The Aurora de Chile (English: Dawn of Chile) was the first periodical in Chilean history [1] and mostly dealt with politics and political philosophy. It was in print from Thursday, February 13, 1812, to Thursday, April 1, 1813, at which point it became El Monitor Araucano . [2] The paper had four printed pages with two columns each and was published weekly, every Thursday.
Until the time of the Aurora de Chile's publication, the only printed newspapers came from Lima, Buenos Aires, and Spain, and they only arrived in Chile after a considerable delay. The Age of Enlightenment's political philosophy and the political documents and pamphlets of the revolutions in the United States and France were known in Chile and had been translated. However, while there may have been a printing press operated by the Spanish Jesuits for printing religious material in the decades prior to 1810, [3] there was no native press reprinting the philosophy from abroad, or printing Chilean revolutionary material, until the arrival of the first native printing press in Chile in 1811.
However, after the successful rise to power of the first revolutionary Government Junta on September 18, 1810, the government, in the words of Hernández, "instinctively felt the need, if we may say so, for close contact with public opinion, which had not, in order to express itself, had any of the means with which we are familiar today." [4] Locals in Chile had attempted to procure a printing press from the Spanish government and then under the Junta, attempts were made to purchase a printing press from the revolutionary junta in Buenos Aires, but were unsuccessful after the death of Mariano Moreno. [5] Finally, on November 24, 1811, Swedish-American Mathew Hoevel (Spanish: Mateo Arnaldo Hoevel), an idealist for free government, landed the Galloway in the port of Valparaiso with a printing press, American printers, and arms and munitions to supply the troops of the independence movement. [6] These printers, who included Samuel Burr Johnston, soon set to work publishing the Aurora de Chile, Chile's first local publication.
The paper's first issue was published on February 13, 1812, under the direction of Camilo Henríquez González, who was not only the first editor of Chile's first periodical but also the first that had seriously argued for Chilean independence. It was the first widespread publication to introduce its readers in Chile to the Age of Enlightenment philosophies— Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire, and others—which informed Henríquez's writings. In writings authored by Manuel de Salas, Juan Egaña, Manuel José Gandarillas, and the Guatemalan Antonio José de Irisarri, the Aurora de Chile gave expression to the principles of popular sovereignty, self-governance and election of officials, separation of powers. The paper was also the vehicle for the sharp wit and timely commentaries by Camilo Henríquez on the happenings of the monarchy. The American influence was a major factor for Chile's liberal revolutionary intelligentsia, and the Aurora republished speeches by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and other American revolutionaries, who became heroes in the Chilean press. [7]
On April 1, 1813, the paper was transformed into El Monitor Araucano .
José Miguel Carrera Verdugo was a Chilean general, formerly Spanish military, member of the prominent Carrera family, and considered one of the founders of independent Chile. Carrera was the most important leader of the Chilean War of Independence during the period of the Patria Vieja. After the Spanish "Reconquista de Chile" ("Reconquest"), he continued campaigning from exile after defeat. His opposition to the leaders of independent Argentina and Chile, San Martín and O'Higgins respectively, made him live in exile in Montevideo. From Montevideo Carrera traveled to Argentina where he joined the struggle against the unitarians. Carreras' small army was eventually left isolated in the Province of Buenos Aires from the other federalist forces. In this difficult situation Carrera decided to cross to native-controlled lands all the way to Chile to once and for all overthrow Chilean Supreme Director O'Higgins. His passage to Chile, which was his ultimate goal, was opposed by Argentine politicians and he engaged together with indigenous tribes, among them the Ranquel, in a campaign against the southern provinces of Argentina. After the downfall of Carrera's ally, the Republic of Entre Ríos, and several victories against the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, Carrera's men were finally defeated by numerically superior forces near Mendoza. Carrera was then betrayed by one of his Argentine helpers, leading to his capture and execution in that city.
José Toribio Medina Zavala was a Chilean bibliographer, prolific writer, and historian. He is renowned for his study of colonial literature in Chile, printing in Spanish America and large bibliographies such as the Biblioteca Hispano-Americana.
José Toribio Merino Castro was an admiral of the Chilean Navy who was one of the principal leaders of the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, along with General Augusto Pinochet of the Army, General Gustavo Leigh of the Air Force, and General César Mendoza of the Carabineros. Together they established a military dictatorship that ruled Chile from 1973 until 1990, during which more than 3,197 Chilean citizens were executed or simply "disappeared", according to the reports of official bi-partisan commissions established by the President of Chile, Patricio Alwyn, in the 1990s. In addition, a further 28,459 Chileans were victims of torture, which included approximately 3,400 cases of sexual abuse of women.
