A LAND RICH IN HISTORY

Up until the arrival of Magellan in 1520, Chile was all but unknown to the outside world, hidden behind its protective walls of mountain, desert and sea. But mummified remains, some 7,000 years old, provide evidence of a population that pre-dates even Ancient Egypt.

The variety of tribes that inhabited the country in those times was all but wiped out by successive Inca and European invasions, however – only the Mapuche (literally ‘the people of the land’) in the south survived in any strength – and Chile is now a cultural melting pot of many people. Germans, Basques, Britons, Scandinavians and many others have come to Chile over the centuries, primarily as farmers or miners, and settled to become part of the nation’s fabric.

Perhaps nothing typifies this ‘mini league of nations’ status better than the fact that, when we fought (and won) the war to free ourselves from the Spanish empire in 1817, the man who led the revolutionary forces – and became our first president – rejoiced in the name of Bernardo O’Higgins.

It had been the Spaniards who introduced vineyards to the country in the 16th century, with such success that exports to Europe were soon threatening the prosperity of Spain’s own wine industry. King Philip II attempted to curb this by imposing, at first, heavy taxes and then an order to destroy the local vineyards. The Chileans, always resilient and fiercely independent people, turned a blind eye to both and our noble tradition of winemaking has continued to flourish ever since.