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Diego de Almagro was hoping to find gold and silver. Him and his men set out from Peru to explore the surrounding land. They traveled to Chile but left because they found no riches.
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Pedro Valdivia leads a group of men from Peru to Chile’s Central Valley and begins the Spanish conquest of Chile. He founds Santiago.
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The Mapuche killed Valdivia and the majority of his men in a battle. They refused to be under the control of the Spaniards.
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Because Spain was occupied by the French army the natives revolted. A small group took the chance and declared Chile’s independence. They formed a Junta, which is a small group that rules by order.
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Two men, Carrera and O’Higgins, were fighting over ruling the Junta. Spain took this opportunity to enter Chile from Peru. They then regained control of Chile.
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Bernardo O’Higgins and the Argentine general José de San Martín led the Army of the Andes. This army defeated the Spanish army near Santiago, at a place called Chacabuco.
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The Army of the Andes defeated the Spanish army again at the Maipo River. This was the final battle that secured Chile’s independence. Bernardo O’Higgins becomes Chile’s first leader.
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Chile was divided into two political parties: the Conservatives and the Liberals. Neither of these parties supported O’Higgins. Due to this, he was forced to resign.
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In the 1870’s there was a quarrel between Chile and Bolivia about control over the nitrate deposits in the Atacama Desert. When Peru sided with Bolivia on this issue, they all fought in a war called the War of the Pacific. After winning this war, Chile gained lots of territory that contained copper deposits and nitrates.
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In previous years, Liberal political leaders had disliked a majority of the president’s ideas. In 1890, the National Congress wouldn’t approve José Manuel Balmaceda, the president’s, ideas about finances. This resulted in a civil war where most of Balmaceda’s men were defeated and Balmaceda killed himself.
