide in September. Shortly thereafter Montt became President, and Chile entered an extended period of peaceful reconstruction. As a concession to liberal sentiment in the country, Montt instituted several reforms, which strengthened democratic processes within the government. The following years were marked by increasing participation of the Chilean people in politics and by mounting political turbulence.

In August 1906 a disastrous earthquake virtually destroyed Valparaíso and extensively damaged Santiago, killing more than 3,000 people and leaving about 100,000 homeless. The damaged areas were rapidly rebuilt, however.

Chile was neutral in World War I. In this period, Chile received about 500 thousand immigrants from different parts of Europe. After the war, great strife developed in the country between liberal and conservative elements. The Liberals gained power with the election in 1920 of former Minister of the Interior Arturo Alessandri Palma, but he was unable to carry out reforms. In 1924 a military coup d'état drove Alessandri from office and established a military dictatorship which itself was overthrown early in 1925. A new constitution (1925)reformed the electoral system, reduced the power of the congress, and established the separation of Church and State. Alessandri was restored to the presidency, but his term lasted for less than a year. Under the next President, Emiliano Figueroa, governmental authority was actually wielded by an army officer, Carlos Ibáñez del Campo, who ruled as President from 1927 until 1931. Following additional coups and changes of administration, Alessandri was elected President again in 1932 and served until the end of his term in 1938. In the election of 1938 a liberal government, with Radical Party member Pedro Aguirre Cerda as President, was elected by a coalition of democratic groups united in a popular front. His ambitious New Deal programme was disrupted by a devastating earthquake that occurred in 1939, killing about 30,000 people. This coalition was successful again in 1942, when Radical Party member Juan Antonio Ríos was elected President, governing moderately amid the political tensions engendered by pro-Allies and pro-Axis elements during World War II. Ríos led his country into a pro-Allies position, declaring war in 1944. During the war the Communist Party emerged as one of the strongest political organizations in Chile. Again at this time as well as after the war, one million immigrants from distinct parts of Europe came in, including, Germans, Italians, Jews, etc. All these immigrants would help develop the country culturally, racially and politically in years to come. The country became a charter member of the United Nations in June 1945.

The 1946 presidential election was won by Gabriel González Videla, the Radical Party leader who was supported by a left-wing coalition consisting mainly of the Radical and Communist parties. González Videla appointed three Communists to his cabinet, but the coalition endured for less than six months. The Communists, frequently at loggerheads with others of the government, were removed from the cabinet in April 1947. Later in the year diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union were severed. In 1948 hundreds of Communists were incarcerated under the Law for the Defence of Democracy, which outlawed the Communist Party. A military revolt led by former President Ibáñez was suppressed. Manifestations of social unrest were frequent during the following years; in 1951 strikes occurred in almost every sector of the economy. A popular reaction against the traditional parties resulted in the election of General Ibáñez the following year. He restored some order but did not effectively cope with the economic and social problems. In 1958 Jorge Alessandri Rodríguez, a former senator and son of Arturo Alessandri Palma, heading a Conservative-Liberal coalition, was elected to the presidency on a platform favouring free enterprise and the encouragement of foreign investment. In response to strong opposition from the newly legalized Communist Party and the newly formed Christian Democratic Party, he proposed a ten-year plan that included tax reforms, building projects, and agrarian reform. He broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1964 but resumed ties with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). In 1960 a series of tidal waves and earthquakes struck the country, causing widespread damage and killing thousands. The presidential election of 1964 was won by former Senate member Eduardo Frei Montalva of the centrist Christian Democratic Party. Frei's major reforms, such as partial government ownership of the copper industry, aroused dissatisfaction in both leftist and conservative elements that resulted in violent political opposition.

As the presidential election of 1970 approached, the left-of-centre parties united to form a Popular Unity coalition; it nominated Salvador Allende Gossens, who waged his campaign on a platform that promised full nationalization of all basic industries, banks, and communications. He received about 37 per cent of the votes, and Congress backed him overwhelmingly against his rightist opponent, former President Alessandri. Allende became the first President elected on a Marxist-Leninist programme in a non-Communist country of the western hemisphere.

