Chile (Napoleon's World)

Chile, officially the Republic of Chile (Spanish: Republica de Chile), is a South American republic occupying a long, narrow strip of land along the west coast of the continent, between the Pacific Ocean and Andes Mountains. It borders Peru to the north and Argentina to the east, the Drake Passage to the south and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Chile is the only South American country that does not border Brazil. It's geography is typified by its thin shape.

Chile has a somewhat rocky history, including a variety of attempted republican states overthrown by various military coups in the 19th and early 20th century. After the success of a moderate, democratic government through the Pacific War (in which Chile fought alongside the Americans and Colombians), a communist government came to power in 1952 under the young, energetic Salvador Allende and survived deep into the 1980's, crumbling following a disastrous World Cup hosting in 1984 and the 1988 death of Allende. Today, Chile is one of the world's fastest-growing economies, has been a liberal democracy since the fall of communism in 1989 and has drifted more and more out of the French geopolitical camp and aligned with American interests.