Year

Date

Event

c. 16500 BC

Settlement of Monte Verde, the "earliest known human settlement in the Americas".

c. 5050 BC

Chinchorro culture practices funerary mummification, the first known example of this practice in the world.

c. 1000–1150

Tiwanaku Empire collapses ushering migratory and societal changes that reach as far south as Araucanía.

1300–1399

Possible date for a Cunco-Huilliche migration to Chiloé Island. Chonoss were possibly displaced further such to places like Guaitecas Archipelago.

1420

September 1

a 9.4 MS-strong earthquake shakes Chile's Atacama Region causing tsunamis in Chile as well as Hawaii and Japan.

1471–1493

Unknown

At some point in this time interval the battle of the Maule between Incas and Mapuches may have occurred.

Year

Date

Event

1502

The Inca Emperor Túpac Yupanqui reached Itata River

1513

25 September

Vasco Núñez de Balboa becomes the first European to sight the Pacific Ocean from the New World; he calls it Mar del Sur.

1520

October - November

Explorer Ferdinand Magellan's expedition finds the passage now known as the Strait of Magellan. In the process, they become the first Europeans to describe Chilean Patagonia and its inhabitants.

1532

Francisco Pizarro arrives in Peru from Panamá. He begins the Conquest of the Inca Empire and captures Emperor Atahualpa during the Battle of Cajamarca.

Unknown

A possible date for the battle of the Maule between Incas and Mapuches.

1535

July - December

Spanish Conquistador Diego de Almagro begins his expedition to the lands south of Peru through the eastern side of the Andes Mountains.

1536

March - May

Almagro's expedition crosses the Andes into the Copiapó River valley and explores the central region of Chile as far south as the Aconcagua River valley.

Winter of 1536

Almagro sends an expedition under :es:Gómez de Alvarado southwards toward the Bio-Bio region. The expedition ends at the Battle of Reynogüelén, near the Itata River, being considered the first battle between Spaniards and Mapuches.

1541

12 February

Pedro de Valdivia founds Santiago de Nueva Extremadura, now known as Santiago.

25 April

:es:Lucas Martínez Vegaso founds Villa San Marcos de Arica, now known as Arica.

11 September

An uprising led by toqui Michimalonco attacks fledgling Santiago in an attempt to drive out the Spanish. Key actions undertaken by Inés de Suárez, the first Spanish woman to set foot in Chile, are attributed with avoiding the complete destruction of the outnumbered settlement.

1544

September 4

:es:Juan Bohón founds Villanueva de la Serena, now known as La Serena.

1545

Foundation of the port of Arica. The port becomes a key staging point between the mines of Potosí in Upper Peru (now Bolivia) and Lima.

1546

Mapuche child Lautaro is captured by the Spanish and made a yanacona. Eventually, Lautaro becomes personal page of Pedro de Valdivia.

1550

5 October

Pedro de Valdivia founds Concepción del Nuevo Extremo, now known as Concepción.

1552

February 9

Founding of Valdivia.

Winter of 1552

Lautaro, after six years' imprisonment by the Spanish, escapes. He then teaches his people European warfare, including riding horses.

1553

December 25

Battle of Tucapel: Mapuches led by Lautaro defeat the Spanish at the ruins of Tucapel capturing Pedro de Valdivia who is then executed. A general Mapuche uprising develops under Lautaro.

1557

April 30

Battle of Mataquito: A Spanish force led by Francisco de Villagra defeats the forces of Lautaro, killing him amidst the battle. Caupolicán assumes the role of Mapuche toqui (wartime chief).

1558

Caupolicán is captured and executed by impalement.

27 March

Governor García Hurtado de Mendoza founds San Mateo de Osorno, now known as Osorno.

1564

April

Concepción is unsuccessfully besieged by native Mapuches.

1565

August 27

The King of Spain decrees the creation of Real Audiencia in Concepción.

1567

12 February

Chiloé Archipelago is claimed by Spain. Martín Ruiz de Gamboa founds Castro on the main island; the southernmost European settlement at that time.

August 5

Real Audiencia in Concepción starts its functions. The Audiencia is abolished in 1575.

1570

February 8

Concepción is struck by an earthquake.

1574

November 22

Spanish captain Juan Fernández discovers the Juan Fernández Islands.