Once installed as President, Allende quickly began to implement his campaign promises, turning the country towards socialism and communism. State control of the economy was instituted, mineral resources, foreign banks, and monopolistic enterprises nationalized, and land reform accelerated. In addition, Allende initiated a redistribution of income, raised wages, and controlled prices. Opposition to his programme, however, was strong from the beginning, and by 1972 the result was seen in severe economic problems and a sharply polarized citizenry. Soon there was constant fighting in the streets, not to mention that there was nothing to buy (supermarket shelves were empty) and the black market was rampant. The situation grew still more critical in 1973, when skyrocketing prices, continued food shortages (caused by the reduction of foreign credits), inflation of more than 1000%, strikes, and political violence brought Chile to the brink of chaos. The crisis was aggravated by the United States, which worked to undermine the Allende regime. The climax came on September 11, 1973, when the military forces seized power; in the process, President Allende killed himself.

The military ruled through a junta (formed by the Military, Navy, Air Force and Police) headed by General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte. It immediately suspended the constitution, dissolved Congress, imposed strict censorship, and banned all political parties. In addition, it embarked on a campaign to exterminate "the Cancer of Marxism", period during which many politically active far-leftists, people and other politicians who were against the military regime got killed, dissapeared or were forced to go into exile. For the next few years the junta retained its iron grip on the country, although some token relaxation could be seen towards the end of the decade. The state of siege was lifted in 1978 (although a state of emergency remained in effect), and more civilians were added to the cabinet. Chile, however, remained a police state. A new constitution, accepted by a referendum on the seventh anniversary of the military coup, let the regime rule until 1989, and Pinochet began another eight-year term as President in March 1981.

Economically, the Pinochet government, with its austere controls, slashed inflation and stimulated production between 1975 and 1981, and from thereafter. Starting in 1982, however, the worldwide recession and declining copper prices led to a downturn in the Chilean economy. There were large-scale protests against the government in 1983, followed by a wave of small bombings from anti-governmental groups in major cities. A treaty signed with Argentina later that month ratified Chile's claim to three islands in the Beagle Channel. The Pinochet regime helped stimulate real economic growth, opened up the economy, and created a stable atmosphere in which bussiness could be done. In his 16 years of power, the Chilean economy grew faster than it had for the past thirty years. Economic reforms initiated by Pinochet brought one million Chileans out of poverty during his term. The government at this time embarked on a fierce policy to diversify the economy by giving incentives to the private sector. The idea was so that the economy would not be so dependent on copper, the biggest cash earner. New services and industry was created which led the way to make the Chilean economy the most competitive in the continent. During his regime, since the U.S would not sell military weapons to the country, Chile was able to make its own miliatry equipment. At this time, the Armed Forces became much more professionalized and when democracy was restored, it got access to better and more modern weaponry.

The state of emergency was finally lifted in August 1988, and in October Chileans were permitted to hold a plebiscite on whether Pinochet's term, due to expire in March 1989, should be extended to 1997. When nearly 55 per cent of the electorate voted against the proposal, Pinochet accepted his defeat and stepped down as President of the Republic(however he did not leave till March 1990). In December 1989, political parties (left, center-left, center, and center-right) united to oppose Pinochet in Chile's first presidential election in 17 years, during which voters chose the Christian Democratic candidate, Patricio Aylwin Azócar, in a party coalition, known as the Concertacion. Aylwin initiated modest economic reforms and appointed a commission to investigate the "supposed" human rights violations by the Pinochet regime. He continued the economic reforms started by the Pinochet government, helping to reduce the poverty rate further. In the 1993 presidential elections Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, son of Eduardo Frei Montalva (a former president), defeated Arturo Alessandri (son of the former president). Chile joined in 1994 the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and made a formal application to join the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), having been offered such status by the American President, Bill Clinton. However the once eager Chile soon lost faith in NAFTA as the "Fast Track"(an agreement that was supposed to be voted by Congress) became known as "Slow Track", since it seems congress backed down after their experience with Mexico's Peso crisis. In April 1998, as Pinochet promised, stepped down as Commander-In-Chief of the Army after a 65 year career in the army. In March 1998, among protests from leftist groups (like the Communist and Socialist parties) but following the Constitution, by being a former President of the Republic, he was able to formally take the post of Senator for life (Senador Vitalicio). Although there is still much division between left and right, Chile as a modern country, keeps looking into the future, growing by an ever increasing industry that promises a clear and bright future for all Chileans.