Chile
a republic of South America, bounded on the N. by Peru, E. by Bolivia and the Argentine Republic, S. and W. by the Pacific Ocean; area, 290,829 square miles. In 1918 the population was 3,945,538. Some of the leading towns had the following population in 1916:
Santiago, 397,550; Valparaiso, 201,507; Concepcion, 68,902; Iquique, 45.502; Talque, 41,618; Chillan, 38,543. Anto- Climate and Productions. The climate of Chile is temperate. In the N. it is moderately hot and rainless, but banks of clouds always hang overhead, and heavy dew falls at night. In the S. it is dry for about eight months of the year, and rainy the other four. The tempera- 30-Vol. II-Cyє CHILE CHILE ture is remarkably even and pleasant, ment-owned. Forty-four thousand miles and always cool at night. The S. wind of telephone wire are in operation and blows fiercely during many days of summer, dry and cold; the N. wind brings heat, tempest, and rain; other winds are unknown. Central Chile, between lat. 32° and 36°, is fertile. In southern Chile generally the land is poor, and on account of excessive rain of hardly any value for agriculture, which, indeed, is carried on in a very primitive fashion, but the soil of the valleys, where large herds of cattle graze, is very fertile. Vines, also, grow well on the Maipu and Mapocho plains and on the hillsides, and the wines of the country are superseding in Chile the French red wines. Wheat and vineyard products are the chief staples, but maize, hemp, barley, beans, and various root edibles are extensively cultivated.
There are 95,000,000 acres of arable land and 39,362,100 acres of forest land. The farms under cultivation were 91,309 in 1916. Large irrigation canals now in process of construction will have a marked effect on agricultural production.
The principal source of Chilean prosperity is the nitrate industry. Vast deposits of sodium nitrate exist in the desert of Atacama. The zone has an area of 200,000 square kilometers, of which only about 3 per cent. has been surveyed and the contents estimated. But in this fraction of the entire area 290,300,000 tons exist, of which about 50,000,000 tons have been extracted. The exports of nitrate in 1917 were 60,800,000 quintals (a quintal being 104.4 pounds). According to the industrial census taken in 1916 there were 21,306 industrial establishments in the republic, whose completed product was valued at 1,407,137,140 gold pesos (gold peso 36½ cents). = Commerce. The imports in 1918 were valued at £42,705,554 and the exports at £57,271,688. The chief imports were mineral products, products, chemical products, metals, and machinery. The chief exports were mineral products, live stock, foods, and textiles.
Finances. The monetary unit is the peso, which has a value of 36.5 cents in United States money. The external debt of Chile, Jan. 1, 1918, was 31,035,820 pesos; the internal debt amounted to 42,- 708,193 pesos, currency. The expenditures in 1919 were £16,621,210 and the revenues £18,743,250. The currency in circulation in 1917 was 117,980,119 pesos.
Transportation and Communication.
There are 4,521 miles of railway in operation, and other lines under construction will increase the total to 5,684 miles. Of this amount 3,541 miles is govern- 22,500 miles of telegraph wire. There are 21,000 miles of public roads, 660 miles of navigable lakes, and 528 miles of navigable rivers. The wireless telegraph system includes stations at Coquimbo, Arica, Antofagasta, Talcahuano, Valparaiso, Valdivia, Punta Arenas, Puerto Montt, and the Juan Fernandez Islands. There are 1,114 post offices that annually handle 65,000,000 pieces of mail matter.
Education.- Education in Chile is in a backward state and fully 75 per cent. of the population are illiterate. The schools, which are confined chiefly to the towns , are free, but attendance is not compulsory. The total appropriation for school purposes in 1915 was less than $3,000,- 000. In 1913 there were 3,151 public schools with an attendance of 318,000; 16 public normal schools with a registry of 2,650 pupils; 86 public secondary schools with 25,500 students; 11 public commercial schools with an attendance of 3,660. Besides these there are a number of private schools in all the grades mentioned. Higher education is provided by the University of Chile, which has 1,300 students, and the National Institute, with an enrollment of 1,200. There are also commercial and technical schools, lyceums, schools of fine arts and agricul ture, and musical conservatories. Much of the education of the upper and middle classes is gained in private schools. The country contains 41 public libraries, with 240,000 volumes. In the large cities there are museums of natural history, and of the fine arts. There are special schools for the army and navy.
Defense. Military service is compulsory on all males between the ages of 18 and 45. The recruits receive one year's training, then have a first reserve service of nine years, and after that remain in the second reserve until they are 45.
The average strength of the army is about 18,000, and of the navy 6,000.
There is an air force, equipped with 14 seaplanes and 50 airplanes. This came into being at the close of the World War, the planes being purchased from Great Britain. The navy has three battleships of about 7,500 tons each, 11 destroyers, 5 torpedo boats and 2 training ships, besides colliers and auxiliary vessels.