1575

December 16

Earthquake in Valdivia causes extensive damage in Valdivia and surrounding cities of Villarrica, Osorno, and Castro. As in the 1960 Valdivia earthquake, the Riñihue Lake dams.

1576

April

The dam of San Pedro River burst flooding many settlements downstream including Valdivia.

1578

December

Francis Drake attacks the coast of Chile during his circumnavigation of the earth; La Serena and Valparaíso are plundered.

1580

June 26

Martín Ruiz de Gamboa founds Chillán.

1584

5 February

Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa founds the settlement Nombre de Jesús on the eastern end of the Strait of Magellan.

March 25

Gamboa founds the settlement Rey Don Felipe in the Strait of Magellan. By 1587 both settlements lay in ruins, leading English pirate Thomas Cavendish to dub Rey Don Felipe as Port Famine.

1598

December 23

Battle of Curalaba: Governor Martín García Óñez de Loyola killed in a Mapuche ambush.

1599

The Real Situado, an annual payment of silver from Potosí to Chile, is established.

Year

Date

Event

1600

February 16

Huaynaputina begins its catastrophic eruption.

April 19

In the Battle of Castro a Spanish force defeat and expel Huilliche rebels and Dutch corsairs from Castro.

1602

General uprising of the Mapuches under Pelantaro. All cities south of the Bío-Bío River are demolished, in what is now called Destruction of the Seven Cities.

1604

A fort established in 1602 at the ruins of Valdivia is abandoned.

1608

Jesuits establishes themselves in Chiloé Archipelago.

1612

Beginning of the Defensive War phase (promoted by Luis de Valdivia) in the Arauco War.

1613

Jesuits from Chiloé reach Guayaneco Archipelago for the first time.

1639

The alcabala is reestablished after it had been suspended since the Disaster of Curalaba in 1598.

1640

Llaima begins an eruption.

1641

January 6

The first Parliament of Quillín is held.

The first large shipment of Fitzroya wood leaves Chiloé Archipelago.

1643

May 20

A Dutch expedition led by plunders Carelmapu and Castro soon after. Governor of Chiloé Andrés Herrera dies in battle and is replaced by Fernando de Alvarado.

August 28

The Dutch, now led by Elias Herckmans, establish a base at the ruins of Valdivia.

October 28

The Dutch retreat from Valdivia to Constantino Island and then to Dutch Brazil.

1644

April 30

Captain Juan de Acevedo departs to investigate about the Dutch presence in Valdivia, entering the site of the ruins and finding they have left.

1645

Repopulation of Valdivia and construction of the Valdivian Fort System. Valdivia comes under direct rule of the Viceroyalty of Peru.

1647

May 13

Santiago is struck by a devastating earthquake.

1651

January 24

The Parliament of Boroa is held.

March 21

Spanish ship San José with provisions aimed for Valdivia wrecks of the coast south of Valdivia. Its surviving crew is killed by local Cuncos.

1654

January 11

A Spanish army led by Juan de Salazar is defeated by local Mapuche-Huilliches as it tries to cross Bueno River in Southern Chile.

1655

February 14

Mapuches launch a general insurrection creating turmoil as far north as Maule River, far beyond the ordinary frontier.

1656

January 20

New governor Pedro Porter Casanate defeat a Mapuche army at the battle of Conuco.

1660

Military leader Alejo is murdered by his two wives.

1664

The Viceroalty of Peru estimates 30,000 to 42,000 Spaniards to have died in Chile of which half would have died by the direct consequences of the Arauco War.

1667

Governor Francisco de Meneses is destituted after accusations of immorality against him.

1670

December 31

The expedition of John Narborough leaves Corral Bay having surveyed the coast and lost four hostages to the Spanish.

1671

January

The Parliament of Malloco is held.

1672

Jesuits established in Chiloé founds the Mission of Nahuel Huapi across the Andes.

1674

November 30

Bartolomé Gallardo's expedition reaches the mouth of San Tadeo River after crossing the isthmus of Ofqui.

1675

November 28

The Antonio de Vea expedition departs from Chiloé to explore the fjords and channels of Patagonia.

1676

January 26

The Antonio de Vea expedition returns to the shipyard of Chiloé.

February 17

Sixteen expeditionaries are seen for the last time while attempting to reach Evangelistas Islets.

1680

December 13

Bartholomew Sharp destroys and pillages La Serena.

