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Introduction
Chile is the southernmost state in Latin America. It occupies a long, narrow coastal area that is located between the Andes Mountains in the east with the western border comprising of the Pacific Ocean. It borders Argentina to the east, Peru to the north and finally Bolivia to the northeast. The country’s development was significantly influenced by the colonial era. This is the period between the late 15th century and 20th century when the European nations began establishing their colonies in foreign continents. Before the colonial era, numerous Amerindian societies lived in what is modern-day Chile (Siegfried, 2007). However, no single particular civilization reigned supreme even though the Inca had already managed to penetrate the northern-most regions.
Before the landing of the Spanish colonizers during the 16th C, the Inca governed northern Chile while the indigenous Araucanians had made southern and central Chile their home. Even though the country declared its independence in 1810, it was not until 1818 that a decisive victory over the Spanish was achieved. Chile’s economic growth was successfully launched with the export of its agricultural products, followed by minerals such as copper. The country’s wealth in raw materials played a crucial role in its economic upturn; however, it also contributed to chronic dependency and even wars with other neighboring countries (Solberg, 2014). During the War of the Pacific between 1879 and 1883, Chile overcame Peru and Bolivia and claimed ownership over its current northern territory. It was not until the 1880s that the country eventually subjugated the Mapuche. Although largely relatively free of any coups, or arbitrary governments that were commonplace in Latin America, the country experienced the seventeen-year-long military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet between 1973 and 1990 which left over 3000 Chileans missing or dead (Jani, 2009).
Currently, Chile is one of Latin America’s most prosperous and stable nations and a respected middle power. It leads Latin America in human development, competitiveness, and economic freedom. Chile also ranks high regionally when it comes to democracy and press freedom. However, the county still has high levels of economic inequality according to the Gini Index. In mid-2010, the country became the pioneer South American Country to become a member of the OECD. It is a founding member of both the Union of South American Nations and the U.N (Buckman, 2014).
Colonialism
Colonialism is one of the endurings of modern human history. Due to its longevity, the period of colonization has been understood in different ways. Colonialism and imperialism were both kinds of conquests whose primary purpose was to strategically and economically benefit European powers. The consequences of the famed Christopher Colombus’ travels in 1492 fell to Chileans over two generations later (Buckman, 2013). He initiated the process of Spanish colonization that accurately foreshadowed general European colonization of what was then termed as the New World. Spaniards initially directed their explorations into the area that was rich in silver and gold. The then poor and undeveloped Chilean territory was not quite as attractive. The first European to set foot in modern day Chilean territory was Ferdinand Magellan together with his expedition entourage. The group crossed the strait that currently bears his name on 1st November 1520. However, Diego de Almagro is branded as the discoverer of Chile (Kent, 2006). After Latin America’s territorial demarcation between the Portuguese and Spanish that came after the Treaty of Tordesillas, colonial administration of the continent was divided into several horizontal demarcations. The strips were Nueva Castilla which comprised of the territories from Ecuador/Colombia to Cuzco in the south; Nueva Toledo, Nueva Andalucia, as well as Nueva Leon (Jani, 2009).
However, it should be noted that there was no actual conquest of the Chilean territory by the Spaniards. The native tribes that had already previously submitted to the Inca readily welcomed and accepted the new Spaniard colonial masters. The other tribes that had actively defied the Inca carried on defying the Spanish rulers. The Chango tribe that inhabited the Coastal border took a permanent position as allies just as the Araucanians took up a permanent position as sworn enemies of the new occupiers (Jani, 2009).
The Spanish Colonialists settled Chile, put in place a social system, built defenses and cities, cultivated the arable land, brought in foreign culture and blood, and finally created a state. However, South Chile was never a conquered country in the same manner that Mexico and Peru were. The next attempt to hoist the Spanish flag in Chile after Diego Almagro’s abortive expedition was well executed and successful. Pizarro went on to reward Pedro de Valdivia with a Charter to take over and colonize the Chilean territory. After the expedition by Almagro, Valdivia found it difficult to get volunteers (Jani, 2009). Understandably, his reception by the native Indians was quite cold and could even be termed as hostile to some extent.
