Valparaíso

Industrial port, naval base, and capital of Valparaiso region, central Chile, situated on a broad bay on the Pacific coast at the foot of a spur of hills, 120 km/75 mi northwest of Santiago; population (1999 est) 285,000. It is Chile's major port and second-largest city, an administrative centre, and the seat of the Chilean parliament. Both the law courts and the new National Congress are located here. Industries include textiles, chemicals, oil, sugar refining, and leather goods. Fruit and mining products are exported. It is the seat of the Chilean Naval Academy.

Founded in 1536, Valparaiso was occupied by the English naval adventurers Francis Drake in 1578 and John Hawkins in 1595, pillaged by the Dutch in 1600, and bombarded by the Spanish fleet in 1866. The city has also suffered from a number of earthquakes (1730, 1822, 1839, 1875, 1908, 1971, 1985), and until recent years all buildings were low. Few historical buildings survived the earthquake of 1906; a small part of the old colonial town exists in the hollow known as El Puerto.