It extends between the 24° and 45° of south latitude, and comprises the continent bounded by the ocean on the west, and the Andes on the east; and the islands on its coasts. Its greatest length being about 1260 miles, and its greatest breadth 300. The extent has been estimated to be equal to 22,574 square leagues.
It is bounded on the north by La Plata, and from Peru it is separated by the desert and province of Atacama; on the east it is bounded by the Buenos Ayrean provinces of Tucuman and Cuyo, and by Terra Magellanica, or Patagonia; on the west, the Southern Pacific washes its shores; and on the south, the unconquered and desert countries of Terra Magellanica complete its limits.
POLITICAL AND TERRITORIAL DIVISIONS AND GOVERNMENT.
Chili is governed by a Spanish officer, appointed by the court of Madrid, and holding the title of Captain General of the kingdom of Chili, having under his orders all the inferior governors of departments and military posts; he is likewise commander in chief of the Chilian forces, and president of the court of royal audience of Santiago.
The country he governs is divided into continental and insular partidos, or departments, over which intendants or lieutenants preside.
The continental part, or Chili Proper, is divided into thirteen partidos, which extend from the twenty-fourth degree to the thirty-seventh degree of south latitude, and are named Copiapo, Coquimbo, Quillota, Aconcagua, Melipilla, Santiago, Rancagua, Colchagua, Maule, Itata, Chillan, Puchucay, and Huilquilemu; from the thirty-seventh degree to the islands of Chiloe, the country is chiefly under the power of three native tribes, the Araucanians, the Cunches, and the Huilliches.
Insular Chili, comprehends the archipelagoes of Chiloe, and Chonos or Guaytecas, and the Andean part of Chili is inhabited also by independent tribes.
DISCOVERY AND HISTORY.
The origin of the native inhabitants of Chili is involved in impenetrable obscurity. They had traditions respecting their ancestors, which were so vague and uncertain as not to merit notice; so that nothing can be advanced concerning the history of Chili, prior to about the middle of the fifteenth century.