Events relating to chile

Spanish forces at Rancagua defeat a Chilean army commanded by Bernardo O'Higgins, who escapes across the Andes into Argentina

Conservative 'bigwigs' and liberal 'novices' emerge as Chile's two main political parties

Pablo Neruda increases his international reputation with a collection of surrealist poems, Residencia en la tierra ('Residence on earth')

The Chilean poet Pablo Neruda publishes his epic account of South America and its people, Canto general

President Salvador Allende appoints Augusto Pinochet commander-in-chief of the Chilean army and brings him into the cabinet

Chilean president Salvador Allende dies in the Chilean capital, Santiago, in a military coup led by Augusto Pinochet

Chilean author Isabel Allende publishes her first novel, The House of the Spirits

Augusto Pinochet, the only candidate in Chile's presidential election, resigns when he wins less than half the votes cast

With the fall of Pinochet, Chile returns eagerly to democracy - electing a Christian Democrat, Patricio Aylwin, as president

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