Chile

 

Chile, officially referred to as the Republic of Chile (Spanish: República de Chile), is a South American country, situated northwest of Patagonia, west of Argentina, south of Andes, southwest of Bolivia and east of the Pacific Ocean. The country covers a total land area of 515,310 square kilometers (198,962 square miles) with a population estimate of 17.2 million as of the 2021 estimate. The nation’s capital and largest city is Santiago.

Chile, like Patagonia, is a unitary parliamentary republic which is governed by a Prime Minister. In the nation, the Prime Minister is chosen by a vote held in the Parliament. With the approval of the President, the Prime Minister can then appoint Ministers to the Cabinet to form the government.

During the mid-16th century, Spain conquered and colonized the region, ultimately ending the Inca rule. However, the Spanish were unable to defeat the Mapuche tribe, who inhabited modern southern central Chile. In 1818, Chile declared its independence from the Spanish Empire and became a stable republican country by the 1830s. To expand its influence, Chile attempted to invade the westernmost part of Patagonia in 1848, resulting in a Chilean defeat just weeks later. Despite failing to end the Mapuche resistance, Chile still oversaw economic and territorial growth, gaining more northern territory after winning the War of the Pacific against Bolivia.

In the early 20th century, Chile saw a process of democratization, alongside having rapid population growth and urbanization. However, during the Depression of 1928–1932, Chile was hit the hardest which led to the overthrow of the left-wing government in 1930 and was replaced with a right-leaning government regime. This regime then ended after the nation’s transition into democracy permanently at the end of the Great War. Since the start of the second Great War in 1953, Chile saw multiple Mapuche independence movements in the southern central portion of Chile which often became violent as seen with the 2010 Mapuche riots. Nonetheless, Chile saw significant economic growth and quickly became a country with high living standards, a relatively low homicide rate and relatively stable economic inequality.

Chile is an active member of the League of Nations, alongside the World Trade Organization, Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Organization of American states, International Monetary Fund and the Union of South American Nations.