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n—1881
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Argentinanand Chile both pulled away from their colonial overlord, Spain,ndeclaring their independence in 1816 and 1818, respectively. You’dnthink that people in these two nations would want to get along—newnnations often struggle with creating the constitutions andngovernmental organizations that will enable them to succeed—but innthis case, the relationship between these two South Americanncountries went sour right away.
Argentinanand Chile both pulled away from their colonial overlord, Spain,ndeclaring their independence in 1816 and 1818, respectively. You’dnthink that people in these two nations would want to get along—newnnations often struggle with creating the constitutions andngovernmental organizations that will enable them to succeed—but innthis case, the relationship between these two South Americanncountries went sour right away.n
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nAnd,nof course, it was all about whose-owns-this-bit-of-land?
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nChilenwas content, at first, to establish its eastern boundary at thenAndes, but then someone started arguing that Chile deserves to ownnall of Patagonia, which is the entire region at the southern end ofnSouth America. (The island Tierra del Fuego is usually included innthis region.)
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Well,nsure, you could make a case that Pedro de Valdivia got the rights tonall of Patagonia from the Spanish crown, back in the 16thnCentury, but you could also point out that Argentina had supportednWelsh immigrants in parts of Patagonia. You could argue that Chilenjust cared about the Straits of Magellan (a bit of sea betweennmainland South America and the island Tierra del Fuego, through whichnships can travel between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans) and thatnthe Chilean government had seen Patagonia as a useless wasteland. But you could also say, “Hey, Argentina, you already have so much land, andnpoor little Chile is soooo skinny! Can’t you give Chile some morenland?”
Well,nsure, you could make a case that Pedro de Valdivia got the rights tonall of Patagonia from the Spanish crown, back in the 16thnCentury, but you could also point out that Argentina had supportednWelsh immigrants in parts of Patagonia. You could argue that Chilenjust cared about the Straits of Magellan (a bit of sea betweennmainland South America and the island Tierra del Fuego, through whichnships can travel between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans) and thatnthe Chilean government had seen Patagonia as a useless wasteland. But you could also say, “Hey, Argentina, you already have so much land, andnpoor little Chile is soooo skinny! Can’t you give Chile some morenland?”n
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nAtnany rate, Argentina and Chile squabbled over the land and then signednthis treaty, which split Tierra del Fuego and the rest of thendisputed lands between the two nations, and which stated thatnthe Straits of Magellan shall be “neutralized for ever, and freennavigation assured to the flags of all nations.” In other words,nNOBODY is allowed to build military bases there!
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nAntreaty is generally a good thing, a sort of win-win. In this case,nhowever, there still have been disputes over Patagonia. In 2010, for example, thentwo countries argued over the Southern Icefields, which contain thensecond largest reserve of potable water in the world!
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nFornmore info about Patagonia, check out this earlier post.
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nAlsonon this date:
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nAnniversary of a cloning success
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nAnniversary of the opening of the first swimming school in the U.S.
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