North Americans in Chile

Infobox Ethnic group
group = flagicon|USA flagicon|Canada North American Chilean flagicon|Chile
"Chileno norteamericano"


caption = Notable American Chileans: Joaquin Murrieta
poptime = Small minority (unknown population figures), about 10,000 is said to be of Cherokee ancestry.
popplace = Chile
langs = Spanish
rels = Roman Catholicism
related = Americans, Canadians, British Chileans, Cherokee

Along with the British, Americans came to Chile to develop the country's economy and trade from the early 19th century onwards. Even though very few compared to the British, they did contribute to Chile's wealth and economic development well into the 20th century. Other Anglosphere immigrants included Irish, Canadians and Australians.

Valparaíso was on the route from Britain to California, which the US won from Mexico in 1845. That same port was even the scene of one of the battles of the Anglo-American War of 1812. One American who was in Chile was Wheelwright, who introduced the railway in Chile and nearby Argentina in the 1850s. In the California Gold Rush, a massive influx of Chilean miners went to California and many had returned to Chile wealthier than before.

To Chileans, Americans, almost all of British ancestry at the time, were so similar to the British that they were both lumped together as "gringo"s, a term still used for Americans. Today, (North) American culture is a dominant force in Chilean society, and an increase of North American tourists from the US and Canada in the 1990s and 2000's attracted to the world-renowned scenery and increasing economic opportunity in Chile.

It was not only European Americans who emigrated to Chile. In the 18th century, a group of Cherokees settled in Chile and finally integrated into the Spanish Chilean majority, making themselves invisible. Joaquin Murieta, a legendary figure was considered a Chilean of Cherokee descent. He was part of a migration of Cherokee and other American Indian settlers from the Southeastern United States and Indian Territory in the late 19th century into Chile and other South American countries like Brazil. Fact|date=August 2008