The northern region along with a small section of the central Chile was inhabited by the Incas who spoke Quechua language while the northern area of the southern section along with the majority of the central region of the Chile were inhabited by the Araucanian tribes.

Santiago and Concepcion, which were founded in 1541 and 1550 respectively, were first of the many Spanish settlements that were set up in the middle of the sixteenth century. The increase in the number of Spanish settlements resulted in many wars between the Spanish settlers and the Araucanians. This war between the Spanish and Native Indians carried on till the latter half of the 19th century.

The Spanish population increased to almost 1 million by the year 1830. While the Araucanians still controlled the southern region almost up to the 19th century, the central and northern regions were under the rule of Spanish colonial regime. Chile became an independent nation when the Chilean and Argentinean forces under Bernardo O'Higgins and Jose de San Martin succeeded in defeating the Spanish army.

During the 1879-1883 war with Peru and Bolivia, Chile defeated them and got possession of the Atacama Desert along with its mineral deposits and the disputed territory of Lima. After the 1924-1925 period of military rule, Arturo Alessandri elected as the president by a democratic process. He brought about a more liberal constitution in the year 1925.

After the death of the president Salvador Allende in the 1973, Chile was under the military rule of Augusto Pinochet for 16 years. However, democracy was reestablished in the year 1990 after the win of democratic elections in 1989 by President Patricio Alwin Azocar.   

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