History at a Glance

Chile's history is a tale of resistance, upheaval, and renewal — shaped by the power of nature and the indomitable will of its people.

Before the Colonial Era

Long before the Spaniards, the Mapuche (Araucanians) inhabited central and southern Chile — one of the few indigenous peoples in the Americas that never fully succumbed. Neither the Incas nor the Spaniards could permanently defeat the Mapuche. In the north lived the Atacameño and Aymara, whose traces can still be found in the Atacama Desert today.

Spanish Colonial Period (1541–1818)

Pedro de Valdivia founded Santiago de Chile in 1541. The Mapuche offered fierce resistance — the Arauco War lasted over 300 years and was one of the longest conflicts in history. The Spaniards eventually retreated behind the Río Bío-Bío and de facto recognized an independent Mapuche territory.

Independence & 19th Century

1818 saw Chile declare independence under Bernardo O'Higgins. The 19th century brought the War of the Pacific (1879–1884) against Peru and Bolivia, through which Chile gained the Atacama region — and Bolivia lost its access to the sea (a contentious issue to this day). German, Croatian, and British immigrants shaped the south.

Allende, Pinochet & the Return to Democracy

In 1970, Salvador Allende was inaugurated as the world's first democratically elected socialist president. On September 11, 1973, the military under General Augusto Pinochet staged a coup — Allende died in the bombed presidential palace La Moneda. This was followed by a 17-year military dictatorship (1973–1990) characterized by systematic torture, disappearances, and murder: Over 3,000 people were killed, tens of thousands tortured and imprisoned.

In 1988, Pinochet lost a referendum on his continued rule — a historic moment vividly depicted in the film “No!". In 1990, Chile returned to democracy. The reckoning with the dictatorship is still ongoing — Santiago's Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos (Museum of Memory and Human Rights) tells the story impressively.