La Serena: History

Pre-20th-Century History

While later civilizations would find the harsh mountains and semidesert of Norte Chico difficult to tame, Pre-Columbian peoples, like the coastal Chango, thrived here. Sedentary Diaguita farmers, who crossed the Andes from what is now Argentina, also found a fruitful niche, raising crops in fertile river valleys and in parts of the barren uplands. Shortly before the conquistadors limped onto the Chilean scene, the Inca Empire also began to spread its tentacles south.

Diego de Almagro's first fateful expedition crossed the freezing Paso San Francisco from Salta (now Argentina) in 1535. Surviving phenomenal hardship, a member of Almagro's party left a graphic, gruesome account of the group's miserable 800km (480mi) march over the Puna de Atacama - he reported that men and horses froze to death and that members of later expeditions, finding the preserved horses, 'were glad to eat them'.

Food and water were available in the lowlands, but Almagro soon scurried back to present-day Peru via the Norte Grande. A few years later, Pedro de Valdivia's party followed Almagro's return route south to found Santiago, but they met stiff resistance from indigenous warriors at Copiapó. Valdivia founded Copiapó in 1540, and Encomendero Juan Bohón, Pedro de Valdivia's lieutenant, founded La Serena in 1544, but the town was promptly destroyed and Bohón was killed in a Diaguita uprising. His successor, Francisco de Aguirre, re-discovered the city in 1549, but a century later poor old La Serena was razed once more, this time by British pirate Sharpe in 1680.

Following Chilean independence, the city grew fat on silver and copper, supported by agriculture in the Elqui Valley. Silver discoveries were so significant that the government created an independent mint in the city.

Modern History

Much of La Serena's remaining historic architecture dates from the late 19th century and is built from Oregan pine, brought from the US by cargo ships picking up copper. Other examples of town architecture are Neocolonial - the product of Serena-born president Gabriel González Videla's 'Plan Serena' of the late 1940s.

Le Serena is one of Chile's fastest-growing areas: between 1992 and 2002, the city saw its population increase by around 32%.

Recent History

Today La Serena is a popular beach resort, drawing hordes of Chilean holidaymakers in January and February. The countryside around La Serena also has pisco vineyards aplenty - producing Chile's potent grape brandy - as well as international astronomical observatories that take advantage of the region's exceptional atmospheric conditions and clear skies.

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