1541

In 1541, Pedro de Valdavia crossed into the central valley, having followed the Inca road south from Peru. He founded Santiago in February, and established strongholds there soon after crossing into Mapuche domains.

1541

Diego de Almagro and his Spanish conquistadors were the first Europeans to arrive in Chile. Pedro de Valdivia founded Santiago. The new settlers had on and off wars with the indigenous Indians and constantly fought the Araucanos.

Food

The cuisine of Chilean food was influenced both by Indian and European food. The national dish of Chile, porotos granados, has Indian cooking, but Spanish modifications.

STAPLES

 

Many Chilean meals have a combination of meat, vegetables, and seafood, usually found in the middle of a baked or fried crust. An example of a typical Chilean dish is empanadas. It is served throughout the country. Empanadas are a fried crust shell that contain can contain beef, onion, and olive dumplings. Cazuela de ave, a rich chicken, potato and pepper stew, is a type of Chilean staple. In addition, humitas are a meal consisting of a paste with grated corn and fried oninos and cooked in cornhusks. As the hot weather comes around, the people of Chile regularly feast on ensalada chilena, which is a fresh onion and tomato salad. Chile has an abundant amount of seafood, which Chileans make paella and shrimp marinated ub Chilean salsa to make Spanish-inspired dishes.