Page 52 - Revistas Identidad de valparaiso.pptx

The first English in the port of Valparaíso

Already towards the beginning of the 20th century it could be said that Valparaíso was the financial capital of
Chile. As Rodolfo Urbina points out, «The intense movement of the years 1880 to 1906 was the lifeblood that

nourished the social and economic body of the city that revived with so many activities born from the circulation
of capital that there was no other in Chile that concentrated such a large number of houses of high, medium and
small businesses and occupations followed by the harbor activity ». However, there was another type of

population, which we will call "floating population", which refers to all those British who came to Chile sent by
their company for a short period of time.

Chile, these formed families with women of their nationality and ended their days in their own homeland. It
should also be taken into account that despite the fact that many of these hired Britons returned to their
countries of origin, there were many who did settle permanently in Chile. Within the sample, it can be seen that in
most cases the ancestors arrived in Chile hired by a British firm. Another very significant element that can be
extracted from the sample is that many of the British who came to Chile were enterprising people who knew how
For example, Lorna Rogers' grandfather, who came to Chile hired
to take advantage of market opportunities.
by a British firm, while in Valparaíso he became independent and
formed a bolt and screw factory. Another demonstrative case is
that of Mr. Ernest Puig, who arrived in Chile during the early years
of the 20th century at the age of 19, without speaking a word of
Spanish, and who in Valparaíso formed his own company to export
nuts to Europe. . Undoubtedly, those British who settled in Chile to

form their own businesses were not exempt from the economic
upheavals caused by the crisis of 1929.
He believed that we would be better there, but the situation in
Europe was worse, it was a big mistake, we had to return to Chile,
after two years, to my grandparents' house in Peñablanca. In
addition, it shows that Chile was inserted into the world capitalist
economy.