Timeline of Chile's History

Timeline of Chile's History

By : Kaitlyn Gammon

Chile Civil War - (1829-1830)

'Meat Massacre' - (1905)

Mapuche-Spanish Peace Treaty - (1726)

Conquest of Chile - (1541-late 1500's)

Valdivia Earthquake - (1960)

The 'Great Chilean Earthquake' occurred on May 22nd in 1960. It is still to this day the most powerful earthquake to occur in any area. It was given a 9.4-9.6 on the magnitude test, which is the most extreme measurement ever given. The earthquake was so devastating that it managed to great a huge tsunami that managed to get all the way to Australia. Landslides were also a natural disaster that occurred due to the earthquake, ruining homes, buildings, and other properties. Besides the billions of dollars in damage and thousands of people left homeless, an estimate of 6,000 people died due to the massive storm as well as several thousand injuries. This was a major impact on Chile and continues to impact it, even today. Clean up efforts took several billion dollars and lots of time and energy. More warnings and safety precautions were put in place in order to avoid such a horrific incident again.

In this area of time, Spanish people began to find land for themselves, as well as try to take land from other people to establish more territories. The Spaniards came to Chile in attempt to take the land. War was fought for several years, resulting in the Spaniards winning several battles and establishing many cities in Chile (such as Santiago and Castro), however they ultimately stopped the quest for land down South as they were still fighting in the Aruco War-- a long running conflict-- with the Araucanía people. This is significant because if it weren't for the war, Chile would've had a high chance of being taken over by Spanish people and wouldn't be independent today.

The Chilean Civil War was a political war that lasted for a year. The main reason of the war is that the conservatives and liberals were in disagreement over a new constitution that had been put in place, and stayed in place for several years. Although there were not many fights or casualties, the conservatives won. However, many people now did not want to join the government after all the fighting that had happened. Chile is often known for it's political disagreements and civil wars with one another, and this was most likely the first incident that helped the country spiral into even more fighting incidents.

The Meat Massacre was when workers protested against the local government due to the fact that cattle that were being imported from different countries had taxes on them. After a couple days of protesting, the government sent it's army. Riots form when the soldiers show up, which resulted in thousands of deaths and casualties. The government managed to kill or injure 2,000 civilians while only 300 soldiers were killed or hurt by protesters. The government won and the citizens were forced to stop protesting and to deal with the tariffs that were set in law. This was a huge set back for their new democracy since they were silenced because of their opinion. This was also a negative thing because less and less people wanted to be associated with the government, so less people worked for them.

After several years of fighting one another, the Mapuche people and Spaniards met to sign a treaty that would bring peace with each other's countries and people and to end all war and conflict between them. It was signed into a parliament (law) after a meeting with both sides. This helped the Chilean people get away with constant war, fighting and hatred with the Spaniards and to be a safer and calmer country. It also stopped the chances of them being taken over by Spaniards.

Battle of Curalaba - (1598)

Earthquake - (1647)

Mount Hudson - (1991)

Easter Island - (1888)

Economic Crash - (1929)

Mount Hudson is a large volcano that is located in Southern Chile. In October of 1991, the volcano erupted and the eruption becomes one of the biggest in the 20th Century. Luckily it was in a quieter and empty piece of land but due to all the natural incidents that occur in Chile, safety had risen and all citizens in the affected area were forced to evacuate, making it a no casualty incident. The ozone layer was affected horribly, due to the large amounts of ash that fell down on the city due to the eruption. In addition, lots of dangerous and bad gases fell down, affecting the air quality of the area and made the whole world feel 'colder' from all the negative effects. Many animals and people now refuse to go to that area due to the lack of fresh air and clean space.

The battle of Curalaba--also known as the disaster of Curalaba--occurred in Southern Chile. Mapuche/Chilean people ambushed and battled Spaniards. As well as killing nearly everyone at the battle, news of the battle spread around rapidly and lead to a large revolt against the Spanish. This helped more wars and riots form against the Spaniards and helped gain Chile's independence and make it it's own land with it's own people instead of the Spaniards.

On the night of May 13th, Santiago was hit by a major earthquake. The earthquake was said to bring nearly every building down due to it's intensity and there were a reported nearly 1000 casualties due to fallen objects. Despite lack of evidence and reports, that earthquake remains the most damaging to occur in Santiago. This was one of the first major earthquakes to hit Santiago, so it surprised most when it came. It cost tons of money and time to repair all the damages that were caused by this massive storm, and it was now a realization to the citizens how dangerous it could be here.

The economic crash of 1929 affected nearly every country and person within them, causing the age of the 'Great Depression'. Although banks crashing and stocks plummeting mainly occurred in London and the United States, Chile was declared "The worst affected nation". This depression caused governments to be shorter and less ready to solve problems and protect Chile. Unemployment rates rose to an all time high and many important jobs that several citizens had, such as mining, took a huge downhill spiral, leaving nearly every citizen with less income, food and careers. Soup kitchens and homeless people became more of a normality in Chile than ever before. The government began to raise taxes to compensate for the lost income, which caused an uproar at first, but ultimately saved them from the crisis they were in after a few years. This, thankfully, allowed Chile to get back on it's feet and rebuild it's country after the depression.

Although Easter Island had been discovered 100 years back, it remained unoccupied and independent until 1888. Chilean people took the island under their name, so it became a part of their country. The used it for farming which helped the industry of sheep blossom for them. Although not many people lived there at the start, it helped the country bloom and allowed for more space for the Chilean people to use. Now, anyone who lives on Easter Island is a Chile citizen and can vote and do anything that someone living in Chile could do.

Resources

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/lifelists/the-statues-of-easter-island-11248888/

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St_Helens_before_1980_eruption_horizon_fixed.jpg

https://www.slideshare.net/borisv390/the-valdivia-e

https://www.pexels.com/photo/1964-allende-chile-crowd-270096/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Empire

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Terremoto_Valpara%C3%ADso_1906-Teatro_de_la_Victoria.JPG

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_civil_war_in_Chile.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bank_of_the_United_States_failure_NYWTS.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Chilean_history

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conquest_of_Chile

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arauco_War

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1647_Santiago_earthquake

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1712_Huilliche_rebellion

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_Negrete_(1726)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mapuche_history

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilean_Civil_War_of_1829%E2%80%9330

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilean_Civil_War_of_1829%E2%80%9330

http://www.history.com/topics/easter-island

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conquistador

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meat_riots

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression_in_Chile

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_Valdivia_earthquake

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Hudson