Chile was under the rule of the Incas and then under Spain. While it proclaimed independence in 1810, the Spanish were actually defeated in 1818. The present northern region of Chile was won from Peru and Bolivia in the War of Pacific (1879–83). The Marxist government of Salvador Allende was overthrown within three years of its establishment, in 1973, in a military revolution headed by Augusto Pinochet. He ruled Chile till 1990, when finally a freely elected president took over.
Though Spanish influence on Chilean culture is understandable, English and French influences have increased after the nineteenth century. The Chileans though, have managed to retain their traditional culture, evident from their traditional dance form, cueca, also the traditional dance. Chile is most famous for being the home of Pablo Neruda, the Nobel Prize winning poet.
Sharing its land boundaries with Peru, Bolivia and Argentina, Chile has the South Pacific Ocean to its west. The lowest point of Chile is the Pacific Ocean (0 m) while the highest is Nevado Ojos Del Solado (6880 m).Chile’s terrain features low coastal mountains, a fertile central valley and the rugged Andes in the west.
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