Chile was first settled as many as 10,000 years ago. Tribal people gathered in Chile's fertile valleys and on the country's long Pacific Coast. For a short period of time, the Incan civilization entered Chile, but the north was too barren and they did not expand into Chile for long.
In 1536 the Europeans discovered Chile. The first to arrive was the Spanish headed by Diego de Almagro. There were already hundreds of thousands of native peoples living in Chile at the time. Soon the Spanish began to conquer Chile and Pedro de Valdivia founded the city of Santiago on February of 1941. Unlike Peru, Chile was not rich with gold and silver, but its central valley held the riches of agriculture. Soon Chile was part of the Spanish Empire.
In 1810, the Chileans decided to fight for their independence from Spain. The war that followed was called the Reconquista. In 1817 armies led by famed Chilean patriot Bernardo O'Higgins and the hero of Argentina, Jose de San Martin defeated the Spanish. They crossed over the Andes to attack. Chile declared independence on February 12, 1818. Bernardo O'Higgins was the first leader of independent Chile.
One of the most famous recent events to occur in Chile was when 33 miners were trapped deep within a gold mine in San Jose. Rescuers searched for the miners for 17 days and finally found them trapped 2,300 feet below the ground. All 33 men were eventually brought to the surface. The rescue was shown on live television and viewed by people all around the world.
The Geography of Chile
Total Size: 756,950 square km
Size Comparison: slightly smaller than twice the size of Montana
