Initialed notices were written by members of the editorial staff.
This useful reference work has been revised and expanded since the previous edition was issued in 1966. Listed alphabetically are important Chilean events, cities, institutions, terms of historical interest, and individuals. Each entry is the subject of a brief descriptive piece. The compilers purposefully have excluded Chilean history since the coup d’état of September 11, 1973, from this volume. Except for the living former heads of state Arturo Alessandri and Eduardo Frei, the biographical sketches include only deceased persons who have played a significant role in Chilean life since the sixteenth century. Although most of the coverage is dedicated to political and military events and leaders, historians, educators, writers, painters, and religious leaders are treated as well. Foreigners important in Chilean history, such as Sir Francis Drake, Emilio Körner, and Henry Meiggs, are the subjects of individual pieces. An unannotated, four-page list of Chilean historical works is appended, but unfortunately the dictionary’s entries include no bibliographical material on their subjects.
