Chile, Officially Known As Republic of Chile, Essay

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Chile, officially known as Republic of Chile, is a South American country with Peru, Bolivia Argentina as its neighboring countries. The Pacific Ocean borders it on the west and south. Santiago is both its capital and the largest city. The country is primarily urban as 1/3 of the total population inhabits the areas in and around Santiago and Vina Del Mar. Almost ninety percent of the Chileans are Roman Catholics whereas Spanish is the official language of the country ("Chile," 2012). This country in South America has a landscape filled with "dry deserts, snow-capped mountains, sandy beaches, and thick temperate rain forests" (Rau, 2007).

The climate in the country is as varied as its natural features. Aside from the apparently intense climatic conditions in some parts, the country enjoys a comfy and moderate climate ("Chile").

History

The southern part of the Chilean region was controlled by the Araucanians long before the arrival of the Spanish in the sixteenth century. On the other hand, the northern part of the land was under the control of the Inca Empire. In 1536, Francisco Pizarro sent Diego de Almagro from Peru for exploring the southern region. However, he was not successful in establishing a foothold in Chile. After four years, Pedro de Valdivia entered Chile and was successful in founding Santiago in 1541 in spite of solid confrontation by the Araucanians. Later, he also founded La Serena, Concepcion, and Valdivia. Thus, after an early period of relentless armed conflict with the inhabitants, the Spanish became successful in suppressing the native populace ("Chile," 2012).

Throughout most of the colonial era, Chile was reliant on the viceroyalty of Peru. However, it became a disconnected partition practically autonomous of Peru in 1778. After independence, the nonspecific territorial limits became the cause of prolonged border line disagreements with Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina. Led by Juan Martinez de Rozas and Bernardo O'Higgins, the movements for an independent homeland were started in 1810 ("Chile," 2012).

The mutually elected supreme director, O'Higgins, officially announced the independence of Chile on February12, 1818 at Talca. He also was successful in establishing a military autocracy that portrayed the republic's politics until 1833. O'Higgins ruled the country from 1818 until 1823 after which he resigned as he faced strong opposition from a majority of people due to his despotic policies. A government that was devoid of any egalitarian forms was then established by the army. However, the centralistic constitution of 1833 was designed by Diego Portales that later helped Chile to experience the slow but sure surfacing of parliamentary government and an extended period of stability ("Chile," 2012).

In 1866, the Peru-Spain war involved Chile. This involvement led the republic to make its coast stronger and assemble a navy. Later, in the earlier 1900s, industrialization in the country began that raised Chile to a leading position among South American nations in next to no time. However, despite the fact that during 1926-1931 Chile enjoyed economic prosperity, the country underwent the negative consequences of the world economic depression due to its reliance on mineral exports and unpredictable world markets ("Chile," 2012).

In 1945, Chile declared war on Japan. Next year, Gabriel Gonzalez Videla was elected as the Chilean president. Later in 1964, Eduardo Frei Montalva became the president and made advancements and progression in land reform, education, housing, and labor. After six years, Salvador Allende Gossens became the first Marxist president in 1970. After Allende's death, the control of the country was taken over by Gen. Augusto Pinochet Ugarte who became the undisputed leader of Chile. During his leadership, the unemployment and labor unrest in the country increased. In the earlier phase of 1980s, the country again experienced a recession due to which there was a significant increase in the foreign debt ("Chile," 2012).

In 1989, Patricio Aylwin Azocar was elected as the new president of Chile under whose leadership, "Chile again turned toward democracy; the country's economy strengthened, as its exports were increased and its debt lowered" ("Chile," 2012). Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle became the country's next president in 1994. His free-market policies caused a substantial flow of foreign investment in the country. In 2000, Ricardo Lagos Escobar became the country's first Socialist president ever since Allende. In 2006, Michelle Bachelet became the first woman Chilean president. The center-left rule of 20 years ended in 2010 with Pinera's success ("Chile," 2012).

Food

Food has been given a very extraordinary place in Chile's culture.

