English Chileans ( Spanish: ''Anglochilenos'') are citizens of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

who are descended from

English people The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England, who speak the English language, a West Germanic language, and share a common history and culture. The English identity is of Anglo-Saxon origin, when they were known ...

who have emigrated. They are estimated to number 550,000-820,000 (5%-6% of the national population). Since the Port of Valparaíso opened its coasts to free trade in 1811, the English began to congregate in

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

. The first to arrive brought with them tools, articles of china, wool and cotton, with instructions to return with copper and hemp. This was the first exchange of what would become a deep-rooted commercial relationship between the UK and

. In

they constructed their largest and most important colony, bringing with them neighborhoods of English character, schools, social, sports clubs,

business organizations A business entity is an entity that is formed and administered as per corporate law in order to engage in business activities, charitable work, or other activities allowable. Most often, business entities are formed to sell a product or a servi ...

and

periodicals A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar example is a newspaper, but a magazine or a journal are also exampl ...

. This influence is apparent in unique areas of Chilean society today, such as the bank and the national marina, as well as in certain social activities popular in the country, such as

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

, horse racing, and drinking tea. The English eventually numbered more than 32,000 during the port of Valparaíso's boom period during the

saltpeter Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . This alkali metal nitrate Salt (chemistry), salt is also known as Indian saltpetre (large deposits of which were historically mined in India). It is an ionic salt of potassium ...

bonanza at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. The British colonial influence is important to understanding the boom and bust of the port of Valparaíso. The English colony was also important in the northern zone of the country during the saltpeter boom, in the ports of

Iquique Iquique () is a port city and commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Pampa del Tamarugal, which is part of the Atacama Desert. It has a population of 191, ...

and Pisagua. The ''King of Saltpeter'', John Thomas North, was the principal backer of nitrate mining. The English legacy was reflected in the streets of the historic district of the city of

, with the foundation of various institutions, such as the Club Hípico (Racing Club). Nevertheless, said presence came to an end with the saltpeter crisis during the 1930s. An important contingent of English immigrants also settled in the present-day region of Magallanes. In the same way, they established English families in other areas of the country, such as

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

Coquimbo Coquimbo is a port city, commune and capital of the Elqui Province, located on the Pan-American Highway, in the Coquimbo Region of Chile. Coquimbo is situated in a valley south of La Serena, with which it forms Greater La Serena with more than ...

, the Araucanía, and Chiloé.

Notable people

John Williams Wilson John Williams Wilson (1798–1857), also known as Juan Guillermos, was an English- Chilean sailor and politician. Born in Bristol, he entered the newly founded Chilean navy in 1824 and rose to the rank of commander. He was appointed governor of ...

* Robert Winthrop Simpson * Ignacio Walker *

Patricio Aylwin Patricio Aylwin Azócar (; 26 November 1918 – 19 April 2016) was a Chilean politician from the Christian Democratic Party, lawyer, author, professor and former senator. He was the first president of Chile after dictator Augusto Pinochet, a ...

,Chilean president’s Welsh links undone by genealogy
/ref> former

President of Chile The president of Chile ( es, Presidente de Chile), officially known as the President of the Republic of Chile ( es, Presidente de la República de Chile), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Chile. The president is re ...

* Francisco Hudson * Juan Pablo Bennett * Julio Canessa Roberts * Joaquín Edwards Bello *

Agustín Edwards Mac Clure Agustín is a Spanish given name and sometimes a surname. It is related to Augustín. People with the name include: Given name * Agustín (footballer), Spanish footballer * Agustín Calleri (born 1976), Argentine tennis player * Agustín Cá ...

Jorge Edwards Jorge Edwards Valdés (born June 29, 1931) is a Chilean novelist, journalist and diplomat. He was the Chilean ambassador to France during the first Piñera presidency. Life and career Edwards attended Law School at the Universidad de Chile. D ...

Alejandro Foxley Alejandro Tomás Foxley Rioseco (born 26 May 1939 in Viña del Mar) is a Chilean economist and politician. He was the Foreign Minister of Chile from 2006 to 2009 and previously served as Minister of Finance from 1990 to 1994 and leader of the Ch ...

* Dominique Gallego Williams * Laurence Golborne *

Marmaduke Grove Marmaduke Grove Vallejo (; July 6, 1878 – May 15, 1954), his name erroneously spelled Marmaduque Grobeh, was a Chilean Air Force officer, political figure and member of the Government Junta of the Socialist Republic of Chile in 1932. Early lif ...

* Luis Eduardo Hicks *

Stewart Iglehart Stewart Birrell Iglehart (February 22, 1910 – December 19,1993) was a rancher, ice hockey and polo player. He was born in Valparaíso, Chile but moved to the United States at a young age. As a child he learned to play both ice hockey and p ...

* Gustavo Leigh *

Bernardo Leighton Bernardo Leighton Guzmán (August 16, 1909, Negrete, Bío Bío Province – January 26, 1995, Santiago) was a Chilean Christian Democratic Party politician and lawyer. He served as minister of state under three presidents over a 36-year ca ...

* Ofelia Martner * Ana Reeves * Felipe Seymour * Robert Winthrop Simpson *

Robert Souper Howard Colonel Robert Souper Howard (September 9, 1818 – January 13, 1881) was a Chilean soldier, although born in England, who served in the Chilean Army during most of the War of the Pacific. Early life He was born in Harwich, England, the son of W ...

Roberto Souper Roberto Federico Souper Onfray (2 May 1927 – 24 August 2015) was a Chilean military officer who launched an unsuccessful coup d'état against the Allende administration, surrounding the presidential palace with a tank regiment. Twenty-two ...

* María Elena Swett * Sussan Taunton Thomas * Willy Topp * Carlos Villanueva Roland * Juan Williams * Alexander Bryan Witt * Andrés Wood Australian prime minister

Chris Watson John Christian Watson (born Johan Cristian Tanck; 9 April 186718 November 1941) was an Australian politician who served as the third prime minister of Australia, in office from 27 April to 18 August 1904. He served as the inaugural federal lea ...

was born in Valparaíso to British and German-Chilean parents.

References

{{Ethnic groups in Chile European Chilean

Notable people

See also

References