Chilean Declaration of Independence in the context of "Independence"

Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, extending along a narrow strip of land between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. According to the 2024 census, Chile had an enumerated population of 18.5 million. The country covers a territorial area of 756,102 square kilometers (291,933 sq mi), sharing borders with Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage to the south. It also administers several Pacific islands, including Juan Fernández, Isla Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas, and Easter Island, and claims about 1,250,000 square kilometers (480,000 sq mi) of Antarctica as the Chilean Antarctic Territory. The capital and largest city is Santiago, and the national language is Spanish.

Spain conquered and colonized the region in the mid-16th century, replacing Inca rule; however, they failed to conquer the autonomous tribal Mapuche people who inhabited what is now south-central Chile. Chile emerged as a relatively stable authoritarian republic in the 1830s after their 1818 declaration of independence from Spain. During the 19th century, Chile experienced significant economic and territorial growth, putting an end to Mapuche resistance in the 1880s and gaining its current northern territory in the War of the Pacific (1879–83) by defeating Peru and Bolivia.

The Palacio de la Real Audiencia de Santiago (English: Royal Court Palace or Palace of the Boxes) is a building located on the Plaza de Armas in Santiago, Chile. The building dates back to 1808 and houses, since 1982, the National History Museum of Chile.

The building was built between 1804 and 1807 to serve as the home for the royal courts of justice. It was the work of Juan Goycolea, a pupil and disciple of the Italian-born Joaquin Toesca who had designed the nearby La Moneda Palace and the east facade of the Cathedral during the last two decades of the 18th century. The courts were there for two years until Chile's first government junta, in 1810, assembled to replace the Spanish governor. Eight years later the Chilean Declaration of Independence was solidified and the building served as the first meeting place for the new congress. It served as the seat of government until 1846, until President Manuel Bulnes moved to La Moneda Palace.

Miguel de Zañartu Santa María (1786 – 25 October 1851) was a Chilean politician and lawyer. During the Chilean Independence War he was a prominent Patriot being forced into exile to Mendoza in 1814 when the Patria Vieja fell to the Royalists. In 1817 he returned to Chile. Zañartu was among the signatories of the Chilean Declaration of Independence.