Early Nineteenth-Century British Travelers in Chile: Impressions of Santiago and Valparaíso

The first English travel literature dealing with the western countries of South America is that which describes the exploits of early British navigators such as Drake, Narbrough, Anson, and others.1 These accounts, however, are mostly limited to descriptions of the coastal areas, and very little is included about the inland country, the people, and their way of life. It was not until after the wars of independence had been fought and won that the Spanish monopolistic barriers were fully eliminated, and foreigners were permitted to travel freely in the newlyemancipated South American countries. This was particularly true of Chile and Peru, to which countless Englishmen were attracted and were able to record their first-hand, vivid impressions of what they had seen.