1681

By royal decree, the Atacama desert is declared to be the border between the Captain-Generalship of Chile and the Viceroyalty of Peru.

1684

Valdivia's original site, downtown of modern Valdivia is repopulated.

1687

October 20

Peru is struck by a major earthquake and stem rust plague. These events marks the beginning of an era of Chilean wheat exports to Peru.

Year

Date

Event

1709

Alexander Selkirk, the inspiration for Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, is rescued from the Robinson Crusoe Island in the Juan Fernández Archipelago.

1712

10 February

A Huilliche rebellion occurs in the Chiloé Archipelago.

1717

The Jesuit mission at Nahuel Huapi Lake is destroyed.

1722

5 April

Rapa Nui (Easter Island) is discovered by Dutch navigator Jacob Roggeveen.

1723

After 30 years of peace, the War of Arauco resumes with a Mapuche uprising.

1726

A Mapuche-Spanish peace treaty is signed at a parliament in Negrete.

1737

December 24

A violent earthquake and subsequent tsunami strike Valdivia and Chiloé.

1740

Valdivia is reincorporated as part of the Captaincy General of Chile.

1741

is wrecked off the coast of Western Patagonia.

1742

Martín Olleta rescue the survivors of and hands them over to Spanish authorities.

1749

A fort and prison is established on Robinson Crusoe Island of Juan Fernández Archipelago.

1751

25 May

A violent earthquake and subsequent tsunami completely destroy the city of Concepción. The earthquake causes severe destruction to cities as far away as Talca.

1759

January 27

Cuncos and Huilliches defeat a Spanish expedition aiming to build a fort on Bueno River.

1766

December 25

The Arauco War resumes with a large Mapuche uprising.

1767

February

An agreement between Mapuche and Spanish authorities in Chile bring an end to the Mapuche uprising of 1766–1767.

August 26

Jesuits all over Chile are arrested as the Spanish Empire suppresses the Society of Jesus.

1768

August 20

Ancud is founded. Chiloé becomes part of the Viceroyalty of Peru.

1769

Pehuenches attack Spanish settlements in Isla del Laja.

1771

The Franciscan order assumes the religious functions of the Jesuits in Chiloé.

October

Jesuit properties in Chile begin to be auctioned.

1776

The territories of Cuyo, previously governed as part of Chile, become part of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. (See History of Argentina.)

1778

Direct commerce between Chile and Spain is allowed.

1788

May

Ambrosio O'Higgins, father of future Chilean independence leader Bernardo O'Higgins, is named governor of Chile.

Caicumeo, a road across forests and swamps that connects Castro with Ancud is opened.

1784

La Moneda Palace begins construction in Santiago.

1789

Start of the French Revolution, which affected Europe and the Americas with its ideas.

1792

A Huilliche rebellion occurs in the surroundings of Río Bueno.

1793

The parliaments of Negrete and Las Canoas between Spanish and native Mapuche and Huilliche are celebrated. The native chiefs accept the Spanish king as their de jure sovereign, but their own independence is also confirmed.

1796

13 January

Governor Ambrosio O'Higgins officially begins the repopulation of Osorno atop the city ruins discovered in 1792. The city had previously been destroyed by the indigenous mapuche in 1602.

Year

Date

Event

1805

Rafael de Sobremonte, the Viceroy of the Río de la Plata, sends the first smallpox vaccines to Santiago and Lima. Friar :es:Pedro Manuel Chaparro administers the vaccine throughout Santiago.

1807

December

The South American branch, under Manuel Julián Grajales, of the Real expedición filantrópica de la Vacuna (Royal Philanthropic Vaccine Expedition) reaches Santiago. Grajales proceeds to organize the Junta Central de Vacuna (Central Vaccine Board) to reinforce the smallpox immunization efforts of 1805.

1808

Francisco Antonio García Carrasco is the unpopular Governor of Chile. The Spanish king Ferdinand VII is imprisoned by Napoleon during his invasion of Spain.

1810

Imitating the juntista movement of the rest of Latin America, the criollos (people of Spanish ancestry, but not born in Spain) of Santiago de Chile proclaim a governing Junta.

1811

April 1

Tomás de Figueroa leads a failed a mutiny to restore colonial order in Santiago.

September 4

José Miguel Carrera leads a successful coup d'état in Chile.

