Background: Prior to the coming of the Spanish in the 16th century, northern Chile was under Inca rule while Araucanian Indians inhabited central and southern Chile; the latter were not completely subjugated until the early 1880s. Although Chile declared its independence in 1810, decisive victory over the Spanish was not achieved until 1818. In the War of the Pacific (1879-84), Chile defeated Peru and Bolivia and won its present northern lands. A three-year-old Marxist government of Salvador ALLENDE was overthrown in 1973 by a dictatorial military regime 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 and have helped secure the country's commitment to democratic and representative government. Chile has increasingly assumed regional and international leadership roles befitting its status as a stable, democratic nation.
June 18th 2008South America » Chile » Los Lagos Our first bus journey from Santiago to Pucon was very comfortable and we arrived into the town early. Having slept almost all the way waking up and having to get out into the freezing cold wet weathe ... 14 photos[full story]
June 11th 2008South America » Chile » Los Lagos » Chiloé Island The Chiloe archipelago is the northernmost part of the frayed edge of Chile, the tattered jumble of islands and fjords that starts south of Puerto Montt and continues for nearly 3,000km down to Cape H ... 42 photos[full story]
June 6th 2008South America » Chile » Los Lagos » Puerto Varas I'd heard that Volcan Chaiten had been depositing ash on a couple of places further south that I'd intended visiting so, with no wish to look any greyer than I already do, I went west instead. The jo ... 42 photos[full story]
May 29th 2008South America » Chile » Los Lagos » Puerto Varas Hola Amigos
Hope everyone is well and enjoying the good weather back home. We made it to Chile after a bit of a monster flight from Auz and have been dossing around the Lake District for the past ... 4 photos[full story]
March 30th 2008South America » Chile » Los Lagos Po, estoy aquí, en Valdivia ¡por fin! I won’t bore you with the travel stuff, which really isn’t too exciting for anyone other than me; instead, let me list some of the impressions I&rsqu ... [full story]
March 16th 2008South America » Chile » Los Lagos Somewhat surprisingly for a region known for it´s generally vast expenses, Patagonia can feel like a bit of a small world at times! You tend to see the same faces on the same boats, buses, and trails ... 17 photos[full story]
February 10th 2008South America » Chile » Los Lagos As of February the 8th, I officially have the disease! Travel Fever, Mile High Addict, Perpetual Motion Sickness, call it what you want....I have it! I had a very early morning flight from BA to San ... 24 photos[full story]
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