It occupies a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Chile borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far south. Spain conquered and colonized the region in the midth century, replacing Inca rule , but failing to conquer the independent Mapuche who inhabited what is now south-central Chile. After declaring independence from Spain in , Chile emerged in the s as a relatively stable authoritarian republic.
In the 19th century, Chile saw significant economic and territorial growth, ending Mapuche resistance in the s and gaining its current northern territory in the War of the Pacific β83 after defeating Peru and Bolivia. In the s and s, the country experienced severe left-right political polarization and turmoil. Chile is a high-income economy with high living standards. There are various theories about the origin of the word Chile.
According to 17th-century Spanish chronicler Diego de Rosales , [13] the Incas called the valley of the Aconcagua "Chili" by corruption of the name of a Picunche tribal chief "cacique" called Tili , who ruled the area at the time of the Incan conquest in the 15th century.
Other theories say Chile may derive its name from a Native American word meaning either "ends of the earth" or "sea gulls"; [16] from the Mapuche word chilli, which may mean "where the land ends;" [17] or from the Quechua chiri , "cold", [18] or tchili , meaning either "snow" [18] [19] or "the deepest point of the Earth". The Spanish conquistadors heard about this name from the Incas, and the few survivors of Diego de Almagro 's first Spanish expedition south from Peru in β36 called themselves the "men of Chilli".
Stone tool evidence indicates humans sporadically frequented the Monte Verde valley area as long as 18, years ago. The Incas briefly extended their empire into what is now northern Chile, but the Mapuche or Araucanians as they were known by the Spaniards successfully resisted many attempts by the Inca Empire to subjugate them, despite their lack of state organization.
