British Chileans are Chilean residents with fully or partial antecedents from the United Kingdom. The British have been very important in the formation of the Chilean nation. They include Chileans of English,

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

Ulster Scots Ulster Scots, may refer to: * Ulster Scots people * Ulster Scots dialect Ulster Scots or Ulster-Scots (', ga, Albainis Uladh), also known as Ulster Scotch and Ullans, is the dialect of Scots language, Scots spoken in parts of Ulster in North ...

, (Northern) Irish and

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

ancestry. The numbers of Scottish and Welsh are higher in Patagonia, in Aysén and

Magallanes Magallanes may refer to: * Ferdinand Magellan (1480–1521), Portuguese explorer who led part of the first expedition around the world * Strait of Magellan, the strait between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, located in Chile Places * Magallane ...

regions. The highest percentage of British Chileans is found in Punta Arenas, followed by Santiago, Valparaíso, Concepcion,

Viña del Mar Viña del Mar (; meaning "Vineyard of the Sea") is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Often referred to as ("The Garden City"), Viña del Mar is located within the Valparaíso Region, and it is Chile's fourth largest city w ...

and Antofagasta.

History

The main British communities in Chile, or ''La Colonia Britanica'', were located in Valparaíso, Punta Arenas, and Concepción. A key moment in British immigration to Chile occurred in 1811, when free trade was decreed, followed by laws in 1824 and 1845 encouraging immigration. Facing the Pacific Ocean, Chile had for many years an important British presence. Over 50,000 British immigrants settled in Chile from 1840 to 1914. A significant number of them settled in Magallanes in Province, especially the city of Punta Arenas when it flourished as a major global seaport for ships crossing the Strait of Magellan from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Around 32,000 English settled in Valparaíso, influencing the port city to the extent of making it virtually a British colony during the last decades of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. However, the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 and the outbreak of the First World War drove many of them away from the city or back to Europe. In Valparaíso they created their largest and most important colony, bringing with them neighbourhoods of British character, schools, social clubs, 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. Even today their influence is apparent in specific areas, such as the banks and the navy, as well as in certain social activities, 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 c ...

(soccer), horse racing, and the custom of drinking tea. During the movement for independence (1818), it was mainly the British who formed the Chilean Navy, under the command of Lord Cochrane. Investment from Britain contributed to Chile's prosperity, and British seamen helped the Chilean navy become a force in the South Pacific. Chile won two wars, the first against the Peru-Bolivian Confederation and the second, the War of the Pacific, in 1878-79, against an alliance between Peru and

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

. The liberal-socialist "Revolution of 1891" introduced political reforms modelled on British parliamentary practice and lawmaking. British immigrants were also important in the northern zone of the country during the saltpetre boom, in the ports of Iquique and Pisagua. The ''King of Saltpetre'', John Thomas North, was the principal tycoon of nitrate mining. Britain's legacy is reflected in the streets of the historic district of the city of Iquique, with the foundation of various institutions, such as the Club Hípico (Racing Club). Nevertheless, active British presence came to an end with the saltpetre crisis of the 1930s. A contingent of British (principally Scottish and Irish) immigrants arrived between 1914 and 1950, settling in the present-day region of

. British families were established in other areas of the country, such as Santiago, Coquimbo, the Araucanía, and Chiloé.

Cultural and technological legacy

The cultural legacy of the British in Chile is notable and has spread beyond the British Chilean community onto society at large. One custom taken from the British is afternoon tea, called "onces" by Chileans. Another interesting, although peculiar, legacy is the sheer amount of use of British first surname by Chileans. British technology in mining, railway, maritime infrastructure, and other industrial applications predominated in Chile in the latter half of the 19th century, continuing through the 1930s. Manuel A. Fernández's book, "Technology and British Nitrate Enterprises in Chile, 1880-1914" (Issue 34 of Occasional Papers- Institute of Latin American Studies Glasgow University, ISSN 0305-8646) details some of the British technology contributions to the development of the Chilean mining industry. Similar benefits were seen in the railway and meat-processing industries. Many of the British engineers and technicians, who came to Chile to support British equipment, remained in the country. Even Chile's modern system of lighthouses was largely the result of British expertise and technology: towards the end of the 19th century, Scottish engineer George Slight designed and constructed 70 lighthouses, most of which are still in operation. Chile currently has the largest population who can claim to be descendants of the British in Latin America. Over 700,000 Chileans may have British (English,

and

) or Irish origin, amounting to about 4% of Chile's population. Many speak unaccented English at home. There are many schools in Chile that are

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...

, offering a British curriculum in English and the standard Chilean curriculum in Spanish, and throughout the 20th century English language learning and teaching in state schools and private institutions with British curriculum is invariably geared towards the

Received Pronunciation Received Pronunciation (RP) is the Accent (sociolinguistics), accent traditionally regarded as the Standard language, standard and most Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestigious form of spoken British English. For over a century, there has been ...

Notable people

* Patricio Aylwin, President of Chile *

Juan Williams Rebolledo Juan Williams Rebolledo (1825 in Curacaví, Melipilla Province – 24 June 1910 in Santiago), was a Chilean rear admiral who was the organizer and commander-in-chief of the Chilean navy in 1879 at the beginning of the War of the Pacific ...

, Chilean Navy Admiral *

Ben Brereton Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( he, � ...

