The Chile Reader: History, Culture, Politics

The Latin America Readers

by Elizabeth Quay Hutchison (Editor), Thomas Miller Klubock (Editor), Nara B. Milanich (Editor)

The Chile Reader makes available a rich variety of documents spanning more than five hundred years of Chilean history. Most of the selections are by Chileans; many have never before appeared in English. The history of Chile is rendered from diverse perspectives, including those of Mapuche Indians and Spanish colonists, peasants and aristocrats, feminists and military strongmen, entrepreneurs and workers, and priests and poets. Among the many selections are interviews, travel diaries, letters, diplomatic cables, cartoons, photographs, and song lyrics. Texts and images, each introduced by the editors, provide insights into the ways that Chile's unique geography has shaped its national identity, the country's unusually violent colonial history, and the stable but autocratic republic that emerged after independence from Spain. They shed light on Chile's role in the world economy, the social impact of economic modernization, and the enduring problems of deep inequality. The Reader also covers Chile's bold experiments with reform and revolution, its subsequent descent into one of Latin America's most ruthless Cold War dictatorships, and its much-admired transition to democracy and a market economy in the years since dictatorship.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, Anthologies

640 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of history, I learned all kinds of stuff about Chile. The customs, culture & the people. I would recommend this book for any who are traveling to this country & need/want to know more about it. Very informative.

[Robert Teeter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Through primary sources, this wide-ranging anthology explores themes in the geography, history, and social life of Chile. There is the question of what sort of government the country should have. In recent decades, Chile has gone from a democratically elected socialist government to a military dictatorship to a neoliberal democracy. There is the question of the role of religion in a predominantly Catholic country, yet as long ago as the 1930s a priest could ask whether Chile was a Catholic country. There are the questions of the rights of women, labor, Native peoples, and gay people. In the 17th century, there was a debate about whether Natives should be made slaves. There is the question of how to live with an environment that extends from the desert through temperate valleys, thick forests, and the antarctic, while at the same time being dependent on resources like nitrates, copper, and timber.

[Austin Barselau · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Chile Reader spans more than five centuries of Chilean history, weaving together a rich tapestry of primary source documents, many newly translated into English, to interrogate the roots of Chile’s oft-invoked national “exceptionalism.” Long regarded as one of Latin America’s more stable and prosperous nations despite its colonial peripherality, Chile’s story is explored here through a remarkable variety of voices and media. The editors—all accomplished historians at U.S. universities—assemble interviews, speeches, excerpts of poetry and fiction, diplomatic cables, photographs, political cartoons, and more to illuminate the country’s evolving social, economic, and political landscape.

Organized thematically and chronologically, the volume traces Chile’s transformation from a poor Spanish outpost into a modern nation grappling with enduring challenges. Across these centuries, The Chile Reader exposes recurring tensions that continue to shape Chilean life: sharp social and ethnic divides, persistent socioeconomic inequality, and a political culture marked by dramatic swings between authoritarianism and democracy. Framing each document within this broad historical arc, the editors reveal how the country’s much-celebrated stability and economic modernization have often concealed deeper fissures—conflicts with the indigenous Mapuche, chronic disparities in the mineral-rich north, recurrent inflation and unemployment, the precarious status of laborers, and the material and moral conditions of the masses at the heart of the so-called “social question.”

By bringing these sources into conversation, The Chile Reader brilliantly guides readers along Chile’s major historical fault lines. The collection presents a balanced and nuanced portrait of a nation whose exceptionalism cuts both ways: a society capable of remarkable political resilience and modernization, yet one still shadowed by the unresolved inequities and tensions of its past.

[Maxwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The selections in The Chile Reader are surprisingly comprehensive in their breadth, though of course can only scratch the surface of many topics. The Chile Reader is a worthwhile read for those aiming for an introduction to Chilean history, society, politics, and culture. I found some of the earlier selections less beneficial, but overall the book is well-curated.

[CP · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actually can be an interesting book if not because I am not too familiar with Chilean history as a whole.

[Nada · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very thorough overview of Chilean history. I definitely appreciated the inclusion of primary source documents and writings to support the author's suppositions.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Generally very good selection of primary sources on the history, people, and culture of Chile. A few complaints kept me from giving this a higher rating. First, a little more culture at the expense of some of the minutiae of history would have been appreciated. Second, some of the passages were hopelessly opaque particularly as selections from larger works (only a few though). Most annoyingly, the editors presented a very clear perspective on history instead of just letting the documents tell themselves. Obviously, any history writing is going to be affected by its writers' or editors' viewpoints, but I found the pro-Allende bent a little heavy. Granted, next to Pinochet, the man looks like a saint, but several passages by Allende opponents were picked apart in footnotes while the Allende allies' passages were left to speak for themselves. The explanations before the passages discussing how things started going bad were very good at casting blame around for the failures of the socialist state without every recognizing that some of Allende's ideas were bad.

Also, could have used more Mapuche.

Regardless, I'm happy I read this in preparation for a trip to Chile and feel I have a much better understanding of the country than what I had before.

[AskHistorians]

These are a series of country studies that provide a valuable overview of various Latin American countries. They use both primary and secondary sources by eyewitnesses and important scholars respectively to illuminate key periods of each country’s history. They also include a trove of images, maps, and fine art. Each volume focuses on a single country. Currently, Duke has published readers about the Dominican Republic, Chile, Paraguay, Guatemala, Ecuador, Perú, Costa Rica, Cuba, México, Argentina, and Brazil