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History
The country's history is as extensive as its coastline is long.
The northern region of Chile formed part of the Incan empire, and
the more southerly regions were originally occupied by other indigenous
tribes.
Spanish explorers, conquerors and settlers arrived in the mid 1530s
and began a struggle with the native residents that was to go on
for more than 300 years. When the last Arauca Indians on Chiloe
Island surrendered, the Spanish hold on the land was complete.
By that time, the European settlers had already made substantial
moves toward independence from Spain (led by a hero with the unlikely
name of Bernardo O'Higgins).
The War of the Pacific, fought more than a century ago against
Peru and Bolivia, resulted in considerable expansion of the national
territory by adding the mineral-rich Atacama Desert. The next major
rift in the nation's history occurred in 1970 when economic difficulties
and political unrest followed the election of South America's first
Marxist president, Salvador Allende.
The tensions culminated in 1973 with the takeover by a dictatorship-the
military junta headed by Gen. Augusto Pinochet Ugarte.
But Chile's democratic tradition was revived after Pinochet decisively
lost a 1988 plebiscite (he had wanted a confirmation of his presidential
powers until 1997).
A presidential election brought a civilian, Patricio Aylwin, into
power, and since then democracy has continued. Today, Chile is considered
politically stable.
Culture
The country's art, literature and music have been influential internationally.
Folk music has been an especially important outlet for the country's
oppressed, and was frequently performed overseas by exiles during
Pinochet's reign.
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