Discovery of Chile

Chile was discovered in 1520 by Ferdinand Magellan, following the passage in the Strait which bears his name on a wall, at the southern tip of Latin America. Following the conquest of Aztec Empire by Hernán Cortés between 1518 and 1521, a new wave of territorial expansion occurs in the direction of the Inca Empire from 1532. This is done by Francisco Pizarro. The conquest of part of Chile started from 1535. This conquest is in a particular context (power struggle) and results in a partial settlement of the Spaniards in today's Chile.

This first part of the conquest is conducted by one of the greatest lieutenants of Pizarro, Diego de Almagro. Is the rivalry between the two men that made Almagro start the conquest of the territory of Chile. Almagro was governor of one half of Peru; Pizarro governor of the other half, but at the same time viceroy of the entire colony. There was a dispute about who first reached the town of Cuzco that forced Almagro to embark in the conquest of Chile. After completing his conquest, he hoped to be appointed to the Viceroy of Peru by Philip II. His expedition was composed of several hundred Spanish (500) and several thousand Indian slaves. It traveled over 2500 km through the Andes and the Bolivian Altiplano where he lost many men. It was in March 1536 that he finally arrived in Chile, he began building a few strongholds in the country. The first contacts with the local natives were extremely violent. The Mapuche tribe saw the arrival of these foreigners on its territory as a catastrophe. The Battle of Reinohuelen ends the Spanish expedition. They are forced to turn back through the Atacama Desert. After his return, Almagro's disputes with Pizarro resurfaced. He was stripped of his title of governor and sentenced to death by Pizarro. He was beheaded in 1538.

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