Chile

¡Aquí se puede hablar del país Chile!

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The Republic of Chile is located between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific. Estimated at a population of 5 million, the largest city and capital is Santiago. The primary langauge is Spanish and the literacy rate is 96%!! The currency is the Chilean Peso and agriculture is one of the main work opportunities.
Jamie Ibarra :)

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Chile's National Parks

Parque Nacional Torres del Paine: This park is one of the few main attractions of South America's national park. It consists of sparkling blue lakes, tumbling creeks and rivers, cascading waterfalls, huge glaciers, impenetrable forests, and copious plant and animal species. The 180,000-hectare park has been designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, protecting the guanaco, Chilean deer, 105 species of birds that include flamingos, bandurrias, condors, black-necked swans, eagles, loicas, and cachanas. There are also 25 different species of mammals like the armadillo, fox, and a puma. Budding botanists can see over 200 kinds of plants. The park's natural beauty is threatened by human intrusion because some visitors take natural souvenirs.
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Parque Nacional Laguna San Rafael: This park is the birthplace of icebergs. It's ice field is composed of 19 glaciers. Unfortunately, the ice is slowly melting away due to the area's temperature. The park's dense forests hide mammals that include pudu, pumas and foxes, while the glacial areas provide an ideal enviroment for Magellanic penguins, albatrosses, otters,
and sea lions.
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- Jennifer Hidalgo

Money of Chile

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**Local currency is the Chilean Peso. Currently, the exchange was about 451 pesos per 1USD. **
- Jennifer Hidalgo

Surfing

Chile is a long country which can be divided into 3 areas: North, Central, and South. The northern regions hold mostly Hawaiian-style reef-breaks. The central and southern regions hold mostly left hander point breaks, making Chile a goofy-footer's paradise.

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-B. Sterling

Beaches

There are long beaches north of Valparaiso in the city of Viña del mar and further north to Concon, a resort for weekend visitors of Santiago. There are also steep sand dunes which turn red during sunset. Nice for taking pictures.
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Puerto Varas is a city on the shores of Lake Llanquihue and is one of most popular tourist destinations in the country.
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Higuerilla Beach at Caleta Higuerilla in Vina del Mar is a favorite destination for the beach, the fishing and the many fine seafood restaurants.
-Samantha Hamto

Dance

The Cueca is the national dance of Chile. An integral part is the use of white handkerchiefs by both men and women as they dance.
-Gina Sprague
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History of Chile

About 10,000 years ago, migrating Indians settled in fertile valleys and along the coast of what is now Chile. The Incas briefly extended their empire into what is now northern Chile, but the area's barrenness prevented extensive settlement. The first Europeans to arrive in Chile were Diego de Almagro and his band of Spanish conquistadors, who came from Peru seeking gold in 1535. The Spanish encountered hundreds of thousands of Indians from various cultures in the area that modern Chile now occupies. These cultures supported themselves principally through slash-and-burn agriculture and hunting. The conquest of Chile began in earnest in 1540 and was carried out by Pedro de Valdivia, one of Francisco Pizarro's lieutenants, who founded the city of Santiago on February 12, 1541. Although the Spanish did not find the extensive gold and silver they sought, they recognized the agricultural potential of Chile's central valley, and Chile became part of the Viceroyalty of Peru.

The drive for independence from Spain was precipitated by usurpation of the Spanish throne by Napoleon's brother Joseph in 1808. A national junta in the name of Ferdinand (heir to the deposed king) was formed on September 18, 1810. The junta proclaimed Chile an autonomous republic within the Spanish monarchy. A movement for total independence soon won a wide following. Spanish attempts to reimpose arbitrary rule during what was called the "Reconquista" led to a prolonged struggle.

Intermittent warfare continued until 1817, when an army led by Bernardo O'Higgins, Chile's most renowned patriot, and José San Martín, hero of Argentine independence, crossed the Andes into Chile and defeated the royalists. On February 12, 1818, Chile was proclaimed an independent republic under O'Higgins' leadership. The political revolt brought little social change, however, and 19th century Chilean society preserved the essence of the stratified colonial social structure, which was greatly influenced by family politics and the Roman Catholic Church. A strong presidency eventually emerged, but wealthy landowners remained extremely powerful.

