Prior to the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, Chile was originally under the control of the Incas in northern Chile while the nomadic Araucanos inhabited central and southern Chile. In 1541, a Spaniard, Pedro de Valdivia founded Santiago. Although Chile declared its independence September 18th, 1810, decisive victory over the Spanish was not achieved until 1818 under Bernardo O'Higgins, dictator until 1823 and an Argentinian, José de San Martin, laid the foundations of the modern state with a two-party system and a centralized government. The dictator from 1830 to 1837, Diego Portales, fought a war with Peru from 1836—1839 that expanded Chilean territory. Chile fought the War of the Pacific with Peru and Bolivia from 1879 to 1883, …show more content…
In 2003, there were several minor financial scandals involving insider information and bribery. In response, Lagos introduced new reforms promising greater transparency. In 2004, Chile passed a law permitting divorce for the first time. On February 27th, 2010, Chile was hit by an 8.8 magnitude earthquake,the fifth largest ever recorded at the time, for perspective. Fatalities were relatively low, with some 500 people killed in the devastation, most from the tsunami that resulted from the earthquake.The earthquake was also followed by multiple aftershocks. However, as many as 1.5 million people were displaced. The country, long known to be at high risk for earthquakes, has enforced strict building codes in urban areas, which helped to limit the amount of damage in these areas. But buildings and homes in poorer areas—many built with adobe—did not fare as well. Chile's electricity grids, communication, and transportation systems were badly damaged, severely hampering rescue and aid efforts. The epicenter of the quake was 70 miles northeast of Concepcion in central Chile. Massive waves caused additional damage along the coast. Initial damage estimates were in the range of US$15–30 billion, around 10 to 15 percent of Chile's gross domestic product. In March 2010, Sebastián Piñera was sworn in as President of Chile,