, English-Chilean professional footballer * Claudio Arrau, pianist (family Darroch) *

Carlos Condell Carlos Arnaldo Condell De La Haza (August 14, 1843 in Valparaíso – November 24, 1887 in Quilpué) was a Chilean naval officer and hero of the Battle of Punta Gruesa during the start of the War of the Pacific. Possessing a great sense of ...

, Navy Rear Admiral * Carlos Ibáñez del Campo, President (family Evans) * William Beausire, stockbroker and disappeared prisoner during the military dictatorship *

Juan Pablo Bennett Division General Juan Pablo Bennett Argandoña (January 25, 1871 – August 12, 1951) was a Chilean military officer and member of the Government Junta of Chile (1924), Government Junta that ruled Chile between 1924 and 1925. Juan Pablo Bennett wa ...

, Army General * Alberto Blest Gana, writer and diplomat * Claudio Bunster Weitzman, scientist *

Ricardo J. Caballero Ricardo Jorge Caballero (born 20 October 1959) is a Chilean macroeconomist who is the Ford International Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also served as the Chairman of MIT's Economic Department from 2008 t ...

, Macroeconomist * Ian Campbell, rugby union player * Julio Canessa Roberts, Army General and politician * Andrés Chadwick Piñera, politician *

Marta Colvin Marta Colvin Andrade (1907–1995) was a sculptor from Chillán, Chile. Biography Marta Colvin Andrade was the daughter of James Colvin of Irish descent and Elvira Andrade of Portuguese descent. After the 1939 Chillán earthquake, she lived i ...

, sculptor * Enrique Cood Ross, politician and diplomat * Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, Navy Vice Admiral * Alejandra Chellew, businesswoman *

, Navy Captain and hero of the War of the Pacific *

Francisco José Cox Francisco José Cox Huneeus (18 December 1933 – 12 August 2020) was a native of Chile and a former archbishop of the Catholic Church. He was a member of the Schoenstatt Movement. He was Bishop of Chillán from 1975 to 1981 and Coadjutor Archbisho ...

, Catholic Bishop * William Cunningham Blest, doctor * Agustín Edwards Eastman, businessman and owner of the El Mercurio newspaper * Agustín Edwards Mac Clure, businessman, politician and diplomat * Alejandro Foxley, academic and politician * Laurence Golborne, Minister * Marmaduke Grove, Air Force officer and politician, founder of the Socialist Party of Chile * Luis Eduardo Hicks, Footballer * Adolfo Holley, Army General * Francisco Hudson, Navy officer and hydrographer *

Pablo Huneeus Pablo Miguel Huneeus Cox (born 1940 in Santiago) raised in New Jersey, is a Chilean writer and social critic. His more than thirty books are known for their lively personal style, sense of humor, and vivid portraits of real people. Several have ...

, writer *

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 ...

, rancher, ice hockey and polo player * Gustavo Leigh Guzman, Air Force General and member of the Government Junta of 1973 * Bernardo Leighton, politician * Arturo Longton, Actor and TV Personality * Sergio Livingstone Pohlhammer, football player and TV sports commentator *

Harold Mayne-Nicholls Harold Alfred Mayne-Nicholls Secul (born 27 July 1961) is a Chilean journalist and former football administrator who was president of the National Professional Football Association (ANFP) and of the Chilean Football Federation (FFCh). He was ...

, journalist, FIFA official and former President of the National Professional Football Association and the Chilean Football Federation * Ana Reeves, actress *

Agustín Ross Agustín Ross Edwards (February 5, 1844 – October 20, 1926) was a Chilean politician, diplomat, and banker. He was son of David Ross and Carmen Edwards Ossandon; both were of British ancestry. He was married to Susana De Ferari. Biography Ro ...

, politician, diplomat and banker *

Carlos Ross Carlos Esteban Ross Cotal (born 23 November 1990) is a Chilean footballer who plays as a winger for Sport Huancayo. Ross has played in six countries, and three continents (South America, Europe, and Asia). He has also been summoned two times ...

, footballer * Edmundo Searle, cartoonist * Felipe Seymour, footballer *

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 ...

, Army officer * María Elena Swett, actress * Sussan Taunton Thomas, actress *

Raimundo Tupper Raimundo Tupper Lyon (1 January 1969 – 20 July 1995) was a Chilean professional football player, best known for his years with Universidad Católica. He was a left back. Club career Born into a family of five children (four males and one f ...

, footballer * Robert Winthrop Simpson, Navy officer * Alexander Bryan Witt, filmmaker * Andrés Wood, filmmaker * Joan Jara, dancer, former wife (widow) to the Chilean poet and songwriter Victor Jara *

Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna (August 25, 1831 – January 25, 1886) was a Chilean writer, journalist, historian and politician. Vicuña Mackenna was of Irish and Basque descent. Biography Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna was born in Santiago, the ...

, Chilean politician, writer, historian and naturalist, Mackenna surname of Irish origin. Also to note is that the 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 lead ...

was born in Valparaíso of British/ New Zealand and German-Chilean parentage. Isabel Allende's first husband, Michael Frias, is of significant British ancestry.

References

External links

Historia de Chile, Británicos y Anglosajones en Chile durante el siglo XIX.
{{British diaspora European Chilean Chile Ethnic groups in Chile

History

Cultural and technological legacy

Notable people

See also

References

External links