This is a timeline of Chilean history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in Chile and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see History of Chile. See also the list of governors and presidents of Chile.
An uprising led by toquiMichimalonco attacks fledgling Santiago in an attempt to drive out the Spanish. Key actions undertaken by Inés de Suárez, the first Spanish woman to set foot in Chile, are attributed with avoiding the complete destruction of the outnumbered settlement.[18]
Lautaro, after six years' imprisonment by the Spanish, escapes. He then teaches his people European warfare, including riding horses.
1553
December 25
Battle of Tucapel: Mapuches led by Lautaro defeat the Spanish at the ruins of Tucapel capturing Pedro de Valdivia who is then executed. A general Mapuche uprising develops under Lautaro.
Military leader Alejo is murdered by his two wives.
1664
The Viceroalty of Peru estimates 30,000 to 42,000 Spaniards to have died in Chile of which half would have died by the direct consequences of the Arauco War.
1667
Governor Francisco de Meneses is destituted after accusations of immorality against him.
1670
December 31
The expedition of John Narborough leaves Corral Bay having surveyed the coast and lost four hostages to the Spanish.[39]
A violent earthquake and subsequent tsunami completely destroy the city of Concepción.[23] The earthquake causes severe destruction to cities as far away as Talca.
1759
January 27
Cuncos and Huilliches defeat a Spanish expedition aiming to build a fort on Bueno River.
The parliaments of Negrete and Las Canoas between Spanish and native Mapuche and Huilliche are celebrated. The native chiefs accept the Spanish king as their de jure sovereign, but their own independence is also confirmed.
1796
13 January
Governor Ambrosio O'Higgins officially begins the repopulation of Osorno atop the city ruins discovered in 1792. The city had previously been destroyed by the indigenous mapuche in 1602.[24]
The South American branch, under Manuel Julián Grajales, of the Real expedición filantrópica de la Vacuna (Royal Philanthropic Vaccine Expedition) reaches Santiago. Grajales proceeds to organize the Junta Central de Vacuna (Central Vaccine Board) to reinforce the smallpox immunization efforts of 1805.[52][53]
Imitating the juntista movement of the rest of Latin America, the criollos (people of Spanish ancestry, but not born in Spain) of Santiago de Chile proclaim a governing Junta.
Hostilities begin between the moderados, led by Bernardo O'Higgins, and the exaltados, led by Carrera. Carrera institutes the first Chilean national symbols (flag, coat of arms, and national anthem), and Fray Camilo Henríquez begins to publish the Aurora de Chile, the first Chilean newspaper. The Chilean Constitution of 1812 comes into effect. Founding of the Logia Lautaro.
1813
The Spanish send military expeditions (under Antonio Pareja and Gabino Gaínza) from the Viceroyalty of Peru. In the ensuing battles O'Higgins rises to be seen as a figure of great stature, overshadowing the continually less popular Carrera, who ultimately resigns. Francisco de la Lastra becomes Supreme Director.
1814
The "Disaster of Rancagua". Mariano Osorio, in command of a third Spanish expedition, defeats O'Higgins (October 1 – 2). Osorio reconquers Santiago for Spain. Exodus of Chilean patriots to Mendoza, Argentina, where they receive the support of José de San Martín. Those patriots who remain in Chile are captured by the Spaniards are deported to the Juan Fernández Islands. Osorio is confirmed Governor of Chile by the Viceroy Fernando de Abascal of Peru. The talaveras, under the command of San Bruno, install a regime of terror extending to those merely suspected of sympathy for the Chilean cause.
1815
Guerrilla resistance against the Spanish begins, led by Manuel Rodríguez Erdoiza, and other spies such as Justo Estay. Increasing enmity between Osorio and Abascal leads Abascal to replace Osorio with Casimiro Marcó del Pont.
O'Higgins signs the Chilean Declaration of Independence (February 12). Shortly afterwards, in the Battle of Maipú, O'Higgins defeats a new military expedition led by Mariano Osorio, and Chile definitively obtains independence from Spain (April 5). The rivalry between O'Higgins and Manuel Rodríguez ends with the ambush and assassination of the latter in Tiltil. The brothers Juan José and Luis Carrera are shot in Argentina.
José Miguel Carrera arrested as a montonero (mounted rebel/bandit) in Argentina, and executed in Mendoza.
