In 1906 Señor Pedro Montt was elected president and entered upon his office on the 17th of September. The personality of the president, however, had become of much less importance in modern Chile than in earlier days. Up to 1870 the government was in the hands of a small oligarchy of Santiago families, but the president enjoyed large powers of initiative. Nowadays the congress has virtually absorbed the executive power, with the result that the cabinet is often changed many times in one year. This prevents indeed any continuity of policy, for the majority in congress is perpetually fluctuating, and ministerial crises rapidly follow one another. Chile, however, except in the Balmacedist civil war, is happily distinguished by its freedom from revolution and serious political unrest. Its history in this respect is in marked contrast to that of the neighbouring South American states. The completion of the Trans-Andean railway between Valparaiso and Buenos Aires was bound to be of immense commercial and industrial value; and eventually the making of a longitudinal railway route uniting the nitrate province of the north with Santiago, and Santiago with Puerto Montt in the distant south, opened up further important prospects. Such a line of through communication, binding together the different provinces forming the long narrow strip of territory stretching along more than 2000 m. of the Pacific littoral, could only be looked forward to, both politically and economically, as an inestimable benefit to the country.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--_General History_.--The most valuable authority is D. Barros Arana's _Historia jeneral de Chile_ (15 vols., Santiago, 1884), from the earliest days up to 1830. Smaller handbooks covering the whole period are: A.U. Hancock, a _History of Chile_ (Chicago, 1893), the only general history in English, and containing a bibliography; Gaspar Toro, _Compendio de la historia de Chile_ (Santiago, 1879), a good clear abstract of Chilean history; and F. Valdes Vergara, _Historia de Chile_ (Valparaiso, 1898), written primarily for schools, but containing useful sketches of leading figures in Chilean history.
_Works on Special Periods_.--Colonial Period: M.L. Amunátequi, _Descubri miento y conquista de Chile_ (Santiago, 1885), a valuable detailed account of the Spanish conquest; by same author, _Los Precursores de la independencia de Chile_ (Santiago, 1870), a clear useful description of the evils of the Spanish colonial system; Horacio Lara, _Cronica de la Araucania_ (Santiago, 1889), a history of the Araucanian Indians right up to recent dates; Abbé Eyzaguirre, _Histoire du Chili_ (Lille, 1855), mainly dealing with the position of the Church during the colonial period. Perez Garcia's _Historia del reino de Chile_ (Santiago, 1900), an old history by a Spanish officer written about 1780, and Molina's _History of Chili_ in the English translation (London, 1809), will also be found useful. Useful material for research exists in J.T. Medina's _Coleccion de documentos para la historia de Chile_ (Santiago, 1888), a collection of despatches and official documents; his _Cosas de la colonia_ (Santiago, 1889), an accumulation of undigested information about life in the colonial period; and _Historiadores de Chile_ (21 vols., Santiago, 1861), a collection of ancient chronicles and official documents up to the early part of the 17th century.