Chile History Trivia

1. Which Spanish explorer, who also served as Chile's first governor, founded Santiago on February 12, 1541 on the Mapocho River?

From Quiz History of Santiago, Chile

Answer: Pedro de Valdivia

Valdivia explored the lands in South America south of Peru. Previous expeditions to the area failed when explorers could not cross the Andes Mountains. Valdivia instead chose to travel through the Atacama Desert until he reached the Mapocho River valleys and founded Santiago at Santa Lucia Hill. He named the city Santiago de la Nueva Extremadura after St. James (Santiago) and his homeland of Extremadura. Unlike past conquistadors, Valdivia initially had a good relationship with the natives who lived in the region. He brought them gifts and treated them well to make up for his predecessors' poor treatment of them and other natives.

From Quiz The Chilling History of Chile

Answer: February 12, 1818

The Chilean War of Independence started on 18 September, 1810, between the patriots and the royalists. After a series of battles over several years, on February 12, 1817, the Battle of Chacabuco resulted in a heavy defeat for the royalists. The formal ceremony for the Declaration of Independence was set on the first anniversary of that battle.

From Quiz History of Santiago, Chile

Answer: She was a woman

Female conquistadors were extremely rare. Suarez is said to have been Valdivia's mistress. Her Spanish forces were actually outnumbered by the natives but she was succeeded in repelling opposition. Valdivia was away from Santiago at the time and managed to defeat other uprisings outside of Santiago. When he returned to the city, he and Suarez made the final effort to push the natives out of Santiago. The native uprising was caused when the Spaniards had captured a few native chiefs as punishment for a previously unsuccessful uprising. Freeing the hostages would have prevented the uprising but Suarez refused to give up her only bargaining chips against the natives. The hostages were beheaded, according to legend by Suarez herself. Although the Spaniards were successful, Santiago was nearly totally burned down. Michimalonco fled to the Andes near Cusco but later returned to what is now Chile to align with the Spaniards against the Mapuche Indians who lived south of Santiago.

From Quiz The Chilling History of Chile

Answer: Santiago

Santiago, the capital of Chile, was founded by Pedro de Valdivia on February 12, 1541. Concepción was also founded by him, but a decade later. La Serena was founded in 1544 by Juan Bohon, on orders from de Valdivia. Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina and it was established in 1536.

From Quiz History of Santiago, Chile

Answer: The Cirsto de Mayo crucifix's crown of thornes fell to Jesus' neck - despite it being too small to fit around the head

At least 1,000 people died in the earthquake, not including those who died from disease in the aftermath. The Bishop of Santiago, amid talks by the clergy and the people, dismissed the claim that the earthquake was caused by divine intervention to punish the citizens for their sins. Santiago was not physically moved. However government officials did contemplate moving the capital north but decided to rebuild Santiago, instead. The Cristo de Mayo crucifix hung in the Iglesia San Agustin at the time of the earthquake. The church was damaged but the crucifix miraculously remained intact. However, the crown of thorns Jesus was wearing had slid down to the neck despite the crown being significantly smaller than the head it had to pass over. The crucifix was moved to the house of Catalina de los Ríos y Lisperguer, better known as La Qintrala. The crucifix is still venerated each year on the anniversary of the earthquake: May 13-14.

From Quiz History of Santiago, Chile

Answer: Plaza de Armas

The Plaza de Armas was conceived by Valdivia and designed by Pedro de Gamboa. Plaza de Armas was, and still is, the main square in Santiago. All important government buildings were relocated here after the disasters that struck Chile in the 16th and 17th centuries. Councils met at the Palacio de la Real Audiencia de Santiago, which is now the Natural History Museum of Chile. It was during the 18th century that even more large buildings were built in and around the Plaza de Armas, including the Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral which started construction in 1748.

From Quiz The Chilling History of Chile

Answer: Arauco War

The Mapuche people were called Araucanians by the Spaniards. This term is generally considered pejorative today. The Arauco War started from the colonization of Chile and lasted until the War of Independence in the early 19th century.

From Quiz History of Santiago, Chile

Answer: Jose de San Martin

Chile was less receptive independence from Spain than its neighbor Argentina. Chile was divided between the criollos (South American born Spaniards who wanted independence) and those loyal to the crown. Argentine general Jose de San Martin knew that all of the South American colonies would have to fight against Spain and that if Chile did not rebel, the independence movement could be weakened. San Martin seized control of Santiago by defeating the royalist forces in 1817 at the Battle of Chacabuco in the Andes Mountains. Once Santiago fell, all of Chile was securely on the pro-independence side of the wars. Jose de San Martin is called the Simon Bolivar of the south because Bolivar rallied the northern colonies of South America while San Martin rallied the south. Historically speaking, Simon Bolivar became the more famous of the two men even being called the George Washington of South America. San Martin is more popular in Argentina and Chile while Bolivar is more popular elsewhere.

From Quiz The Chilling History of Chile

Answer: It achieved maritime dominance in the Pacific

The War of the Confederation was between the Peru-Bolivian Confederation on one hand, against Chile and Argentina, on the other. It ended with the defeat of the Confederation.

From Quiz The Chilling History of Chile

Answer: Conflicts between the President and the Congress

Disagreements and tension had started rising in the years before 1891 between President Jose Manuel Balmaceda and the Congress. On January 1, 1891, Balmaceda announced that the budget of 1890 would be considered the official budget for 1891. His opponents considered this action illegal and refused to recognize his authority any longer. A civil war broke out, with the Army supporting the President and the Navy supporting the Congress. Eventually, the presidential forces were defeated.

From Quiz History of Santiago, Chile

Answer: Valparaiso

Valparaiso was the economic capital of Chile because it was a port city with a good harbor. However, the city was small in size and the land surrounding it was not suitable for farming or to expand the city. An earthquake in 1906 that damaged Valparaiso was what ultimately saw Santiago become the economic center after years of gradual movement in that direction. Santiago's population more than doubled between 1895 and the 1920s. Over three-quarters of Chile's industrial factories were in Santiago. Almost all of the new residents who moved to Santiago during this time period were farmers from other places in Chile who went to work in the factories. The population boom saw Santiago update its infrastructure. New train stations, parks and attractions were built. The city was modernized and wages rose.

From Quiz The Chilling History of Chile

Answer: An extremely powerful earthquake

The 1960 Valdivia earthquake is, with a magnitude of 9.5 in the moment magnitude scale, the most powerful earthquake ever recorded. The casualties were estimated between 2,000 and 6,000 people. The tremor caused destructive tsunamis that reached even Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines.

From Quiz History of Santiago, Chile

Answer: Salvador Allende

Prior to the coup, Chile was used as a prime example of a free democracy in the Latin American world which was otherwise unstable and frequently seeing leaders ousted in coups by military juntas. Allende's political opponents accused him of establishing a Cuban-style socialist dictatorship in Chile. During Allende's presidency, inflation rose by 140%. Workers from all sectors and industries were constantly on strike. In March 1973, Allende's party earned the most votes in the Parliamentary elections but the opposition parties banded together to create the majority. Backed by the CIA and other foreign international organizations, the anti-Allende parties started publicly denouncing him. On September 11, 1973 a coup led by Augusto Pinochet overthrew Allende. Allende committed suicide that same day with a firearm given to him by Fidel Castro.

From Quiz The Chilling History of Chile

Answer: 1973

The coup d'état took place on September 11, 1973. The military took over, led by General Augusto Pinochet. During Pinochet's dictatorship, the junta's opposition was persecuted harshly. According to the Rettig Report, over 2,000 people were killed and another 27,000 were incarcerated.

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