1822
The Chilean Constitution of 1822 comes into effect.
1823
Ramón Freire leads a military expedition from Concepción to Santiago and forces O'Higgins to resign. He goes into exile in Peru, where he dies in 1842. Freire assumes power.
1825
Taking advantage of the un-surveyed border, and ignoring the royal decree of 1681 and the principal uti possidetis, Simón Bolívar grants the port of Cobija to Bolivia. This gives Bolivia an outlet to the sea between Chile and Peru, which it will retain until the War of the Pacific.
1826
Freire incorporates Chiloé, the last area under Spanish control, into Chile. He later resigns, initiating an interregnum known as The Anarchy. First attempt in Chile of federal (as against centralized) government, led by the first president of Chile Manuel Blanco Encalada, and the federalist José Miguel Infante.
1828
Francisco Antonio Pinto assumes power after the resignation of Encalada and his predecessors. Chilean Constitution of 1828.
Diego Portales begins to remodel Chilean institutions, converting the country into an authoritarian republic.
1831
José Joaquín Prieto becomes president of Chile. He will serve two consecutive five-year terms. With him, the so-called decenios (decade-long reigns) begin, which continue until 1871. This 30-year Conservative Party hegemony is sometimes referred to as the Authoritarian Republic.
1832
Discovery of mineral deposits in Chañarcillo, and the beginning of the rise of silver in what was then el Norte Chico and now constitutes the Atacama and Coquimbo regions of Chile. The mining fortunes constitute an important source of power in the following decades.
Diego Portales is assassinated by mutinous soldiers in Quillota. A Chilean military expedition debarks in Perú, beginning the War of the Confederation.
Founding of Punta Arenas in the Strait of Magellan
1851
José María de la Cruz revolts in the southern provinces of Chile. Bulnes crushes the revolutionary attempt and signs the treaty of Purapel with the revolutionaries. Manuel Montt becomes the third of the decenal presidents.
The Dispute of Sacristán ("Cuestión del Sacristán"). An apparently trivial question of ecclesiastical discipline divides the Conservative Party into secular and ultra-Catholic factions, which lays the ground for their political defeat in the elections of 1861.
1857
The Civil Code of Chile comes into effect; it will become a model for Latin American legal codes down to the present day.
1859
Chilean Revolution of 1859. Pedro León Gallo, radical revolutionary of Copiapó, and others are defeated by the government forces. However, as a consequence, Antonio Varas renounces to his candidature.
1861
José Joaquín Pérez of the Liberal Party elected president. His party will retain power until the Chilean Revolution of 1891.
1863
A French adventurer proclaims himself Orélie Antoine I, King of Araucanía. After a short time he is arrested by the Chileans and deported in the pacification of Araucanía.
1866
Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia at war with Spain. The port of Valparaíso is bombed by the Spanish. A treaty of limits (borders) of 1866 is signed with Bolivia.
1871
A constitutional reform prohibits re-election, resulting in the end of the decenios. Governments of five years duration persist until 1925, except for the premature death of Pedro Montt in 1910.
1874
Another treaty of limits is signed with Bolivia due to political tensions.
1879
The War of the Pacific begins with Chilean troops occupying the then-Bolivian port city of Antofagasta. Bolivia's ally Peru attempts to mediate, but Chile refuses to negotiate and Peru enters the war on the side of Bolivia. Chile captures the provinces of Antofagasta from Bolivia and Tarapacá from Peru.
1880
The United States attempts to mediate in the Lackawanna Conference, but both sides refuse to negotiate.
The War of the Pacific ends with the signing of a truce with Bolivia. Chile's territorial gains allow the mining of saltpeter in the conquered regions, leading to great national prosperity for Chile. Treaty called "Pacto de Tregua".
The Meat riot in Santiago begins. The workers revolt against the central government due to an increase in the cost of living, including the price of meat. The government responds sending in the army. Two days of riots follow, during which hundreds of civilians are killed in street fighting.
1907
Massacre of the Escuela Santa María de Iquique; soldiers fire on saltpeter workers and their unarmed associates. It will be years before the workers, terrorized by the brutal repression, resume the struggle for their rights.
1910
Centenary of Chilean independence. Celebrations are darkened by the death of President Pedro Montt, the only president between 1831 and 1925 did not serve for a full five-year term.