Toward the end of the 19th century, the government in Santiago consolidated its position in the south by ruthlessly suppressing the Mapuche Indians. In 1881, it signed a treaty with Argentina confirming Chilean sovereignty over the Strait of Magellan. As a result of the War of the Pacific with Peru and Bolivia (1879-83), Chile expanded its territory northward by almost one-third and acquired valuable nitrate deposits, the exploitation of which led to an era of national affluence. Chile established a parliamentary democracy in the late 19th century, but degenerated into a system protecting the interests of the ruling oligarchy. By the 1920s, the emerging middle and working classes were powerful enough to elect a reformist president, whose program was frustrated by a conservative congress. In the 1920s, Marxist groups with strong popular support arose.

Continuing political and economic instability resulted with the rule of the quasidictatorial Gen. Carlos Ibanez (1924-32). When constitutional rule was restored in 1932, a strong middle-class party, the Radicals, emerged. It became the key force in coalition governments for the next 20 years. During the period of Radical Party dominance (1932-52), the state increased its role in the economy.

The 1964 presidential election of Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei-Montalva by an absolute majority initiated a period of major reform. Under the slogan "Revolution in Liberty," the Frei administration embarked on far-reaching social and economic programs, particularly in education, housing, and agrarian reform, including rural unionization of agricultural workers. By 1967, however, Frei encountered increasing opposition from leftists, who charged that his reforms were inadequate, and from conservatives, who found them excessive. At the end of his term, Frei had accomplished many noteworthy objectives, but he had not fully achieved his party's ambitious goals.

In 1970, Senator Salvador Allende, a Marxist and member of Chile's Socialist Party, won a plurality of votes in a three-way contest and was named President by the Chilean Congress. His program included the nationalization of private industries and banks, massive land expropriation, and collectivization.

Elected with only 36% of the vote and by a plurality of only 36,000 votes, Allende never enjoyed majority support in the Chilean Congress or broad popular support. Domestic production declined; severe shortages of consumer goods, food, and manufactured products were widespread; and inflation reached 1,000% per annum. Mass demonstrations, recurring strikes, violence by both government supporters and opponents, and widespread rural unrest ensued in response to the general deterioration of the economy. By 1973, Chilean society had split into two hostile camps.

A military coup overthrew Allende on September 11, 1973. As the armed forces bombarded the presidential palace, Allende reportedly committed suicide. A military government, led by General Augusto Pinochet, took over control of the country. The first years of the regime in particular were marked by serious human rights violations. A new Constitution was approved by a plebiscite on September 11, 1980, and General Pinochet became President of the Republic for an 8-year term. In its later years, the regime gradually permitted greater freedom of assembly, speech, and association, to include trade union activity.

In contrast to its authoritarian political rule, the military government pursued decidedly laissez-faire economic policies. During its 16 years in power, Chile moved away from economic statism toward a largely free market economy that fostered an increase in domestic and foreign private investment. In a plebiscite on October 5, 1988, General Pinochet was denied a second 8-year term as president. Chileans voted for elections to choose a new president and the majority of members of a two-chamber congress. On December 14, 1989, Christian Democrat Patricio Aylwin was elected president.

-Amanda Chapman

*Jenifer Smale*

Fun Facts

Chile Facts:
Chile's coastline stretches 2,700 miles long, running from the Atacama, the world's most arid desert in the north, through forests, valleys, mountains, lakes, glacier fields, the Tierra del Fuego and the Antarctic Circle in the south. Chile is never more than 110 miles wide east to west.
Unlike most of the world, Chile is blessed with natural barriers. The fruit-growing region is protected by the Andes Mountains on the east, the Antarctic ice cap to the south, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Atacama Desert to the north.
Chile has a broad spectrum of growing climates. These climactic variations favor diversified production of fruits and prolonged harvest seasons. In the past 16 years, fresh fruit exports from Chile to North America have increased over 700 percent. Chile is the primary wintertime source (over 95 percent) of fresh grapes for the US and Canada.
The Chilean fruit-growing season is opposite that ofthe US., so marketing is complementary rather than competitive.
There are more than 2,00 0 volcanoes in Chile, of which 50 are actually active.
Chile is the second-largest producer of salmon in the world.
Chile provides North America with almost 15 percent of all its fruit sales during the months of November through April.
Soccer is Chile's national sport.
Chile is the home of two Nobel Prize winning poets, Gabriela Mistral(1945), and Pablo Neruda(1971).
David Selkirk, immortalized as Robinson Crusoe, survived a shipwreck and lived for several years on a desert island off the coast of Chile, no doubt thriving on the nutritional benefits of fresh fruit.

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