Antofagasta:
Antofagasta is a port city in northern Chile, about 700 miles (1,130 km) north of Santiago. It is the capital of both Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2002 census, the city has an urban population of 281,155 and a municipal population of 296,905. The city's name comes from either a Quechua or Aymara word for "town of the great saltpeter bed."
Antofagasta was founded on October 22, 1868 by Bolivian President Mariano Melgarejo to create a port that would provide an outlet for salpeter (nitrate) exports and establish control over an area where Chileans had settled and were smuggling this material. Antofagasta's original name was "la Chimba," though the area was previously known as Peñas Blancas (Spanish for "White Boulders"). It was part of the Litoral Province of Bolivia until February 14, 1879, when it was occupied by Chilean troops. This event marked the beginning of the War of the Pacific. Antofagasta is sometimes referred to as the Captive Province in Bolivia. Different Bolivian administrations have made diplomatic efforts to recover Antofagasta.
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