Government. The government is that of a republic, the chief magistrate being a president, elected for five years, who is thereafter ineligible to immediate re-election. The president has a cabinet consisting of six members and a Council of State of 11, six of whom are named by Congress. Legislation is conducted by a CHILE CHILE Chamber of Deputies, chosen by popular treaty rights, and immediately after against Peru, with which Bolivia was alvote, one for each 30,000 or major frac- against Peru, with which Bolivia was altion thereof, and who serve three years, lied. For a time the Peruvian fleet kept the Chileans in check, but in August, serve three years, lied. For a time the Peruvian fleet kept renewable by thirds every three years; 1879, the Peruvian ironclad "Huascar" every three years; the Chileans in check, but in August , and a Senate, members of which are 1879, the Peruvian ironclad "Huascar" chosen for nine years, one for each three was captured by the Chilean men-of-war deputies, by direct popular vote. For ad- "Cochrane" and "Blanco Encalada," both armor-plated. After this event the suc vote. For ad- "Cochrane" and "Blanco Encalada ," both ministrative purposes Chile is divided armor-plated. After this event the suc into 24 provinces and territories, and cess of the Chileans was uninterrupted. Peruvian towns were bombarded, and territories, and cess of the Chileans was uninterrupted . the provinces in turn into departments, their other warships captured. Finally into departments, Peruvian towns were bombarded , and Each their other warships captured. Finally sub-delegations, and districts. Each districts. province is governed by an intendant (nominated by the president), who also acts as governor of the department in which the capital of the province is situ- Lima was taken by storm on June 21, 1881. The Chileans occupied Lima and Callao until Oct. 30, 1885, when a treaty of peace was signed between Chile and olivia; a ated. The departments are governed by Peru. Up to 1900 no treaty of peace had been signed by Chile and Bolivia; a of peace had governors, the minor divisions by by subdelegates and inspectors. The established ablished religion of Chile is Roman Catholic, but the constitution guarantees freedom of worship.
History. The name of Chile is supposed to be derived from an ancient Peruvian word signifying "snow." The N. portion, as far as the river Maule, formed part of the dominions of the Incas of Peru, and the S. was held by the valiant Araucanians. The first European to land in Chile was the Portuguese discoverer Magellan, at Chiloe, in 1520. After the conquest of Peru by Pizarro, an expedition was made to Chile from that country overland, under the leadership of Diego Diego de Almagro in 1535. This expedition penetrated as far as the Rio Clano, but returned unsuccessful. Another was sent under command of Pedro Valdivia in 1540, which succeeded in annexing the territory as far as the river Maipu. Santiago, the capital, was founded by Valdivia in 1542. During the colonial period the governors of Chile were appointed by the King of Spain, but were subordinate to the viceroys of Peru. In 1810 a revolt against the Spanish power broke out, in which Don Bernardo O'Higgins, son of one of the last viceroys of Peru, but a native of Chile, played a conspicuous part, and finally became the first dictator of the new republic. The conflict between the Spanish troops and the Republican army continued until 1826, when peace was definitely settled and Chile left to govern itself. The first constitutional president was General Blanco Encalada.
The government was unsettled till 1830.
In 1833 the present constitution was adopted. Revolutions broke out in 1851 and 1859, but since then there has been no serious attempt to overturn the government by force of arms. In 1864 Chile gave Peru very valuable support in her war with Spain. Valparaiso was bombarded by the Spaniards in 1866. In 1879 Chile declared war against Bolivia on account of an alleged violation of been signed by Chile and Bolivi treaty of indefinite truce having been agreed to in 1884. In 1885 Jose Manuel Balmaceda, representing the Liberal party, was elected president. He undertook sweeping reforms and thereby aroused the hostility of the Conservative party, who accused him of plotting to name his successor. The hostile factions organized a rebellion, and formed a junta, or provisional government, under whose management the forces of Balmaceda were repeatedly defeated. He was finally shut up in Santiago, seeking refuge in the house of the Argentine minister, where he committed suicide, Sept. 19, , Sept. Sept. 19, 1891. During these hostilities the United States minister, Patrick Egan, aroused the hostility of the revolutionists by appearing to side with Balmaceda and to misrepresent the strength of the revolution in his dispatches. He afforded an asylum also to fugitives of Balmaceda's army. In a riot in Valparaiso some United States marines were set upon and wounded. Reparation was demanded and refused, and war between Chile and the United States seemed imminent. Two war vessels were sent to Chile to enforce the demands of the United States, when the new president, Montt, tendered an apology, and the Chilean government provided compensation for the wounded men, which ended the incident peacefully.
A dispute between Chile and Argentina at the beginning of the century that threatened a resort to arms concerned boundaries. It was happily adjusted, however, through the mediation of the United States ambassador in one instance and through the arbitration of the King of England in another. The success of this arrangement was the moving cause of a convention between the two governments, concluded May 28, 1902, by which they agreed to settle all questions in a friendly manner and renounced the acquisition of war vessels that they then had under construction, as well as agreeing to reduce the strength of their re- 1 CH-LI spective fleets until they reached a prudent equilibrium. In May, 1905, an analogous treaty that this time included Brazil was signed at Buenos Aires. From the initials of the three contracting governments this was known as the ABC treaty. In 1909 diplomatic relations with Peru were broken by Chile, but without war resulting. The long-standing dispute between the two nations regarding Tacna and Arica flared up again in 1919 and for a time war was threatened, but up to 1920 hostilities had been averted.
The course of Chile during the World War was one of strict neutrality. In this she differed from most of the South American nations, which had ranged themselves on the side of the Allies either by a direct declaration of war against Germany or by the severance of diplomatic relations with the latter power. The prevailing opinion in Chile was that Germany would win or that the war would practically result in a draw. The destruction of the German cruiser "Dresden" by a British fleet in the territorial waters of Chile in 1916 brought forth a protest from the Chilean government, and Great Britain tendered an apology, which was accepted. The 109th anniversary of the establishment of the republic was celebrated Sept. 18, 1919. The president in 1920 was Juan Luis Sanfuentas, a Liberal Democrat, who was inaugurated Dec. 23, 1915. His term of office is for five years and he cannot be a candidate for re-election for a consecutive period. On July 14, 1920, Chile called to the colors the military classes of 1915 to 1919 inclusive, in view of the possible emergencies arising from the Bolivian revolution.