Day 45 - Valparaiso, Chile

With the ship docked in Valparaiso, our excursion headed inland to Chile's Capitol and largest city, Santiago. It had everything we learned to expect in South America, but what caught my eye was the Metropolitan Cathedral of Santiago. Despite many earthquakes and wars, the current structure looked immaculate with no signs of disrepair. It was obviously old, well respected and maintained, but why? 

The current Metropolitan Cathedral was completed in 1800 and is probably the fifth and possibly the seventh structure in that location. In any case, it all began in 1541 when the first structure was built and later destroyed that same year. Given the current Cathedral's immaculate condition and past reconstruction efforts, Christianity is obviously well accepted and an important part of the community. Why is this so and how did it happen? The answer is linked to Spanish colonization. 

Spain's obvious colonization goals were to extract gold and silver from the Americas, stimulate the Spanish economy and make Spain a more powerful country. Although this continued for centuries, eventually colonization ended along with Spain's dominance. The conquered became independent and left to deal with the aftermath. 

Colonization definitely produced some long-term economic and social issues, but not all changes were detrimental. Spanish became the unifying language across the colonized areas and Christianity a dominant religion. The standard language helped enable economic development and Christianity helped encourage high moral standards and support of the family unit. 

Colonization was brutal on the populace and is still responsible for several issues embedded in today's cultures. Religion gives them hope and family helps them survive. The question is how does society address the remaining issues?