CHILE In this project we are going to summarize the main points
concerning the history of CHILE , its independance, and bring the
country to present day CHILE. We are also going to mention some
important facts about CHILE"S economy. I. COLONIZATION PERIOD
CHILE is a country located in the wester coast of South America, on the
Pacific Ocean. It is known for the famous Andes Mountain Range that
covers all of Peru and part of ChileCHILE was first discovered in 1520
by a Portuguese navigator named Ferdinand Magellan, who sailed under
the flag of Spain. It was not until 1536 that CHILE was explored by a
Spaniard named Diego de Almagro. Almagro was an associate of
Francisco Pizarro in the conquest of Peru. In 1540 a conquistador
named Pedro de Valdivia made a second expedition into CHILE He
arrived in CHILE in 1541 and claimed the land under the crown of Spain.
He founded the city of Santiago in February of that year, and appointed a
Cabildo (Council) of Conquistadores to control local affairs. II.
COLONIAL RULE In December of 1553, Valdivia set out for the fort of
Concepcion to avenge the death of three soldiers, after word had reached
him that the Indians had murdered them. He did not know the Indians
had an ambush prepared for him. Valdivia was captured and executed,
his entire army was also killed. The Spaniards eventually dominated
CHILE During this period CHILE was a Captaincy General of Spain and
supposedly governed from Peru, where Spain had a more important
government because Peru was rich in Inca gold. In reality, because
CHILE was farther away geographically, local affairs were controlled by a
governor who commanded the army and each town had its own Cabildo
(Council). CHILE had plenty of wars. The Indians refused to stay quiet.
Until the mid 1700"s, these wars against the Indians were payed for by
Peru, which provided money to CHILE to maintain CHILE"S government
in Santiago and an army on the frontier. CHILE was poor and dependent
on its richer neighbor for wealth and security. III. INDEPENDENCE
One of the most important reasons for CHILE"S independence as well as
other Latin American countries, was the emergence of a class of
CRIOLLOS (Creoles). Creoles were American born Spaniards, who
were different from the Iberians. They developed a desire for a
self-government. The Criollos, then, began and supported a movement
in order to gain independence from Spain. The Criollos had a lot of
influence in the merchant class as well as in the upper class of CHILE.
They resented Spain's trading system. For tax reasons, all trade with
Spain had to pass through Panama by land to the Caribbean and
Havana, Cuba, instead of directly by ship from the port of Valparaiso.
This system was definitely one of the reasons Spain lost its American
colonies. Spain was also facing problems in providing its colonies with a
good variety of manufactured goods. The Spanish economy was not
doing well. The colonies began buying manufactured goods from other
countries, especially Britain. The British in turn, supported Criollo political
demands. There were many other factors which also contributed to the
fever of independence. Among them was the independence of the
United States from Britain, in 1776, the overthrow of the Frnch
Monarchy, Napoleon's invasion of Spain, and many new intellectual
ideas of the times. In the 1820's independence movements in America
united against Spain. Simon Bolivar and an army of Criollos marched
south from Venezuela, while Jose de San Martin and his Army of the
Andes marched over the cordillera from Argentina into CHILE. Bernardo
O'Higgins became supreme director of the new Chilean Republic. Formal
independence of CHILE came in 1818. IV. 20th CENTURY CHILE
During the 20th century, Chile has been throgh a few types of
government, dictatorship and currently democracy. In 1973, the military
took control of president Salvador Allende's goverment. Allende was the
elected president of Chile during this period. The U.S. did not wanted
Allende as president of Chile for many reason, so they killed him in a
millitary coup. This coup was led by General Augusto Pinochet
Ugarte,who, at this point, became dictator of the nation. For many years,
Pinochet and the military ruled Chile. Before Pinochet was the dictator of
Chile, he was the chief of the army. Then he overthrowed the president,
and became dictator. The U.S wanted Pinochet better than Allende,
because Pinochet was someone that the U.S army could control. (Talk
more about Pinochet in the oral presentation) One of the things Pinochet
is mostly remembered for, was the killing of thousands of people during a
protest. Many attempts were made to overthrough Pinochet's
government. Most of them failed, however. In the late 1980's, Pinochet
resigned fron office because of world pressure. After his resignation,
Patricio Aylwin became president. Chile's current president is Eduardo
Frei. Today Chile is the country in Latin America that has had the
greatest economic growth for the last five years. Based on our research,
we predict that Chile will continue to have a democratic government.We
also think that the economy will get beter, as the democratic government
is put into action. I also think that democracy will be in Chile for a long
period of time
. into CHILE. Bernardo
O'Higgins became supreme director of the new Chilean Republic. Formal
independence of CHILE came in 1818. IV. 20th CENTURY CHILE
During. for by
Peru, which provided money to CHILE to maintain CHILE& quot;S government
in Santiago and an army on the frontier. CHILE was poor and dependent
on its