Discovery of Chile

The first European to discover Chile was Ferdinand Magellan, in 1520, following the passage in the Strait which bears his name on a wall, at the southern tip of Latin America. Following the conquest of Aztec Empire by Hernán Cortés between 1518 and 1521, a new wave of territorial expansion occurs in the direction of the Inca Empire from 1532. This is done by Francisco Pizarro. The conquest of part of Chile started from 1535. This conquest is in a particular context (power struggle) and results in a partial settlement of the Spaniards in today's Chile.

There is controversy regarding the use of the term "discovery" to refer to the arrival of the Diego de Almagro expedition, since, from the point of view of humanity, the Chilean territory was already populated and had been discovered by the first human beings. They arrived on the continent approximately 16,000 years ago.