Chile

F

Social Services

Social welfare legislation was first enacted in the 1920s, and by the early 1970s the country’s welfare program ranked as one of the most extensive in the world. After the 1973 coup, the military government abandoned or dismantled much of the social welfare system. In 1981 a new social security system displaced the state-run system that had been in place since 1952. The new system, privately administered but government regulated, was based on the notion of individual capitalization accounts similar to a private insurance policy. Contributions amounting to 10 to 15 percent of earnings are obligatory, and the government guarantees a minimum benefit to contributors. The majority of the people receive free medical care under the National Health Service.

G

Defense

Military service of one year in the army or two years in the navy or air force is compulsory in Chile for all able-bodied 18- or 19-year-old men. In 2004 the country’s military force of 78,098 people was distributed as follows: 47,700 in the army; 19,398 in the navy; and 11,000 in the air force.

VI

History

The first European to visit what is now Chile was Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who landed at Chiloé Island following his voyage, in 1520, through the strait that now bears his name. The region was then known to its native population as Tchili, a Native American word meaning “snow.” At the time of Magellan’s visit, most of Chile south of the Rapel River was dominated by the Araucanians, a Native American people remarkable for its fighting ability. The Native Americans occupying the northern portions of Chile had been subjugated during the 15th century by the Incas of Peru. 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.

A

Spanish Settlement

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 100 years.

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Hostile to colonization, the Araucanians were the only important Native American people who were never entirely subdued by the Spaniards. Not until the last quarter of the 19th century did the Chileans succeed in pushing them into the forests of the south and bringing them under government control. The fierce and persistent resistance of the Araucanians gave a frontier flavor to the history of Chile for several centuries. In spite of their bitter fight against the Araucanians, the Spanish came to admire them and to mix with them, so that a majority of Chileans today probably have Araucanian ancestors.

In the Spanish colonial organization Chile originally was a dependency of the Viceroyalty of Peru and later had its own government. The country developed slowly because there was not enough silver or gold to attract the Spanish. Moreover, it was far from the main centers of Spanish colonization in Peru and was difficult to reach. Most of those who did settle in Chile became farmers, and Chile supplied Peru with foodstuffs, especially wheat. Orchards, ranches, and vineyards also prospered. The townspeople lived by trade.

B

Independence from Spain

Chile took the first steps toward independence in 1810, after Chilean colonists learned that the king of Spain had been deposed by Napoleon I of France. On September 18 of that year, the Santiago town council deposed the colonial governor of Chile, delegating his powers to a council of seven. This act marked the formal establishment of Chilean independence from Spain, and September 18 is now celebrated as Chile’s Independence Day. Within four years, however, the Spanish viceroy of Peru regained control of Chile, but by that time the taste for independence was strong.

The most important leader who emerged during Chile’s struggle for independence was Bernardo O’Higgins. As a young man O’Higgins had spent several years in Europe, where he came under the influence of various revolutionaries. When he returned to Chile, O’Higgins involved himself in the patriot cause. By 1816 he was commander of exiled Chileans who had joined the Army of the Andes, which was preparing for the liberation of Chile and the southern part of South America. Early in 1817 an epic crossing of the Andes brought the liberating forces into Chile. See also Latin American Independence.

In February 1817 the rebel army decisively defeated a Spanish royalist army at Chacabuco, ending Spanish control of northern Chile. O’Higgins was declared supreme director, and on February 12, 1818, he proclaimed the absolute independence of Chile. Nevertheless, royalist forces were not completely expelled from the country until 1826.

Thus Chile became free from Spain, but its colonial social structure remained intact. At one end of the social scale was an aristocracy with little political experience, composed of conservative landowners and urban merchants, united by blood ties and family interests. At the other end was an uneducated and submissive mass, ill-prepared to practice the rights and duties of a free people.

O’Higgins ruled the country until 1823. The five years of his rule were typical of the experience of liberators in other parts of Latin America. Great popularity and high hopes soon gave way to bickering and slander as the ruling class disagreed over what should be done and as personal ambitions emerged. O’Higgins made enlightened efforts to create schools and import teachers from England, to suppress banditry and promote foreign trade, to construct roads and water supply systems, and to encourage libraries and newspapers. Yet radicals were dissatisfied in some respects, and conservatives opposed O’Higgins’s abolition of titles of nobility and his efforts to terminate entailed estates—estates whose ownership was restricted to descendants of current owners. The clergy was offended by his efforts to control the church and introduce toleration. O’Higgins found no way to share his power or to delegate his authority. He resorted to strong methods to maintain his power, but by 1823 his opponents forced him to resign. The disillusioned liberator moved to Peru, where he lived until his death in 1842.

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