Political, Economical and Social developments during the Period of Colonialism
During the 17th Century, the Chilean society existed under the sign of the same problems that earlier inhabitants experienced. Costly and bloody wars against the Araucanians, Dutch raids, as well as frequent earthquakes were some of the main reasons why Chile largely remained on the periphery of the Spaniards since they perceived the territory as troubles, dangerous and economically unprofitable. Over the decades and centuries, Civic militia has been replaced by modern professional soldiers (Jani, 2009). During the early 1600s, Chileans were awarded permission to make slaves of the natives that were under their captivity and then the previous strategy of colonization was altered under Louis de Valdivia’s strategy. Instead of the previous abortive attempts to conquer the Araucanian territory, whose boundary was in the form of the Bio Bio River, a decision was arrived at to concentrate all the forces to defend central and northern Chile.
Most of Chileans dwelt in the rural areas and rarely came into contact with government officials. The individuals that directly controlled their lives were the en comen deros, haciendas or mine owners. For the Indians that lived in the north as well as the Central Valley, they had no other option but to accept the authority of their patrones. The mestizos had some degree of freedom of employment. However, they usually settled on working in a mine or a hacienda. Other less profitable trades, but still in relatively high demand, were carpenters, candle makers, tailors, cobblers, as well as blacksmiths. As the towns expanded, butchers, bakers, and even Shopkeepers added to the social and economic diversity of Chilean colonial society. However, most Chileans spent their lives laboring in mines and haciendas (Jani, 2009). Their racial or social origins forced them to seek pleasures through friends, family, or even daily life rituals but not through economic or social advancements.
However, for some other people, Chile represented a new dawn. The pioneer Spaniards that set foot in the country were so poor that they were forced to borrow money to be able to purchase weapons and horses that would have enabled them to take part in the conquest. At the end of the conquest, their situation significantly improved when the crown was impressed by their achievements and rewarded them with mineral rights, land, or Enco mien das. Unknowingly, the new settlers from Spain introduced several Old world ailments to Chile (Jani, 2009). These diseases included measles, smallpox, and influenza pathogens that encountered people with non-existed immunity to them. Demographic publications suggest that Chile’s population shrunk by over forty percent within half a century of the Spanish Conquest. By 1600, the population of the Spaniards was 10,000 and expanded slowly over the next century to over 25,000. Not to be left behind were the black, mestizo and mulatto populations that crossed the 100,000 mark by 1700 (Jani, 2009).
Chile’s racial composition witnessed significant historic and racial transformation. Spanish women did not harbor the ambitions of their men in moving across the Atlantic Ocean. This led the Spanish men to intermarry with the Indian women resulting in the predominant type of race otherwise known as the Mestizo. However, the mestizo’s social status in the rather caste colonial society was not straightforward. The Spaniards largely despised the mestizo and viewed them as degenerates (Jani, 2009).
Economic Development
Central Chile’s mild climate proved to be attractive to the Europeans. In the country’s fertile valleys indigenous Spanish crops were doing relatively well. This allowed the typical products of the Indian Agriculture to be supplemented with wine, grain, fruit and olive trees. The Spanish discovered that wheat grew particularly well in the Chilean Valleys. Due to the abundance of Wheat, bread became the most common staple in the Chilean diet. European fruits, nuts, as well as vegetables, were also easily adapted by the locals (Buckman, 2014).