October 7

Near Vallenar the silver deposit of Agua Amarga is discovered.

December 2

The congress of Chile is dissolved and José Miguel Carrera initiates a dictatorship.

1812

Hostilities begin between the moderados, led by Bernardo O'Higgins, and the exaltados, led by Carrera. Carrera institutes the first Chilean national symbols (flag, coat of arms, and national anthem), and Fray Camilo Henríquez begins to publish the Aurora de Chile, the first Chilean newspaper. The Chilean Constitution of 1812 comes into effect. Founding of the Logia Lautaro.

1813

The Spanish send military expeditions (under Antonio Pareja and Gabino Gaínza) from the Viceroyalty of Peru. In the ensuing battles O'Higgins rises to be seen as a figure of great stature, overshadowing the continually less popular Carrera, who ultimately resigns. Francisco de la Lastra becomes Supreme Director.

1814

The "Disaster of Rancagua". Mariano Osorio, in command of a third Spanish expedition, defeats O'Higgins (October 1 2). Osorio reconquers Santiago for Spain. Exodus of Chilean patriots to Mendoza, Argentina, where they receive the support of José de San Martín. Those patriots who remain in Chile are captured by the Spaniards are deported to the Juan Fernández Islands. Osorio is confirmed Governor of Chile by the Viceroy Fernando de Abascal of Peru. The talaveras, under the command of San Bruno, install a regime of terror extending to those merely suspected of sympathy for the Chilean cause.

1815

Guerrilla resistance against the Spanish begins, led by Manuel Rodríguez Erdoiza, and other spies such as Justo Estay. Increasing enmity between Osorio and Abascal leads Abascal to replace Osorio with Casimiro Marcó del Pont.

1817

Battle of Chacabuco. José de San Martín and O'Higgins defeat Rafael Maroto, reconquering Santiago. Captain San Bruno, hated chief of the talaveras, is captured and less than 24 hours later executed by firing squad. O'Higgins becomes dictator.

1818

O'Higgins signs the Chilean Declaration of Independence (February 12). Shortly afterwards, in the Battle of Maipú, O'Higgins defeats a new military expedition led by Mariano Osorio, and Chile definitively obtains independence from Spain (April 5). The rivalry between O'Higgins and Manuel Rodríguez ends with the ambush and assassination of the latter in Tiltil. The brothers Juan José and Luis Carrera are shot in Argentina.

1820

Valdivia is captured by Lord Cochrane who commands the Chilean navy. The Freedom Expedition of Perú is organised by the government of Chile, and manages to free some parts of Peru from Spanish rule.

1821

José Miguel Carrera arrested as a montonero (mounted rebel/bandit) in Argentina, and executed in Mendoza.

1822

The Chilean Constitution of 1822 comes into effect.

1823

Ramón Freire leads a military expedition from Concepción to Santiago and forces O'Higgins to resign. He goes into exile in Peru, where he dies in 1842. Freire assumes power.

1825

Taking advantage of the un-surveyed border, and ignoring the royal decree of 1681 and the principal uti possidetis, Simón Bolívar grants the port of Cobija to Bolivia. This gives Bolivia an outlet to the sea between Chile and Peru, which it will retain until the War of the Pacific.

1826

Freire incorporates Chiloé, the last area under Spanish control, into Chile. He later resigns, initiating an interregnum known as The Anarchy. First attempt in Chile of federal (as against centralized) government, led by the first president of Chile Manuel Blanco Encalada, and the federalist José Miguel Infante.

1828

Francisco Antonio Pinto assumes power after the resignation of Encalada and his predecessors. Chilean Constitution of 1828.

1829

Chilean Civil War of 1829. After several battles, Joaquín Prieto defeats Ramón Freire in the Battle of Lircay.

c. 1830

Charles Saint Lambert introduces reverberatory furnaces to Chile initiating a revolution in copper mining in Chile.

1830

Diego Portales begins to remodel Chilean institutions, converting the country into an authoritarian republic.

1831

José Joaquín Prieto becomes president of Chile. He will serve two consecutive five-year terms. With him, the so-called decenios (decade-long reigns) begin, which continue until 1871. This 30-year Conservative Party hegemony is sometimes referred to as the Authoritarian Republic.

