When you attend Spanish school in Santiago, you will see a modern country full of conveniences and a great deal of technology. However, of course, this was not always the case. Chile has an extensive history full of tumultuous changes. One interesting period to examine before you arrive to study Spanish in Chile is the Spanish conquest and colonization. This period took place over almost 300 years, as it began in about 1540 and lasted until 1810.
Diego de Almagro is considered to be the person who discovered Chile. Almagro was the partner of Francisco Pizarro, who was permitted by the queen to conquer Argentina. Diego de Almagro quickly saw that the region was poor and there was no gold or silver. Therefore, he left the region and returned to Peru. However, Almagro’s dismissal of Chile turned into a gain for Pedro de Valdivia who was the captain of the army at the time. Pizarro granted Valdivia permission to invade the south. In 1541, with only a few hundred men, he founded Santiago and became governor of the Captaincy General of Chile.
Pedro de Valdivia realized that although the region didn’t have gold, it was rich agriculturally. Chile was by far not richest country on the continent under the Spanish crown. In fact, it was considered the poorest. However, its significant economic growth began in the 1700s.