British Chilean

Infobox Ethnic group
group = flagicon|United Kingdom British Chilean flagicon|Chile
"Chileno británico"


caption = Notable British Chileans: Thomas Cochrane ·Juan Williams Rebolledo
poptime = Small minority
popplace = Antofagasta, Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, Santiago, and the highest percentage of British descent lives in Punta Arenas
langs = Chilean Spanish, English, Scots, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, Irish
rels = Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism, Presbyterianism
related = British people, English people, Scottish people, Welsh people

The British have been very important in the formation of the Chilean nation. They include Chileans of English, Scottish and Welsh ancestry, the number of Scottish and Welsh are higher in Patagonia and Magallanes regions, the highest percentage of British Chileans are in Punta Arenas followed by Santiago, Valparaiso and Antofagasta. The British attempted to annex and colonize land that is politically under Chilean rule in the early 19th century.

During independence (1818), it was they who formed the Chilean Navy, under the command of Lord Thomas Cochrane, and after independence, they dominated commerce and was the new republic's first trading partner. Chilean government land deals invited settlement from Scotland and Wales in its southern provinces in the 1840s and 1850s.

It was British investment which helped Chile become prosperous and British seamen helped the Chilean navy become a strong force in the South Pacific. Chile won two wars, the first was against Spain and Peru and the second, the War of the Pacific in 1878-79, against an alliance between Peru and Bolivia. The liberal-socialist "Revolution of 1891" introduced political reforms modeled on British parliamentarian laws.

Valparaíso was an important centre of British settlement, mainly merchants and navy officers. They gave Valparaiso its distinctive British flavour. Also, the British have brought their families over so they needed schools with a good English education, so they left Chile with lots of Private Schools, of which the Mackay School, in Viña del Mar is a famous example. They were not Roman Catholic in the main so they had St. Paul's Anglican Church built on Cerro Concepción in Valparaiso.

The prosperity of Valparaiso ended in 1914 with the opening of the Panama Canal. Not only that, many of the British in Valparaiso left Chile to fight for Britain in the First World War. They did not come back but moved on to Australia or return back to Britain. The British who did remain moved to Santiago and many intermarried with the Chilean middle class and elite. Hence the British surnames that appear on the Chilean media and in history.

The cultural legacy of the British in Chile is notable and has spread beyond the British Chilean community to society at large. One custom is afternoon tea, called onces by Chileans. Another interesting legacy is the sheer amount of use of British first names by Chileans not necessarily of British origin. Over half a million (500,000) Chileans may have British (English, Scottish and Welsh) origin.

Famous Chileans of British origin include President Juan Williams Rebolledo, Thomas Cochrane and Roberto Simpson. Also to note Australian prime minister Chris Watson was born in Valparaiso of British/New Zealander and German-Chilean parentage.