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Chile Timeline
Travel through our timeline of major events in Chile's history.
313,000 B.C.- 10,000 B.C.
Nomadic hunters settle along what is now South America's west coast.1450
Incas from Peru conquer northern Chile.
ALAMY
1520
Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan becomes the first European to sight Chile as he sails through the strait now named for him.1541
Pedro de Valdivia begins the Spanish conquest of Chile. He founds Santiago, the capital of Chile.1818
Chile wins its independence from Spain after Jose de San Martin and Bernardo O'Higgins lead an army to defeat the Spanish at the battles of Chacabuco and Maipu.1879-1883
Chile goes to war against Peru and Bolivia. Chile wins Antofagasta, Bolivia's only outlet to the sea, along with mineral-rich areas of Peru.1925
A new constitution grants workers extensive rights and calls for the president and congress to be popularly elected.
AFP/GETTY IMAGES
1973
General Augusto Pinochet leads the armed forces in the overthrow of Allende. Pinochet establishes a brutal dictatorship.
CHRIS BOURNOCLE—AFP/GETTY IMAGES