Chile Timeline

Timeline of Chile's History

1471

The Inca Empire conquers Chile

Chile is ruled by Incan Emporer Inca Sapa

1530's

The Spanish Empire conqures the Inca Empire and gains control of Chile

1400- 1500's

Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro kidnapped and executed emperor Sapa Inca, resulting in the Spanish Empire Taking over Chile

1541

The Spanish led by Pedro de Validivia colonized Chile and established the city of Santiago

De Valdivia is appointed governor of Chile

1557

Indigenous Chileans of the Mauchpe tribe resist Spanish invasion and in 1553 murder de Valdivia

Lautaro, a Mapuche chief, led the attack which killed de Valdivia

1807

Spain is conquered by France

Spain loses all of its economic and political power

1810

Chile declared independence from Spain

1814

1800-1818

Spanish troops reconquer Chile in the Battle of Rancagua

Marks the beginning of the Chilean War of Independence

1814-1818

Spain and Chile Remain at War

1818

The war ends with Chile’s victory at the battle of Maipu

1818

The Chilean Constitution is established

1817-1823

Bernardo O’Higgins takes the role of Supreme Director of Chile

- O'Higgins played a main role in establishing the constitution but leaves office as a result of the constitutions failure and his dictoral ruling style - The government remained unstable for years after O’Higgins leave of office

1881

Chile signs a treaty with Argentina confirming sovereignty of the strait of Magellan

1818-1886

1879- 1883

The war of the Pacific between Chile, Peru and Bolivia breaks out over Chilean territory in Bolivia

1883

Chile won the war of the Pacific resulting in the treaty of Ancon between Chile and Peru and a truce between Chile and Bolivia

1886

Jose Manuel Balmaceda is elected president and violates the constitution, leading as a dictator

1920-1938

Arturo Alessandri is elected president and drafts a new amended version of the constitution

Alessandri serves three terms as president

1945

Gabriela Mistral is awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature making her the first South American writer to win the Nobel Prize

1920-1990

1949

Women are granted the right to vote

1973

A military group lead by General Augusto Pinochet overthrows the government led by president Salvador Allende

- The new government abolished civil liberties and the national congress was dissolved- Those who outwardly opposed Pinochet’s political agenda were prosecuted or killed

1990

Pinochet steps down and is later arrested

2002

Chile signs an associate agreement with the European Union

2003

Chile finalizes a free trade agreement with the United States

2004

2000-2010

Chile became the last nation in the western hemisphere to legalize divorce

2006

Michelle Bachelet became Chile’s first female president

2009

Relations with Peru are strained further after Chile stages a military exercise in the north

2010

An earthquake in central Chile causes hundreds of deaths and severe damage

2011

Thousands of high school and university students take to the streets to demand a more equal education system

2013

2010- 2020

Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru agree to scrap most of the tariffs on trade between their countries

Important step towards regional integration

2014

Tens of thousands of parents march in protest against plans to phase out subsidized schools as part of President Michelle Bachelet's flagship education reform

2020

A referendum backs rewriting the constitution, which was adopted during the rule of Augusto Pinochet