Relatively easy transportation and communication between the South and the North helped in creating national integrity together with an unusual sense of racial unity. Settlements expanded slowly, and agriculture increased in its importance. During the late 17th C, the country began exporting agricultural produce due to its surpluses. The growth in population increases mining and agricultural exports that in turn paid for much-needed imports. Chile’s imports were drawn from several distant countries (Buckman, 2014). For example, Silk was sourced from China while several kinds of textiles, mercury, and even ironware were imported from Europe. Peru and Ecuador produced woolen. The official trade route between Chile and Spain set off from the Port city of Seville. Merchants sent ships laden with goods in annual escorted convoys to Panama. They transferred them to mule trains that crossed the isthmus and loaded them again on trading ships when they reached the Pacific coast. These ships usually set off directly to Peru. Once the goods arrived in Lima, merchants from Peru chose certain goods from the Chilean market that they also dispatched to Valparaiso. The guild members were required to pay the Spanish crown import, export, as well as sales in return for baring everyone else from participating in Colonial commerce. However, by driving down the export prices and pushing up the import prices, the Chileans profited a lot less from international commerce (Buckman, 2014).
There was also a surge in illegal or trade in contraband through the Rio de la Plata. Dutch and British ships transported contraband across the river at the Colonia do Sacramento. In the mid 18th C, direct commerce with the European continent began to prosper due to the audacious efforts of the French, British, as well as North American traders. In spite of its inefficiency, international commerce was vital to Chile (Jani, 2009). Trade was a core necessity for mining since imported mercury and iron were required to excavate and refine the country’s vast mineral resources. Ironically, it was the growth of contraband that improved the trading terms and provided better incentives for the owners of the mine to ramp up their production. It was only in the late 18th C did the gradual expansion of the internal markets begin to rival the significance of the external export markets (Jani, 2009).
Political Development
The political system through which the Spaniards allocated resources as well as privileges was also challenged during the 18th Century. The crown closely regulated commerce and mining so as to tax them. Almost 50% of the agricultural and mining owners avoided being taxed. The government’s most lucrative taxation source was the monopoly it enjoyed on the sale of playing cards, liquor, and Tobago. The majority of Chileans did not pay any direct taxes since they were not participants of the newly introduced commercial economy (Jani, 2009). As part of the Spanish empire, the Chilean government officials were effectively subordinate to Peru’s viceroy. However, any permanent appointments directly came from the crown. The distance between Peru and Chile gave the Chilean officials significant autonomy (Kent, 2006).
Independence
Few Chileans would have imagined that the changes that were occurring around them during the 18th C were leading towards independence. Increased wealth, immigration, as well as education levels had the effect of transforming the society. The new immigrants injected new ideas and energy into agriculture, commerce, as well as mining. They fashioned a market economy that was more dependent on commerce with other countries and less on subsidies from the government. Changes were also witnessed in the Education sector (Jani, 2009). The construction of schools as well as a University churned out professionals that were competent enough to assume leadership roles in the colonial government as well as other religious institutions. Chileans also gained invaluable military experience during the war against the Araucanians. Therefore, when, in 1808, Napoleon ran over Spain and turned the Empire upside down, the Chileans were more than prepared to shape their destiny (Jani, 2009).
The Spanish Empire witnessed fundamental changes when the Bourbons inherited the throne in the year 1700. The new dynasty initiated several reforms that were geared at modernizing the aging empire and energize the economy. The trade network was liberalized, the government was restructured, and they also encouraged some levels of social change. For the first time in the empire’s entire history, they allowed the Catalans and Basques to trade directly with the Latin American colonies. The increase in the number of immigrant families and the decline of the traditional ones significantly contributed to increased social tensions (Jani, 2009).
Even though colonial Chile officially shut out non-Spaniards, some foreigners still managed to settle in the Country during the 18th C. These foreigners played a crucial role in the country’s independence. Juan McKenna and Ambrosio O’Higgins both emigrated from Ireland, and both did an admirable work in Chile. O’Higgins went on to occupy the coveted position of governor of Chile and finally viceroy of Peru. He also called Negrete’s Parliament with the Araucanians and set about improving the economic and social conditions of Chile (Jani, 2009). He rebuilt the found ruins of the Osorno fort and constructed a road to Valdivia from Osorno, a modern highway from Valparaiso to Santiago and the third one to Mendoza from Santiago. Ambrosio’s son that went by the name Bernardo led Chile’s independence struggles and later took over as Chile’s first ruler upon independence. The Monarch of Spain feared that if they appointed colonists to key leadership positions, they would champion local agenda at the expense of the interests of the Spanish crown. Therefore they avoided naming a Chilean as the governor (Jani, 2009).
