This book studies the political role of the Chilean military during the years 1808-1826. Beginning with the fall of the Spanish monarchy to Napoleon in 1808 and ending immediately after the last royalist contingents were expelled from the island of Chiloé, it does not seek to give a full picture of the participation of military men on the battlefield but rather to interpret their involvement in local politics. In so doing, this book aims to make a contribution to the understanding of Chile's revolution of independence, as well as to discuss some of the most recent historiographical contributions on the role of the military in the creation of the Chilean republic. Although the focus is placed on the career and participation of Chilean revolutionary officers, this book also provides an overview of both the role of royalist armies and the influence of international events in Chile.

As Chile has continued to grow and prosper in the twenty-first century, this new edition of the definitive history of the country brings the story of its political, social and cultural development up to date. It describes how Ricardo Lagos and Michelle Bachelet, both highly educated Socialists, modernized the country and integrated new interests into Chilean political life, and how the billionaire, Harvard-trained economist Sebastian Piñera, who succeeded Bachelet, addressed the problems caused by the 2010 tsunami. In the last twenty years Chile diversified its economy, replaced a number of Pinochet's organizations with more inclusive institutions, cultivated Chilean culture, modernized its constitution, and fomented reconciliation of the various political factions – until economic crisis in early 2018 caused political chaos and occasionally violent public protest. Based on new statistics to measure Chile's economic and social development, this volume celebrates Chile's achievements and dissects its failures.

A History of Chile chronicles the nation's political, social, and economic evolution from its independence until the early years of the Lagos regime. Employing primary and secondary materials, it explores the growth of Chile's agricultural economy, during which the large landed estates appeared; the nineteenth-century wheat and mining booms; the rise of the nitrate mines; their replacement by copper mining; and the diversification of the nation's economic base. This volume also traces Chile's political development from oligarchy to democracy, culminating in the election of Salvador Allende, his overthrow by a military dictatorship, and the return of popularly elected governments. Additionally, the volume examines Chile's social and intellectual history: the process of urbanization, the spread of education and public health, the diminution of poverty, the creation of a rich intellectual and literary tradition, the experiences of middle and lower classes and the development of Chile's unique culture.

Chile Since Independence brings together four chapters from Volumes III, V and VIII of The Cambridge History of Latin America to provide in a single volume an economic, social, and political history of Chile since independence. Each chapter is accompanied by a bibliographical essay.