page_title: Chilean expansionism
hierarchical_section_title: Chilean expansionism
caption_attribution_description: Español: Óleo sobre Tela de Thomas Somerscales. Antes de la Campaña La escudra Chilena se encuentra fondeada en la Bahía de Valparaíso el 5 de abril de 1879.
context_page_description: Chilean expansionism refers to the foreign policy of Chile to expand its territorial control over key strategic locations and economic resources as a means to ensure its national security and assert its power in South America. Chile's significant territorial acquisitions, which occurred mostly throughout the 19th century, paved the way for its emergence as one of the three most powerful and wealthiest states in South America during the 20th century. It also formed Chile's geopolitical and national identity as a tricontinental state and one of the countries with the longest coastlines in the world.
  After achieving its independence from Spain in 1818, Chile held control of territory spanning roughly the same boundaries of the colonial general captaincy that was under the control of the Spanish Empire's Viceroyalty of Peru. Under the uti possidetis iuris principle that delimited the international boundaries of the newly independent South American states, Chile bordered at its north with Bolivia in the Atacama Desert and at its east with Argentina.
context_section_description: Chilean expansionism refers to the foreign policy of Chile to expand its territorial control over key strategic locations and economic resources as a means to ensure its national security and assert its power in South America. Chile's significant territorial acquisitions, which occurred mostly throughout the 19th century, paved the way for its emergence as one of the three most powerful and wealthiest states in South America during the 20th century. It also formed Chile's geopolitical and national identity as a tricontinental state and one of the countries with the longest coastlines in the world.
  After achieving its independence from Spain in 1818, Chile held control of territory spanning roughly the same boundaries of the colonial general captaincy that was under the control of the Spanish Empire's Viceroyalty of Peru. Under the uti possidetis iuris principle that delimited the international boundaries of the newly independent South American states, Chile bordered at its north with Bolivia in the Atacama Desert and at its east with Argentina. To the south, Chile claimed all lands west of the Andes and the entirety of Patagonia (principally for the Strait of Magellan), but in practice controlled only the area down to the Bío Bío River plus the area between Valdivia and Chiloé—the rest of the territory being either controlled by the independent Mapuche of Araucanía or sparsely populated by other indigenous tribes. 
  The uti possidetis system proved ephemeral, nonetheless; the lack of formal border treaties caused territorial disputes throughout the continent. This uncertainty presented both challenges and opportunities for Chile, with regional instability creating a precarious state of diplomatic affairs but also allowing the growth of Chilean power ambitions. The Chilean national elite sought to ensure that the country's territorial limits and the regional balance of power would favor their economic and political aspirations. Towards this end, the country increased its military power, especially its naval presence, to pursue a policy of intimidation and force.
  To its north, Chile imposed its dominance by eliminating the threat posed by the union of Bolivia with Peru during the War of the Confederation (1836-1839), followed by the conquest of these countries' mineral-rich territories in the Atacama during the War of the Pacific (1879-1884)—in the process leaving Bolivia landlocked and pillaging the Peruvian capital. To its south and east, Chile used military force and colonization to occupy Araucanía (1861-1883) and successfully dispute Argentine claims over westernmost Patagonia and the Strait of Magellan—the outbreak of war only narrowly avoided in multiple occasions. Chile's expansionist drive practically culminated with Easter Island's annexation in 1888, but vestiges of it continued well into the 20th century—e.g., the country's claim over Antarctic territory in 1940.
  Although Chile did not fulfill all of its territorial ambitions, its relative success attracted the attention of the Western Hemisphere's other major expansionist polity, the United States, and cemented Chile's status as a regional power in Latin America. Chile's territorial expansion also left a legacy of distrust with its neighbors, all of which continue having boundary disputes with Chile. The country's mistreatment of the non-Chilean inhabitants of its conquered territories, particularly the state-sponsored forced cultural assimilation process of "Chilenization", have further led to internal tensions and calls for greater autonomy, if not independence, from the Mapuche and the Rapa Nui.
caption: The Chilean Navy, its vessels depicted anchored in Valparaíso's bay in 1879, was the central instrument of Chile's expansionism during the 1800s.
exif: {"Image Tag 0x000B": "Windows Photo Editor 10.0.10011.16384", "Image Make": "Apple", "Image Model": "iPhone 6 Plus", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Windows Photo Editor 10.0.10011.16384", "Image DateTime": "2015:11:28 11:35:27", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "2362", "GPS GPSLatitudeRef": "S", "GPS GPSLatitude": "[33, 26, 689/50]", "GPS GPSLongitudeRef": "W", "GPS GPSLongitude": "[70, 39, 27/25]", "GPS GPSAltitudeRef": "0", "GPS GPSAltitude": "55741/106", "GPS GPSTimeStamp": "[17, 13, 1673/50]", "GPS GPSSpeedRef": "K", "GPS GPSSpeed": "19/20", "GPS GPSImgDirectionRef": "T", "GPS GPSImgDirection": "19873/246", "GPS GPSDestBearingRef": "T", "GPS GPSDestBearing": "19873/246", "GPS GPSDate": "2015:11:27", "GPS Tag 0x001F": "50", "Image GPSInfo": "5922", "Image Padding": "[]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "96", "Thumbnail YResolution": "96", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "6328", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6041", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/17", "EXIF FNumber": "11/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "125", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2015:11:27 14:13:34", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2015:11:27 14:13:34", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "1299/320", "EXIF ApertureValue": "7983/3509", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "9294/845", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "83/20", "EXIF SubjectArea": "[1631, 1223, 1795, 1077]", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "601", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "601", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3264", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2448", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "29", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[83/20, 83/20, 11/5, 11/5]", "EXIF LensMake": "Apple", "EXIF LensModel": "iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2", "EXIF Padding": "[]", "EXIF OffsetSchema": "4244"}