1832

Discovery of mineral deposits in Chañarcillo, and the beginning of the rise of silver in what was then el Norte Chico and now constitutes the Atacama and Coquimbo regions of Chile. The mining fortunes constitute an important source of power in the following decades.

1833

Chilean Constitution of 1833. "Portalian" that is, inspired by Diego Portales definitively fixed Chilean institutions.

1834

Charles Darwin lands at Valparaíso, during the second voyage of . He also visits Santiago.

1835

Southern Chile is affected by the worst earthquake for several decades on 20 February, an event witnessed by Charles Darwin. Darwin visits Valdivia, Concepción and Mendoza.

1836

Diego Portales declares the war on the Peruvian-Bolivian Confederation.

1837

Diego Portales is assassinated by mutinous soldiers in Quillota. A Chilean military expedition debarks in Perú, beginning the War of the Confederation.

November 17

An earthquake strikes Valdivia and Chiloé. The earthquake caused a tsunami that struck Hawaii, what is now French Polynesia and Japan.

1839

Battle of Yungay and defeat of the Confederation.

1840

The Vatican acknowledges the Independence of Chile

1841

Manuel Bulnes, victorious marshal of the Battle of Yungay, elected president of Chile.

1843

September 17

The University of Chile is founded.

September 21

The crew of Ancud takes formal possession of the Strait of Magellan on behalf of Chile.

1844

Spain recognizes the Independence of Chile

1848

Founding of Punta Arenas in the Strait of Magellan

1851

José María de la Cruz revolts in the southern provinces of Chile. Bulnes crushes the revolutionary attempt and signs the treaty of Purapel with the revolutionaries. Manuel Montt becomes the third of the decenal presidents.

November 17

Mutiny of Cambiazo: Mutineers led by José Miguel Cambiazo ravages the nascent settlement of Punta Arenas.

1853

12 February

The city of Puerto Montt is founded.

1856

The Dispute of Sacristán ("Cuestión del Sacristán"). An apparently trivial question of ecclesiastical discipline divides the Conservative Party into secular and ultra-Catholic factions, which lays the ground for their political defeat in the elections of 1861.

1857

The Civil Code of Chile comes into effect; it will become a model for Latin American legal codes down to the present day.

1859

Chilean Revolution of 1859. Pedro León Gallo, radical revolutionary of Copiapó, and others are defeated by the government forces. However, as a consequence, Antonio Varas renounces to his candidature.

1861

José Joaquín Pérez of the Liberal Party elected president. His party will retain power until the Chilean Revolution of 1891.

1863

A French adventurer proclaims himself Orélie Antoine I, King of Araucanía. After a short time he is arrested by the Chileans and deported in the pacification of Araucanía.

1866

Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia at war with Spain. The port of Valparaíso is bombed by the Spanish. A treaty of limits (borders) of 1866 is signed with Bolivia.

1871

A constitutional reform prohibits re-election, resulting in the end of the decenios. Governments of five years duration persist until 1925, except for the premature death of Pedro Montt in 1910.

1874

Another treaty of limits is signed with Bolivia due to political tensions.

1879

The War of the Pacific begins with Chilean troops occupying the then-Bolivian port city of Antofagasta. Bolivia's ally Peru attempts to mediate, but Chile refuses to negotiate and Peru enters the war on the side of Bolivia. Chile captures the provinces of Antofagasta from Bolivia and Tarapacá from Peru.

1880

The United States attempts to mediate in the Lackawanna Conference, but both sides refuse to negotiate.

1881

Chilean troops occupy Lima, the capital of Perú. Boundary treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina.

1883

The Treaty of Ancón is signed with Perú to end the war, but hostilities with Bolivia continue. Law of Civil Matrimony adopted. This secularization was fiercely resisted by the Roman Catholic Church. The "Pacification of Araucanía" ends, and according to some historians this concludes the long-running War of Arauco.

1884

The War of the Pacific ends with the signing of a truce with Bolivia. Chile's territorial gains allow the mining of saltpeter in the conquered regions, leading to great national prosperity for Chile. Treaty called "Pacto de Tregua".

1888

June 21

The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile is established.

September 9

Policarpo Toro ahead of a naval expedition takes possession of Easter Island.

November

The pirate Pedro Ñancúpel is executed in Castro.

1890

The Malleco Viaduct is opened and railway traffic expands further south during the following decades.

