Before the Spanish arrived in 1536, at least 500,000 American Indians lived in what is now Chile. The Araucanian Indians fought against the settlers for about 350 years. Meanwhile, the Spanish set up huge farming estates. A small class of people controlled most of the land, the wealth, and the political life of the country.

In the early 1800s Chile began fighting Spain for independence. Chile defeated Spain in 1817 and became independent in 1818.…

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