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The Chile Portal

The flag of Chile

Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, extending along a narrow strip of land between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. According to the 2024 census, Chile had an enumerated population of 18.5 million. The country covers a territorial area of 756,102 square kilometers (291,933 sq mi), sharing borders with Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage to the south. It also administers several Pacific islands, including Juan Fernández, Isla Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas, and Easter Island, and claims about 1,250,000 square kilometers (480,000 sq mi) of Antarctica as the Chilean Antarctic Territory. The capital and largest city is Santiago, and the national language is Spanish.

Spain conquered and colonized the region in the mid-16th century, replacing Inca rule; however, they failed to conquer the autonomous tribal Mapuche people who inhabited what is now south-central Chile. Chile emerged as a relatively stable authoritarian republic in the 1830s after its 1818 declaration of independence from Spain. During the 19th century, Chile experienced significant economic and territorial growth, putting an end to Mapuche resistance in the 1880s and gaining its current northern territory in the War of the Pacific (1879–83) by defeating Peru and Bolivia.

In the 20th century, until the 1970s, Chile underwent a process of democratization and experienced rapid population growth and urbanization, while relying increasingly on exports from copper mining to support its economy. During the 1960s and 1970s, the country was marked by severe left-right political polarization and turmoil, which culminated in the 11 September 1973 coup d'état that overthrew Salvador Allende's democratically elected left-wing government, with support from the United States. This was followed by a 16-and-a-half-year right-wing military dictatorship led by Augusto Pinochet, during which the 1980 Constitution was enacted, along with numerous political and economic reforms, and which was marked by widespread human rights violations, including more than 3,000 deaths and disappearances. The regime ended in 1990, following a referendum in 1988, and was succeeded by a center-left coalition, which ruled until 2010. (Full article...)

Good article -

This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.
An outline of the battle in its final stage, when Blanco Encalada sinks because of a torpedo

The Battle of Caldera Bay, or the Sinking of Blanco Encalada, was a naval engagement fought in the Caldera Bay during the 1891 Chilean Civil War between Balmacedist and Congressional naval forces on 23 April 1891. It involved two Balmacedist torpedo boats of the Almirante Lynch-class, and the Congressional armored frigate Blanco Encalada.

After both torpedoes from Almirante Condell had missed, Blanco Encalada was hit by a torpedo from Almirante Lynch and sank in minutes, with the loss of 182 men. The loss of Blanco Encalada hindered the Congressional forces, but they ultimately defeated the Balmacedist forces that August. Blanco Encalada was the first ironclad warship lost to a self-propelled torpedo. The engagement prompted countries to rapidly grow both their torpedo boat and torpedo boat destroyer forces (the latter commonly referred to as destroyers). (Full article...)

Selected biography -

Bust of Lautaro

Lautaro (Anglicized as 'Levtaru') (Mapudungun: Lef-Traru "swift hawk") (Spanish pronunciation: [lawˈtaɾo]; c. 1534 – April 29, 1557) was a young Mapuche toqui known for leading the indigenous resistance against Spanish conquest in Chile and developing the tactics that would continue to be employed by the Mapuche during the long-running Arauco War. Levtaru was captured by Spanish forces in his early youth, and he spent his teenage years as a personal servant of chief conquistador Pedro de Valdivia. He graduated from servant to stableman; in this job he saw that their horses were not godlike creatures like his people thought (the biggest animal they knew was the llama). He escaped in 1551 and told his people that the conquistadores and their horses were just mortals and they could defeat them. Back among his people he was declared Toqui and led Mapuche warriors into a series of victories against the Spaniards, culminating in the Battle of Tucapel in December 1553, where Pedro of Valdivia was killed. The outbreak of a typhus plague, a drought and a famine prevented the Mapuche from taking further actions to expel the Spaniards in 1554 and 1555. Between 1556 and 1557, a small group of Mapuche commanded by Levtaru attempted to reach Santiago to liberate the whole of Central Chile from Spanish rule. Levtaru's attempts ended in 1557 when he was killed in an ambush by the Spaniards.

Today, Levtaru is revered among Mapuche and non-Mapuche Chileans for his resistance against foreign conquest, servitude and cruelty. (Full article...)

Selected article -

Chiloé National Park in December 2003

Chiloé Island (Spanish: Isla de Chiloé, pronounced [tʃiloˈe], locally [ʃiloˈe]), also known as Greater Island of Chiloé (Isla Grande de Chiloé), is the largest island of the Chiloé Archipelago off the west coast of Chile, in the Pacific Ocean. The island is located in southern Chile, in the Los Lagos Region.

The island is roughly rectangular. Its southwestern half is a wilderness of contiguous forests and swamps. Mountains form a belt running from the northwestern to the southeastern corners of the island. Cordillera del Piuchén make up the northern mountains and the more subdued Cordillera de Pirulil gathers the southern mountains. The landscape of the northeastern sectors of Chiloé Island is dominated by rolling hills with a mosaic of pastures, forests and cultivated fields. While the western shores are rocky and relatively straight, the eastern and northern shores contain many inlets, bays and peninsulas, and it is here where all towns and cities lie. (Full article...)

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Recognized content

Good articles

  • 360-degree Panorama of the Southern Sky edit
    360-degree Panorama of the Southern Sky edit
  • A 360 degree panorama of a unique cloudscape over La Silla
    A 360 degree panorama of a unique cloudscape over La Silla
  • American kestrel (Falco sparverius cinnamominus) male Leona Amarga
    American kestrel (Falco sparverius cinnamominus) male Leona Amarga
  • Culpeo MC
    Culpeo MC
  • FCAB EMD GT22CU-3 San Pedro - Ascotan
    FCAB EMD GT22CU-3 San Pedro - Ascotan
  • Gauchowheat edit2
    Gauchowheat edit2
  • Guanaco (Lama guanicoe) Leona Amarga 2
    Guanaco (Lama guanicoe) Leona Amarga 2
  • Géiseres del Tatio, Atacama, Chile, 2016-02-01, DD 03-05 HDR
    Géiseres del Tatio, Atacama, Chile, 2016-02-01, DD 03-05 HDR
  • Laguna Miñiques, Chile, 2016-02-08, DD 33-38 PAN
    Laguna Miñiques, Chile, 2016-02-08, DD 33-38 PAN
  • Laser Towards Milky Ways Centre
    Laser Towards Milky Ways Centre
  • Lesser rhea (Rhea pennata pennata) Torres del Paine
    Lesser rhea (Rhea pennata pennata) Torres del Paine
  • Miscanti Lagoon near San Pedro de Atacama Chile Luca Galuzzi 2006
    Miscanti Lagoon near San Pedro de Atacama Chile Luca Galuzzi 2006
  • Moai Rano raraku
    Moai Rano raraku
  • Puma (Puma concolor concolor) female Leona Amarga
    Puma (Puma concolor concolor) female Leona Amarga
  • SQM GE 289A Boxcab Carmelita - Reverso
    SQM GE 289A Boxcab Carmelita - Reverso
  • The European Extremely Large Telescope
    The European Extremely Large Telescope
  • Volcanos Lascar left and Aguas Calientes right
    Volcanos Lascar left and Aguas Calientes right
  • Volcán Aucanquilcha, Chile, 2016-02-10, DD 11
    Volcán Aucanquilcha, Chile, 2016-02-10, DD 11
  • Volcán San Pedro, Chile, 2016-02-09, DD 18
    Volcán San Pedro, Chile, 2016-02-09, DD 18
  • Vortex-street-1
    Vortex-street-1

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