The Panama Canal opens; with Atlantic–Pacific shipping redirected to the new canal, the formerly crucial port of Valparaíso enters an economic decline.
1 November
First World War: A German naval squadron decisively defeats a British squadron at the Battle of Coronel, off the coast of Chile.
1920
Arturo Alessandri Palma is elected president, indicating a rise to power by the Chilean middle classes.
After intense political agitation the Chilean Constitution of 1925 is adopted, only slightly less authoritarian than that of 1833. The Impuesto Global Complementario, a graduated income tax, is introduced.
1927
In a bloodless coup, Carlos Ibáñez del Campo takes the presidency by force during great political instability. He subsequently governs as a dictator until 1931.
The corps of Carabineros — paramilitary police — is founded.
The deep economic crisis obliges Ibáñez del Campo to step down. A series of civilian governments and military juntas follows, some of which last no more than a few days.
Christian DemocratEduardo Frei Montalva becomes president, proclaiming the so-called "Revolution in Liberty". His election campaign was largely (and secretly) funded by the CIA, an intelligence agency of the United States.
1970
4 September
Salvador Allende is elected president; the first democratic election of a Marxist politician.[76] The election campaign was highly polarised and subject to covert interference by foreign intelligence agencies (the CIA[77] and KGB[78]). Allende's socialist and Marxist orientation[76] greatly displeased the government of the United States which directed resources to "prevent Allende from coming to power or to unseat him".[79]
25 October
Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army René Schneider is assassinated in Santiago in an alleged kidnapping attempt. The group responsible received material support prior to and after the crime from the CIA.[80]
The armed forces, carabineros, and others stage a violent coup by overthrowing Allende, who dies in the course of the coup. Some historians believe that the coup was supported or encouraged by the CIA. In the aftermath, Augusto Pinochet establishes himself as the head of a military junta. The subsequent repression of leftists and other opponents of the military regime results in approximately 130,000 arrests and at least 2,000 dead or "disappeared" over the next 17 years.
Beagle conflict: Argentina refuses to abide by the judgement and invades Chile in Operation Soberania. Argentine forces withdraw before any combat occurs.
During a visit to London for medical reasons, Augusto Pinochet is arrested in accord with the orders of Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón, beginning an international struggle between his supporters and detractors. He returns to Chile the following year, and the charges against him are later thrown out on the basis of his mental state. Chile suffers greatly from a world economic crisis, resulting in years of inflation and unemployment.
^Owen, Bruce (2005). "Distant Colonies and Explosive Collapse: The Two Stages of the Tiwanaku Diaspora in the Osmore Drainage". Latin American Antiquity. 16 (1): 45–81. doi:10.2307/30042486. JSTOR30042486. S2CID149450446.
^Kolata, Alan L., "The Agricultural Foundations of the Tiwanaku State: A View from the Heartland", American Antiquity, Vol. 51, No. 4 (October 1986), pp. 748–762, Society for American Archaeology.
^Petit-Breuilh Sepúlveda, María Eugenia (2004). La historia eruptiva de los volcanes hispanoamericanos (Siglos XVI al XX): El modelo chileno (in Spanish). Huelva, Spain: Casa de los volcanes. p. 53. ISBN84-95938-32-4.
^Barros Arana, Diego. "Capítulo XIV". Historia general de Chile (in Spanish). Vol. Tomo cuarto (Digital edition based on the second edition of 2000 ed.). Alicante: Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes. pp. 346–347. Archived from the original on 2019-10-19. Retrieved 2019-08-05.
^ abMartínez Sanz, Pedro (2005). "La Viruela y Fray Chaparro". Ars Medica (in Spanish). 34 (1). Ars Medica Revista de Ciencias Médicas. ISSN0719-1855. Archived from the original on 1 April 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
^Talbott, Robert D. (1974). "The Strait of Magellan". A history of the Chilean boundaries (A Replica ed.). The Iowa State University Press. p. 82. ISBN0-8138-0305-5.
^Cárdenas Álvarez, Renato (January 17, 2005). "La historia del pirata chilote Pedro Ñancúpel" (in Spanish). El Llanquihue. Archived from the original on January 24, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2019. Cuando es capturado en Melinka ya era una leyenda porque había evadido la persecución.
