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Chile: Northern Chile
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Prior to the coming of the Spanish in the 16th century, northern Chile was under Inca rule while Araucanian Indians (... known as Mapuches) inhabited central and southern Chile. Although Chile declared its independence in 1810, decisive victory over the Spanish was not achieved until 1818. In the War of the Pacific (1879-83), Chile defeated Peru and Bolivia and won its present northern regions. It was not until the 1880s that the Araucanian Indians were completely subjugated. A three-year-old Marxist government of Salvador ALLENDE was overthrown in 1973 by a military coup led by Augusto PINOCHET, who ruled until a freely elected president was installed in 1990. Sound economic policies, maintained consistently since the 1980s, have contributed to steady growth, reduced poverty rates by over half, and have helped secure the country's commitment to democratic and representative government.
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Northern Chile was an important center of culture in the medieval and early modern Inca empire, while the central and southern regions were areas of Mapuche cultural activities. Through the colonial period following the conquest, and during the early Republican period, the country's culture was dominated by the Spanish. Other European influences, primarily English and French, began in the 19th century and have continued to this day.
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Chile has a large service sector and has a modern and liberalized telecommunications infrastructure. Tourism is expanding rapidly, and foreign visitors spend more than US$1.3 billion yearly. Tourists are attracted to the rugged beauty of the southern woodlands, the emptiness of the northern desert plains and the skiing season in the Andes mountains (May to September). European tourists are specially attracted by the Patagonia.
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Relative to its overall population, Chile never experienced any large scale wave of immigrants. The total number of immigrants to Chile, both originating from other Latin American countries and all other (mostly European) countries, never surpassed 4% of its total population. This is not to say that immigrants were not important to the evolution of Chilean society and the Chilean nation. Basque families who migrated to Chile in the 18th century vitalized the economy and joined the old Castilian aristocracy to become the political elite that still dominates the country. Some non-Spanish European immigrants arrived in Chile — mainly to the northern and southern extremities of the country — during the 19th and 20th centuries, including English, Germans, Irish, Italians, French, Croatians. The prevalence of non-Hispanic European surnames among the governing body of modern Chile are a testament to their disproportionate contribution and influence on the country.
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The many rivers of Chile are relatively short. Most of them rise in the Andes and flow west to the Pacific. In the northern and central regions the rivers are fed primarily by the perpetual snow cover of the Andes. The most important rivers (from north to south) are the Loa, Elqui, Aconcagua, Maipo, Maule, Biobío, and Imperial. Although the rivers have limited value for navigation because of cascades, they are vital for the irrigation and hydroelectric power they furnish. Many of Chile’s major lakes, including Lake Llanquihue, are concentrated in the scenic lake district of the southern region.
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S Chile, extending from the BÃo-BÃo River to Cape Horn, is cold and humid, with dense forests, heavy rainfall, snow-covered peaks, glaciers, and islands. Sections of this region, which is in the direct path of moist westerly winds, receive more than 100 in. (254 cm) of precipitation annually. Because of subsidence of the earth's crust, the Coast Ranges and the central lowlands have been partially submerged, forming the extensive archipelago of S Chile, an area of craggy islands (notably Chiloé), numerous channels, and deep fjords. The Chilean lake district is a noted resort area. Although all of S Chile is forested, only the drier northern part has exploitable timber resources; Puerto Montt and Temuco are major timber-handling centers. The rest of the region is a wilderness of midlatitude rain forest, which has been extensively logged.
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Northern Chile