Chile
Squeezed between the Andes Mountains and the South Pacific, Chile is the longest country in the world, stretching over 4,200 km from north to south. Its widest point is only 430 km.
The European colonists in Chile proclaimed independence in 1810, and secured it after eight years of bitter fighting. Chile developed a democratic society, but ran into all sorts of problems in the 20th century including dictatorships and run-away inflation. Chile is a large exporter of copper.