The Araucanian languages are a small language family of indigenous languages of the Americas spoken in central Chile and neighboring areas of Argentina. The living representatives of this family are Mapudungun and Huilliche, spoken respectively by the Mapuche and Huilliche people. These are sometimes considered divergent dialects of a single language isolate.
The Chilean War of Independence was a military and political event that allowed the emancipation of Chile from the Spanish Monarchy, ending the colonial period and initiating the formation of an independent republic.
Francisco Antonio García Carrasco Díaz was a Spanish soldier and Royal Governor of Chile. His political relations with Juan Martinez de Rozas and a smuggling scandal involving the frigate Scorpion destroyed what little authority he had, and required that he surrender his post to Mateo de Toro Zambrano President of the first govermennt board. He was the last governor to rule before the Chilean independence movement swept the country.
Field Marshal Mateo de Toro Zambrano y Ureta, frequently misnamed Mateo de Toro y Zambrano in many Chilean history publications, was Viscount of La Descubierta and later Count of La Conquista (1771) and Knight of the Spanish Order of Santiago. He was a Chilean creole and had a career as a soldier under the Spanish Empire after he amassed a fortune in commerce.
Francisco López de Zúñiga y Meneses, 2nd Marquess of Baides and Count of Pedrosa was a Spanish soldier who served as Royal Governor of Chile from May 1639 to May 1646.
Francisco Ibáñez de Segovia y Peralta (1644–1712) was a Spanish colonial administrator who was Royal Governor of Chile from 1700 to 1709. He was born in Madrid and died in Lima.
Tomás López Marín y González de Poveda, 1st Marquis of Cañada Hermosa was a Spanish colonial administrator who served as Royal Governor of Chile.
Government Assembly of the Kingdom of Chile, also known as the First Government Gathering, was the organization established to rule post-colonial Chile following the deposition and imprisonment of King Ferdinand VII of Spain by Napoleon Bonaparte. It was the earliest step in the Chilean struggle for independence, and the anniversary of its establishment is celebrated as the national day of Chile.
The Figueroa mutiny was a failed attempt on April 1, 1811 to restore royal power in Chile and the first coup d'état in Chile.
Friar José Camilo Henríquez González was a priest, author, politician, and is considered an intellectual antecedent to and founding father of the Republic of Chile for his passionate leadership and influential writings. He was also one of the most important early South American newspaper writers and wrote several essays, most notably the Proclama de Quirino Lemachez, which promoted Chilean independence and liberty. He also wrote under the pseudonym Quirino Lemachez.
The National Library of Chile is the national library of Chile. It is located on the Avenida Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins in Santiago, in a building completed in 1925, though its history reaches to the early nineteenth century before it was relocated to its current home.
Juan Henríquez de Villalobos ; Spanish soldier and administrator who, after participation in various European wars, was designated as governor of Chile by Mariana of Austria. In this position, between October 1670 and April 1682, he became, according to Chilean historiography, the epítome of the corrupt and nepotistic governor. His government tenure was darkened by a long series of litigations and accusations by oidores of the Real Audiencia of Santiago and other vecinos of the colony. He was one of the governors who left the position richer than he began, with not less than 900 thousand pesos, according to Jose Toribio Medina.
Ambrosio de Benavides Medina Liñán y Torres was a Spanish colonial administrator who served as Royal Governor of Puerto Rico, Royal Governor of Charcas and Royal Governor of Chile.
Recaredo Santos Tornero Olmos was a Chilean editor, journalist and director of El Mercurio de Valparaíso and founder of El Comercio.
The First Chilean Navy Squadron was the heterogeneous naval force that terminated Spanish colonial rule in the Pacific and protagonized the most important naval actions of in the Latin American wars of independence. The Chilean revolutionary government organized the squadron in order to carry the war to the Viceroyalty of Perú, then the center of Spanish power in South America, and thus secure the independence of Chile and Argentina.
The Official Journal of the Republic of Chile is Chile's government gazette – a means of publication of laws, decrees, and other legal regulations issued by state bodies.
The state visit of Fidel Castro to Chile in 1971 was a landmark event both for Chilean internal politics and for the foreign relations of Cuba. Castro's visit occurred as Chile was experiencing political convulsion amidst the presidency of Salvador Allende who had been elected in 1970. For Cuba it was the first state visit of Fidel Castro since he visited Moscow in 1964 and served to break the diplomatic isolation the country was subject to in Latin America. The state visit was unprecedented as Castro stayed 23 days in the country, travelling it from north to south, and commenting on Chilean politics. Upon arrival to each town and city Castro was usually met by crowds of supporters. His visit ended up making Salvador Allende uncomfortable while the Chilean right-wing exploited it to discredit the Unidad Popular government.
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