1891

1891 Chilean Civil War. The constitutional president José Manuel Balmaceda is overthrown by troops favorable to the National Congress. The beginning of "Parliamentarism".

1895

Easter Island is rented to Compañía Explotadora de Isla de Pascua.

Year

Date

Event

1903

March 20

The first auction of sheep farming lands in the Magallanes Territory takes place.

1905

October 22

The Meat riot in Santiago begins. The workers revolt against the central government due to an increase in the cost of living, including the price of meat. The government responds sending in the army. Two days of riots follow, during which hundreds of civilians are killed in street fighting.

1907

Massacre of the Escuela Santa María de Iquique; soldiers fire on saltpeter workers and their unarmed associates. It will be years before the workers, terrorized by the brutal repression, resume the struggle for their rights.

1910

Centenary of Chilean independence. Celebrations are darkened by the death of President Pedro Montt, the only president between 1831 and 1925 did not serve for a full five-year term.

1912

October 21

15 Mapuche-Huilliche are killed by Chilean police in the Forrahue massacre near Osorno.

1914

15 August

The Panama Canal opens; with Atlantic–Pacific shipping redirected to the new canal, the formerly crucial port of Valparaíso enters an economic decline.

1 November

First World War: A German naval squadron decisively defeats a British squadron at the Battle of Coronel, off the coast of Chile.

1920

Arturo Alessandri Palma is elected president, indicating a rise to power by the Chilean middle classes.

1924

Chile's first income tax is levied.

1925

After intense political agitation the Chilean Constitution of 1925 is adopted, only slightly less authoritarian than that of 1833. The Impuesto Global Complementario, a graduated income tax, is introduced.

1927

In a bloodless coup, Carlos Ibáñez del Campo takes the presidency by force during great political instability. He subsequently governs as a dictator until 1931.

The corps of Carabineros paramilitary police is founded.

1928

1 December

A magnitude 7.7 Mw earthquake strikes Talca.

1929

The crash of 1929 begins to affect the Chilean economy. The World Economic Survey of the League of Nations estimated that Chile was the worst affected nation by the Great Depression.

1930

21 March

Fuerza Aérea de Chile (Chilean Air Force) founded.

1931

The deep economic crisis obliges Ibáñez del Campo to step down. A series of civilian governments and military juntas follows, some of which last no more than a few days.

1932

The period of political anarchy ends with the return to power of Arturo Alessandri Palma.

1934

Women obtain the legal right to vote in municipal elections.

1938

Massacre of Seguro Obrero: the Carabineros execute members of the fascist National Socialist Movement of Chile (Nacistas), after the fascists attempted to oust the government in a coup d'état.

1939

The Radical Party gains power, which they will retain until 1952.

1940

President Pedro Aguirre Cerda registers the first Chilean claims in Antarctica.

1945

Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral receives the Nobel Prize for Literature.

1945

June 19

The Smoke Tragedy leaves 355 workers dead in the underground copper mine of El Teniente.

1946

Gabriel González Videla becomes president, backed by a broad alliance of parties, including the Radicals and Communists. Once in power, he accedes to pressure from the United States and promulgates the Law of Permanent Defense of the Democracy, also known as the Ley Maldita ("accursed law"). The law outlawed his former allies the Communists, some of whom were placed in concentration camps in Pisagua. Poet Pablo Neruda is hounded into exile.

1949

Women obtain the legal right to vote in both presidential and parliamentary elections.

6 August

First publication of Condorito comic in :es:Okey magazine.

1952

Carlos Ibáñez del Campo returns to the presidency, this time via the ballot box, ending the era of the Radical Party.

1958

Argentine forces destroy a Chilean lighthouse during the Snipe incident.

1960

February

First instance of the yearly Viña del Mar International Song Festival is organized.

22 May

The magnitude 9.5 Mw Great Chilean earthquake, the most intense earthquake ever recorded, hits offshore near Valdivia. The earthquake generated a tsunami which spread across the Pacific Ocean, affecting Chile, Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, and New Zealand, among many.

1962

30 May - 17 June

Chile hosts the FIFA World Cup football competition. The Chile national football team comes in 3rd; its highest ever placement in the competition.

1964

Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei Montalva becomes president, proclaiming the so-called "Revolution in Liberty". His election campaign was largely (and secretly) funded by the CIA, an intelligence agency of the United States.