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It is a normal Chilean practice to take four meals a day. Breakfast is the first meal which generally comprised of toasted buttered bread and instant coffee with milk. Lunch is the second and big meal of the day in which two main dishes are served as a tradition. The first course may consist of a salad, most common being ensalada chilena, that includes sliced onions, chopped and peeled tomatoes, a dressing of oil and vinegar, and fresh coriander. The second dish, in general, consists of beef/chicken along with vegetables. Later in the day, Chileans are used to of taking an afternoon tea that goes with bread and jam and sometimes include cheeses and avocados. The fourth meal i.e. The dinner usually consists of a single but substantial dish. Wine is most often an important part of the dinner (Silva).

Chilean cuisine is influenced by both India and Europe. Porotos Granados is the national dish that contains ingredients feature of Indian and Spanish cooking. As Chile has an extremely long coast, the local people prefer seafood. Locos, machas, erizos and cochayuyo are some of the renowned traditional Chilean seafood (Silva). Other famous seafood includes Almejas con Limon, Caldillo de Congrio, Ceviche, Congrio Frito, Empanada de Mariscos, Mariscal, Ostiones a la Parmesana and Piure ("Typical Chilean Food," 2011).

Aliado, Ave Mayo, Ave Palta, Ave Pimienta, Barros Jarpa, Barros Luco, Chacarero, Churrasco, Churrasco con Tomate, Churrasco con Palta, Completo, Especial, Italiano, Hamburguesa, Lomito Completo and Pan Amasado are the different kinds of Chilean sandwiches loved by the local population. Other typical Chilean food includes Empanada de Pino, Empanada de Queso, Pastel de Choclo, Arrollado de Chancho, Bistec a lo pobre, Carbonada, Chancho en Piedra, Charquican, Cazuela de Ave, Cazuela de Vacuno, Costillar de Chancho, Curanto en Hoyo, Curanto en Olla, Ensalada a la Chilena, Humitas, Palta Reina, Parrillada, Pebre, Pernil, Porotos Granados, Prietas and Sopaipilla ("TYPICAL CHILEAN FOOD," 2011).

Tourism

Chile is justly considered as one of the most incredible and outstanding places on Earth. It is, if truth be told, home to both the world's most arid desert and rainiest place. Chile offers a wide variety of scenery including snow-capped volcanoes, chilly fjords, sun-drenched beaches, rich vineyards and caves at the bottom of the sea. It is difficult to choose just a few of this amazing country's attractions. However, once travelers and tourists find their top options, they are hardly ever dissatisfied. The Northern Desert & Altiplano, the Central Valley and Santiago, the rivers, lakes and volcanoes in the south, Patagonia and Antarctica, and the amazing islands are the main geographic zones in Chile. Chile is a must-see place as it has welcoming and pleasant people and excellent housings and dining. Thus, it offers a wealth of recreational opportunities to the tourists. On top of all this, Chile is a safe country for foreigners. This positive reputation along with a contemporary communications infrastructure and dynamic financial system give an added appeal for North American visitors who are in search of unique attractions ("Chile, the Country").

A true and diverse range of tourists, vacationers and explorers are attracted to Chile. Its soaring mountain peaks, uninhabited northern landscapes and glacier-filled inlets appeal adventure seekers. Geo-tourists come from the four corners of the earth to visit this mysterious country in order to explore its mesmerizing history and archaeological remains. Thus, the country's status for superior wines, mouth-watering food, hospitable environment and marvelous range of natural and cultural attractions makes it attractive for almost everyone ("Chile, the Country").

This is the reason why Chile's tourism bustle is facing a new position. Due to its geographical location, the development in the country was hindered for decades. However, modernization has enabled the country to take advantage of the opportunities it offers. The negative effect of its remoteness has been broken by new routes, bigger aircrafts, and the incredible improvement in communications. From a tourism point-of-view, the availability of a variety of resources and different products is a key factor for Chile being an important tourist destination. The main tourists are from United States of America, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil (Jafari, 2000).

The internal tourism has also grown due to "the increase in real income, decrease in unemployment, increased incorporation of women into the workforce and notable increase in ownership of family cars" (Jafari, 2000). To cut a long story short, natural attractions are the main reason why there has been.....

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