Spanish Chilean
| Total population | |
|---|---|
|
25,624Spanish citizens Vast majority of Chileans have at least partial Spanish ancestry (from colonial times) |
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| All over Chile | |
| Languages | |
| Chilean Spanish | |
| Religion | |
| Mainly Roman Catholicism, Evangelicalism and Protestantism minorities |
|
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Chilean people, Spaniards, and other Latin American peoples |
25,624Spanish citizens
Spanish Chileans (in Spanish: Chileno-español) refer more often to Chileans of post-independence Spanish immigrant descent, as they have retained a Spanish cultural identity. People of pre-independence Spanish descent are usually not considered Spanish Chileans even though they form a large majority of the Chilean population and have Spanish surnames and ancestry. This is because they rejected Spanish identity for the emergent Chilean one on the eve of national independence.
The earliest European immigrants were Spanish colonisers who arrived in the 16th century. They came to form the majority of the population by the time of Chilean independence. They came mainly from Castile and Andalusia and formed the majority population. The Amerindian population of central Chile was absorbed into the Spanish setter population in the beginning of the colonial period to form the large mestizo population that exists in Chile today. In the 18th and 19th centuries, many Basques from both Spain and France came to Chile where they integrated into the existing elites of Castilian origin. Other European nationalities then followed and also became rich and fused with each other and the Basque-Castilian elite to create modern middle and upper classes. At the beginning of the Guano era in 1840s, one of Peru's most prosperous time periods, immigration from Spain greatly increased and the economy was booming and standard of living was high. This era ended in 1866 with the Chincha Islands War wherein anti-Spanish sentiments in Peru also arose in Chile and in which Peru emerged victorious. In the 20th century, there was an influx of refugees of the Spanish Civil War and Franco's regime.(see Winnipeg ship) They have kept their Spanish national identity and set up Spanish clubs throughout the country. The Spanish culture of the original settlers slowly evolved into Chilean folk culture, especially the huaso one, and at the time of independence had abandoned national affiliation with Spain.
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Wikipedia