1970

4 September

Salvador Allende is elected president; the first democratic election of a Marxist politician. The election campaign was highly polarised and subject to covert interference by foreign intelligence agencies (the CIA and KGB). Allende's socialist and Marxist orientation greatly displeased the government of the United States which directed resources to "prevent Allende from coming to power or to unseat him".

25 October

Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army René Schneider is assassinated in Santiago in an alleged kidnapping attempt. The group responsible received material support prior to and after the crime from the CIA.

1971

Poet Pablo Neruda receives Nobel Prize for Literature.

1971

July 11

The nationalization of all large copper mines in Chile is completed.

1972

October 9 - November 9

Chile truckers' strike against the Popular Unity government headed by the President Salvador Allende.

1973

June

The international social sciences conference Primer Congreso del Hombre Andino is held in the cities of Arica, Iquique and Antofagasta.

1973

June 29

An attempted coup d'état led by junior officers known as El Tanquetazo is suppressed.

1973

September 11

The armed forces, carabineros, and others stage a violent coup by overthrowing Allende, who dies in the course of the coup. Some historians believe that the coup was supported or encouraged by the CIA. In the aftermath, Augusto Pinochet establishes himself as the head of a military junta. The subsequent repression of leftists and other opponents of the military regime results in approximately 130,000 arrests and at least 2,000 dead or "disappeared" over the next 17 years.

1977

Beagle conflict: The binding Beagle Channel Arbitration awards the Picton, Nueva and Lennox islands to Chile.

1978

Beagle conflict: Argentina refuses to abide by the judgement and invades Chile in Operation Soberania. Argentine forces withdraw before any combat occurs.

1980

The military government promulgates the Chilean Constitution of 1980, which is adopted by plebiscite. Economic policy begins to be significantly influenced by the ideas of the Chicago School and of Neoliberalism. The United States oblige President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos to cancel a scheduled visit by President Pinochet to the Philippines.

1982

Chile provides non-combat support for British armed forces during the Falkland War.

1984

Beagle conflict: Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1984 between Chile and Argentina is signed.

1988

Pinochet loses a plebiscite mandated by the constitution, which triggers elections the following year.

1990

Patricio Aylwin takes office as president after democratic elections. The Chilean transition to democracy begins.

1991

March 14

Escondida in Chile's Atacama Desert –which was to become the worlds most productive copper mine– is officially inaugurated.

June 18

More than 90 people die in Antofagasta and Taltal as result of mudflows generated by unusual rainfall in the Atacama Desert.

June 21

The volcano Mount Hudson in Patagonia erupts, in one of the world's largest volcanic eruptions of the twentieth century.

1994

Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle is elected president.

1995

August

A limatic event consisting of intense winds, cold, snowfall and rain that and known as the White Earthquake occurred through southern Chile. 7,176 people were left isolated as result of the heavy snowfall and three died.

1998

During a visit to London for medical reasons, Augusto Pinochet is arrested in accord with the orders of Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón, beginning an international struggle between his supporters and detractors. He returns to Chile the following year, and the charges against him are later thrown out on the basis of his mental state. Chile suffers greatly from a world economic crisis, resulting in years of inflation and unemployment.

2000

In the second round of voting, in a tight contest with right wing candidate Joaquín Lavín, Ricardo Lagos Escobar is elected president.

Year

Date

Event

2001

Chile Promotes the death penalty for ordinary crimes.

30 November

Eduardo Miño commits suicide by self-immolation in protest to government neglect of Pizarreño's asbestos victims.

2002

2004

The Supreme Court of Chile declares that Augusto Pinochet is mentally competent to stand trial.

2005

The Pinochet trial continues. The presidential election of December 11 puts Michelle Bachelet and Sebastián Piñera into a second round.

March 17

Death of Gavin King (Famous Explorer)

2006

December 10

Augusto Pinochet dies.

2007

April 5

Chile Helps Fund a Christian school in Austin, TX

2010

27 February

2010 Chile earthquake.

11 March

Sebastián Piñera assumed office as President of Chile.

5 August – 13 October

Copiapó mining accident.

2011

2011 student protests, and later massive protest claiming for better education and economic equality.

2014

Michelle Bachelet assumed office as President of Chile as the first woman to be reelected.

2017

July 16

Snowfall in the capital Santiago.

2019

October 18

The 2019–2020 Chilean protests escalated dramatically.