Independence led to several new and unexpected problems within Chile. The main questions that that the new Chile was pre-occupied with were how and what type of postcolonial order to champion. One of the few progressive actions to be implemented upon independence was the swift abolition of Slavery at the turn if 1823. Independence opened up the country to emigrants from different countries such as France and Britain. The economic environment was liberalized leading to the foundation of privately owned import-export companies that were concentrated in the Port of Valparaiso (Kent, 2006).
Chile attained its economic stability during the 1830s. This was mainly credited to the Valpara is merchant known as Deigo Portales. He put in place an autocratic republic that centralized its authority. His form of political leadership had phenomenal support from large land owners, the army, as well as merchants. Political and economic stability enjoyed a form of symbiotic relationship since Portales went out of his way to encourage economic growth through free trade and organized the government finances.
Chile’s population began to grow during the period of colonialism. A continuous influx of Spaniards mostly from the mid 16th C to the end of the colonial period constituted the main body of the Chilean population. The Mestizo, a mixture of Spanish and Native American blood also made up a significant portion of the Chilean population. In the larger Latin American region, population increase was rapid relative to the global standards between 1820 and 1950 (Kent, 2006). This was attributed to high fertility rates and rapid immigration. The gradual transition to reduced fertility levels began when improved health care led to a decline in death rates. According to the Chilean National Statistical Institute, there were seventeen national censuses since 1835 that were done once a decade. The flagship national census was carried out shortly after Chile attained its independence from the Crown. In the middle of the 20th C Chile’s population stood at six million while as at 2002, the population had surpassed the 15 million mark (Jani, 2009).
Chile’s population has always had positive growth since the colonialism period. Spaniards began to seek partners among the native Indians, and they started establishing families. However, since the 1990s, the Chile’s population growth has been declining mainly due to a contraction of the birth rate. With a reducing birth rate and no notable immigration, most of the growth within the Chilean population between the 1920s and the 1990s was attributed to a decline in mortality rates. The mortality rates significantly fell during the 1980s (Jani, 2009). These figures indicated the success of the numerous health programs that were targeted at expectant mothers and newborns that were implemented during the 1960s.
Chile’s colonial legacy has done well in the reduction of infant mortality that as at 2008, rated fewer than eight deaths per 1,000 live births. There were two broad reasons for achieving such impressive numbers: the first reason was a reduction in poverty, improvement of primary health care, as well as demographic and environmental factors. The second reason is a population that has grown to be more sensitive to targeted health care interventions. In 1980, Chile’s life expectancy stood at 69.1 years. The same hit 74 years by the 1990s and increased to 77 years in 2000. With all these conditions in place, Chile displays a good mix of factors that can contribute to a bright economic future (Jani, 2009).
Conclusion
Chile is one of Latin America’s most prosperous countries. It leads the Latin American continent in terms of income per capita, human development as well as economic growth. It is evident that colonialism played a crucial role in the country’s development. Even though the principle aim of the Spanish crown was to gain full control over Chile and exploit its natural resources for the betterment of Spain, their incursion also affected the country in several ways. The Spaniards increased access to education, developed industries as well as infrastructure. These have formed the back bone of Chile’s economic stability and prosperity.
References
Buckman, R. T. (2013). Latin America 2013. Stryker Post.
Buckman, R. T. (2014). Latin America. Lanham, Md: Stryker Post Publications/Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Jani, J. (2009). Chile Handbook. Bath: Footprint.
Kent, R. B. (2006). Latin America: Regions and people. New York: Guilford Press.
Siegfried, W. R. (2007). Rocky Shores: Exploitation in Chile and South Africa. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Solberg, C. (2014). Immigration and Nationalism: Argentina and Chile, 1890-1914. Austin, Tex: The University of Texas Press.
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