the best song, Halo, by Beyonce Almagro takes possession of the kingdom of Chile in the valley of Copiapo
Was officially founded on December 8 1744 by Governor Jose Manso de Velasco, under the name San Francisco de la Selva de Copiapo, although its origins go back before the arrival of the Spaniards, when it was part of the Inca empire. At that time the natives called this place Copayapu, which some translate as "Copa de oro", others as "green valley" as well as "seed of turquoise." When the Spanish discovered the Diego de Almagro Reyno de Chile, on 21 March 1536, did so by entering the Andes through the gorge Paipote, in the middle of the Valley of Copiapo Valley which name the possession . In these lands were first Catholic church in Chile.
These good times, the highlights that was associated to the discovery and exploitation of silver ore Chanarcillo, located a few kilometers south of the City, from Juan Godoy in 1832, and the subsequent discovery of mineral in the Tres Puntas 1848. Both discoveries, enabled a rapid development of the area, thus leaving the city as one of the most important of the region. Example is the creation in 1843 of the Province of Atacama, separating the area of the Province of Coquimbo and Copiapo established as provincial capitals. In that same year acquired the title of city.
Multiple advances were brought to the city during this time, these highlights FF.CC Copiapo-Caldera, opened in 1851 and was the first in the country. Other developments included the installation of street lighting to hydrogen sulphide gas in 1852, the construction of the hospital, theater, a police barracks (at that time there were no police uniform in the country) the inauguration of the School of Mines of Copiapo in 1857, and so on.
The economic boom also brought a political and intellectual development of an area that historically had little relevance in this regard, emerging from the relevant political figures such as Pedro Leon Gallo, Manuel Antonio Matta. The first organized in 1859 a revolution against the conservative government of Manuel Montt that achievement to be suffocated with blood and fire to be sent Pedro Leon Gallo Goyenechea sent into exile, though he was the first and only person in chile that has been chosen by Intendente popular vote. When I came back from exile in 1863, founded the Radical Party in Copiapo near Matta, which would be of great importance in the future within the Chilean political.
In 1868 a strange event occurred in the skies of Copiapo, which has been described by ufologists as the first sighting of UFOs in Chile and one of the first world does not even rule out that it is the first worldwide in the era contemporary testimony of the above is given by the Saturday edition of the November 14, 1868 the newspaper "The Constituent" of Copiapo.
By the 1870s, mine production begins to drop sharply, leaving the area and the importance of the city had purchased and moved in the 1880s the center of the country's development towards the new north end, specifically, to regions that had been integrated into the country due to the Pacific War, through the heyday of Salitre. This plunged the region into a state of poverty and neglect, which causes the number of residents had a clear decline. This was stable at low levels until well into the twentieth century.
This situation was exacerbated by a strong earthquake occurred 8.5 Richter November 10, 1922, which left 40 of the buildings of the city on the floor and 45 uninhabitable. Throughout the area was recorded at least 800 fatalities.
NZ begins to grow again towards the 1930s thanks eactivacion the economy, which he began to sustained development that continues to this day, returning to increase the population and strengthening the town as a major hub within the north. Mineral development standing out new life displays, including the reservoir and smelting Potrerillos 1927 the foundry Paipote 1953 and the site of El Salvador 1959. It also begins to develop from the 1970s especially in the second half of this decade, the agribusiness area, since it facilitates the technical development of agriculture allowed the introduction of drip irrigation. This has enabled one of the driest areas of the world, producing higher quality grapes that exists in the world market and, by harvest in spring and early summer, is highly valued.
In 1976, the regionalization process driven by the government of Augusto Pinochet Ugarte, establishing the Region III of Atacama, on the Capital Regional Copiapo.