Short answers, pulled from the story.
Chile stretches over 4,300 kilometers from north to south yet measures only 200 kilometers across at its widest point. This narrow ribbon of land sits between the towering Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean.
Pedro de Valdivia founded Santiago on the 12th of February 1541 but a massive insurrection beginning in 1553 resulted in his death. Subsequent revolts occurred in 1598 and 1655 each time driving the southern border northward.
The War of the Pacific lasted from 1879 to 1883 between Chile Peru and Bolivia where Chile defeated both neighbors and expanded its territory northward by almost one-third. This conflict eliminated Bolivia's access to the Pacific Ocean and secured valuable nitrate deposits for Chile.
At least 2,115 were killed and 27,265 were tortured during the 15-year rule of General Augusto Pinochet as documented by the Rettig Report and Valech Commission. At least 72 people were murdered by the Caravan of Death in October 1973 alone.
Chile became the first South American country to join the OECD in May 2010 while producing a third of the world's copper through state firm Codelco and private companies. Escondida is the largest copper mine in the world producing over 5% of global supplies.