Chile–Spain relations

Spanish conquistador Pedro de Valdivia founding the city of Santiago

In 1536, Spanish explorer Diego de Almagro arrived to present day Chile hoping to find another territory as rich as Peru, however, discovering no mineral resources in the territory, he soon returned to Peru.[1] In 1540, Spanish conquistador Pedro de Valdivia entered Chile and founded the city of Santiago. In 1553, during the Battle of Tucapel, Pedro de Valdivia was killed by Mapuche warriors.[1]

In 1542, Chile became part of the Spanish Empire and was governed by the Viceroyalty of Peru based in Lima. In 1776 the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata based in Buenos Aires was created and Chile was immediately administered by the new Viceroyalty.[1] Due to the lack of mineral wealth in the territory, very few Spanish migrants settled in Chile and those who did, mostly worked the land as farmers.

In the early 19th century, a wave of independence sentiment was rolling through the Spanish Empire in Latin America. On 18 September 1810, leaders of the Captaincy General of Chile declared Chile as an autonomous republic within the Spanish monarchy.[1] For the next decade, Chilean forces would battle Spanish troops for independence. In October 1814, Chilean troops lost during the Battle of Rancagua which led to the Reconquista of Chile by Spain from 1814 to 1817.[1]

In February 1817, troops led by General Bernardo O'Higgins, along with General José de San Martín and the Army of the Andes entered Chile from Argentina through the Andes and fought Spain in the Battle of Chacabuco which resulted in a Chilean/Argentine victory. In April 1818, O'Higgins and San Martín's forces fought Spanish troops led by General Mariano Osorio at the Battle of Maipú which secured Chile's and Argentina's independence.[1]

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet on a state visit to Spain meeting with Spanish King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia in Madrid, 2014.

In April 1844, Spain recognized Chile's independence, and both nations formally established diplomatic relations after the signing of a Treaty of Peace and Friendship.[2] In March 1866, during the Chincha Islands War, Spain bombarded the Chilean port of Valparaíso in retaliation for Chile's participation in the war and for refusing Spanish ships to dock at Chilean ports.[3]

During the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), the Nobel Prize-winning poet, Pablo Neruda, was stationed as Chilean consul in Madrid. Neruda witnessed firsthand the battles and wrote about them in his book, España en el corazón.[4] In 1939, Neruda was appointed consul in Paris for Spanish Emigration to Chile.[5] In Paris, with the support of the Chilean government, Neruda arranged for a ship, the SS Winnipeg, to carry 2,200 Spanish migrants, many of them communist and Republicans, to Chile.[6] After the war, in April 1939, Chile recognized the regime of Francisco Franco.[7]

From 1970 to 1973, relations between the government of the socialist Salvador Allende and the anticommunist Francisco Franco were friendly, and in 1972, Franco invited President Allende to visit Spain despite their political differences. Allende, however, declined the offer.[8] Soon after the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, which saw the removal and the death of Allende, Franco recognized the government of Augusto Pinochet. In November 1975, Franco died, and Pinochet was the only foreign head of state to attend his funeral.[9]

In March 1990, Pinochet transferred power to the newly elected president Patricio Aylwin, and in October 1990, Spanish King Juan Carlos I paid his first official visit to Chile.[10] The King would visit Chile on several occasions afterwards.

There are currently 60,000 Spanish nationals residing in Chile.[11] There are direct flights between both nations with the following airlines: Iberia, LATAM Chile and Plus Ultra Líneas Aéreas.