**2. European immigration and its impact on the region.**

The European presence became evident since the beginning of regional productive activity. Europeans came from the most industrialized nations of northern Europe. They were English, Germans, and Scandinavians and also from meridional countries such as Spanish, Italians, and Greeks. There were also French, Portuguese, and Polish.

The census in November 10, 1878 in Antofagasta [2] county refers to Chilean population hegemony (6554 out of 8507), 104 English, 47 Spanish, 40 French, 35 Italians, 32 Germans, 23 Austrians (mostly Croatians), 18 Scottish, 15 Portuguese, 7 Greeks, 3 Danish, 1 Swiss, 1 Irish, and 2 Norwegians.

Most of them lived in the city (5608), but there were meaningful groups in the hinterland, such as Carmen Alto (2297), where the biggest nitrate companies were located, Salar del Carmen (390), Salinas (160), Punta Negra (28), and Mantos Blancos (24).

The dispersion of European population between the city and mining companies in the desert can be clearly perceived toward begin of the twentieth century, as shown in **Table 1**.


**Table 1.** European population in the Department of Antofagasta in 1907.

The mass phenomenon of European immigration, which reaches its greatest expression on a regional and national basis in Census 1907, is shown in **Table 2**.


**Table 2.** Europeans and their increased population in Antofagasta province.

But, from the 1920s, European population decreased as registered in Census1920 [5]. Data about the Department of Antofagasta reveal the following.

Foreigners in the Department of Antofagasta. Germans were 274 people (235 men and 39 women), Austrians 104 (67 men and 37 women), Danish 23 (19 men and 4 women), Slavians 2, Spanish 1,218 (954 men and 264 women), French 131 (103 men and 28 women), Greek 237 (210 men and 27 women), English 788 (611 men and 177 women), Italians 362 (257 men and 177 women), Norwegians 54 (52 men and 2 women), Swiss 34 (24 men and 10 women), Swedish 17 (16 men and 1 woman), Russians 70 (54 men and 16 women), Portuguese 16 men, and Finnish 25 men. The disintegration of the Austrian–Hungarian Empire made it possible for Slavish immigrants registered as Austrian citizens recover their nationality; Serbians totaled 993 inhabitants (720 men and 273 women); Montenegrins were 11 (8 men and 3 women).

Toward the end of the 1920s, the end of the nitrate industry crisis, mainly Shanks technology and the consequences of the world's economic crisis 1929–1930, had a greater impact on Chile and Antofagasta Region, as shown in the 1930 census [6].

Germans decreased to 216 people, Austrians to 12, Belgians to 3, Bulgarians to 5, Danish increased to 27, Spanish showed the greatest decrease to 453 inhabitants, and French totaled 13 people. This also affected the Greek colony, with 139 people. The decrease of commercial and industrial activity was shown by 238 British; Italians lost half of their colony with 119 people; Russians reduced to a third as compared with 1920; Swedish 9, Yugoslavians also decreased to 506; and Norwegians amounted to 35.

The European presence could be observed in different areas, mainly between 1895 and 1920. For example, German Nitrate Company, successors of Folsch and Martin, owned nine mines in Taltal canton in 1904, with a production quota of 11%, and the nitrate company owned by Henry Barens Sloman had five mines in Toco canton [7,8]. Since the nineteenth century, the main investments were British and increased during the early nineteenth century [9]. Pascual Baburizza, the Croatian investor that controlled a third of the nitrate production during the 1920s, appeared later [10], along with Spanish minor investments [11].

Europeans, mainly British, worked hard to spread the landscape and its change through letters, postcards, and, in several cases, established hotels or "guest houses" in the nitrate mines, which contributed to a unique architecture in certain buildings of Antofagasta, Tocopilla, and the nitrate pampa.

They also invested in certain hotels in Antofagasta city and consolidated commerce with restaurants, recreation venues, and cafes [12].

Apart from changing the desert landscape and contribute to road infrastructure and lodging, perhaps, Europeans also became the main tourists of the zone. Available statistics from the 1895 census shows that the floating population (travelers, tourists, etc.) in the territory included 326 British, 56 Germans, 59 Swedish and Norwegians, 48 French, 28 Italians, 26 Spanish, 11 Danish, 7 Austrians, 2 Dutch, 2 Swiss, 3 Belgians, and 4 Portuguese [4]. After 1930, European statistics tried to make a difference between tourists and other travelers [13].
