The territory of Chile has been populated since at least 12,000 BC when migrating Native Americans settled in the fertile valleys and coastal areas of what is present day Chile. Pre-Hispanic Chile was home to over a dozen different Amerindian societies. Specific early human settlement sites from the very early human habitation in Chile include the Cueva del Milodon and the Pali Aike Crater's lava tube.
Although today Chile is a democracy and a stable South American economy, partly thanks to its strong trade ties with the US, its history hasn’t always been that simple. A conquered nation, like its neighbours, Chile went through colonisation in the north at the hands of the Spaniard Pedro de Valdivia, who then founded the capital Santiago in 1541.
In the south, it took European conquerors more than 300 years to colonise the resisting Mapuche Indians. With civil unrest developing due to Spain’s firm trade control and domination of farm estates, Chile was finally liberated in 1818 thanks to the Argentinean José de San Martín and Bernarndo O’Higgins, who was a dictator for five years and established Catholicism as the nation’s religion.
The regime seed had been sown, right from Chile’s birth. Generals have led military coups over the years, but the most prominent was General Pinochet’s, which lasted 17 years until 1990. Overthrowing Marxist President Salvador Allende, thousands of Allende’s supporters were killed and tortured while others were forced into exile due to Pinochet’s extreme right-wing policies.
However, Pinochet brought financial stability with a free market economy and in 1989 he stepped down as leader. Patricio Aylwin won with 55% of the votes and so began the slow path to democracy. Since then, ruling parties have tended to be socialist and Chile voted in its first female president, Socialist Michelle Bachelet, in 2006. Her successor, Sebastián Piñera, was from the right-wing Coalition for Change party; in 2014, Bachelet took her place once again in office as the country’s president with over 62% of the vote.
Chile has taken some hard knocks. An earthquake measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale hit in 2010 caused mass devastation and the trapping and subsequent rescue of 33 miners from a San José copper mine for more than two months was a global news story. Chile continues to manage its economy well, and staved off recession in 2009, becoming an OECD member that same year. It was voted 31st best country in the world in which to live by US Newsweek in August 2010 and it currently holds its spot as South America’s most stable and prosperous nation. After a turbulent past, the future looks bright for beautiful Chile.
