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=The Early History of Chile=

//Background Information//
The territory of Chile was one of the last to be populated in South America. [1] Before the Hispanic Conquistadors arrived and seized control, the area of Chile was home to over a dozen different indigenous peoples. [1] //"They are classified into 3 major cultural groups: the Northern peoples, who developed rich handicrafts and were influenced by pre-Incan cultures; the Mapuche culture, who inhabited the area between the river Choapa and the island of Chiloé, and lived primarily off agriculture; and the Patagonian culture, composed of various nomadic tribes, who supported themselves through fishing and hunting..."// [1] The Incans were unsuccessful in conquering and colonizing most of Chile because they were resisted by local [|Araucanian] tribes known for their remarkably fierce fighting ability. [4] The Muale River became the boundary between them. [1] //"Chile's rich central valley remained largely unknown to the outside world until the middle of the fifteenth century, when Incas rose to power..."// [3]

[[image:http://www.geographia.com/chile/riomaule.JPG width="238" height="176" align="right"]]
//"Under Tupac Yupanqui, an Inca army succeeded in crossing the six hundred mile string of salt basins that are the Atacama Desert, moving from// //oasis to oasis in a region so dry that some parts of it show no// //evidence of ever having been rained upon. After coming at last into the central valley, the Incas encountered the Mapuche, one of the three Araucanian peoples who occupied the region.// //The invading army seemed at first to be enjoying the same success that the Incas were experiencing all over South America, and they advanced about half way down the valley's five hundred mile length. However, the Incas soon found that they had met their match in the Mapuche, who decisively defeated the Incan attempt to cross over the Rio Maule into the Lake District. The Incas established a stable presence in the territory they had gained, but they did not see fit to pursue the redoubtable Mapuche any further."// [3]

//Spanish Conquest//
When Spanish first arrived Quechua tribes inhabited the northern region, warlike Araucanian tribes who held back Incas for centuries dominated everywhere else. [2] The first European sight was [|Ferdinand Magellan] (famous for Strait of Magellan) in 1520 [1], at the time the region of Chile was known by the natives as //Tchilli// (meaning "snow" in the native language). [2] But the official title for discoverer goes to [|Diego de Almagro] (a partner of Pizarro) in 1537. [1] In 1541 [|Pedro de Valdivia]- and his army marched south from Peru to and established strongholds in Mapuche lands. [3] That February he founded the city of [|Santiago], the modern-day capital. [3] He died at [|Battle of Tucapel] (December 25 1553). [1] He was defeated by [|Lauturo], a young Mapuche //toqui// (war chief). The Spanish never conquered the Mapuche people and eventually gave up. [1]

//Independence//
Bernardo O' Higgins was the leader of a group who in 1818 crossed the Andes and defeated the Spanish in the Battle of [|Chacabuco], to gain Chile's independence. [4] He then became 1st president of Chile. [2] Independence was formally proclaimed on February 12, 1818. [2] War with native tribes continued on until the 2nd half of the 19th century [2]

//Works Cited//

 * 1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Chile
 * 2) http://www.ddg.com/LIS/aurelia/chihis.htm
 * 3) http://www.geographia.com/chile/chilehistory.htm
 * 4) Microsoft Encarta 2007 - electronic encyclopedia

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