Human-cost band
Allende dead 11 Sep; later dictatorship killings and disappearances in the thousands (Rettig / Valech ranges)
Darker cells mean a higher score for this topic on that metric.
Scale20
Intensity55
Duration35
Tech shift15
Political impact68
Cultural memory62
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Last reviewed Sources & creditsMedia creditsMethodology
Quick answers
Are the scores a ranking of nations or armies?
No. Scores are browsing aids inside an era-bounded atlas — not live league tables of countries.
How many were killed?
Allende on the day; thereafter thousands killed or disappeared (Rettig and later updates) and tens of thousands tortured (Valech). Use commission ranges, not a single slogan integer.
Did the United States run the coup?
The US government opposed Allende and the declassified record shows covert political action and contacts. The operation on 11 September was executed by Chilean services. Historians argue about degrees of involvement; they do not treat it as a US amphibious landing.
How did Allende die?
The consensus of official investigations and most historians is suicide during the attack on La Moneda. Some memory camps still dispute the image. This page follows the mainstream historical account and names the dispute.
What was the Tanquetazo?
A 29 June 1973 failed armoured rising -- a warning rehearsal, not the September coup itself.
When did the dictatorship end?
The 1988 plebiscite rejected Pinochet's continuation; Patricio Aylwin took office in 1990. Pinochet remained army commander until 1998.
Allende dead on the day; thousands killed or disappeared; tens of thousands tortured -- commission ranges. Exile emptied a generation of professionals.
Letelier in Washington is a cost that crossed borders.
Bands
Dated span (11 September 1973 (coup day; dictatorship 1973-1990))
Chile 1973 coup is taught as 11 September 1973 (coup day; dictatorship 1973-1990). 1970-09 and 1991 / 2004 are the usual poles.
Theatre (Santiago and Chilean armed services; US.)
Santiago and Chilean armed services; US political context is the geography of the ledger -- cities, seas, plants, or ministries as the file requires.
Tanquetazo
1973-06-29: Failed armour revolt.
Plebiscite No
1988-10-05: Pinochet loses the continuation vote.
Regions
Santiago and Chilean armed services
Core theatre of Chile 1973 coup (11 September 1973 (coup day; dictatorship 1973-1990)). A long economic-political crisis marker.
UP government
1970-73: Reform, crisis, polarisation.
Terror and rewrite
1973-80: DINA; 1980 constitution.
Transition memory
1990-: Commissions, London arrest (1998), street argument.
US / UK / AU / CA classrooms
English hours on Chile 1973 coup (11 September 1973 (coup day; dictatorship 1973-1990)) are thin beside Chile 1973 film and a paragraph on Lisbon 1974; Seoul 1979 is thinner still.
Korean comparative reader
Chile 1973 coup is a comparative officers' file beside 12 December 1979 -- three morals, no method.
Key numbers
Span11 September 1973 (coup day; dictatorsh.
Cost bandAllende dead 11 Sep; later dictatorship.
TheatreSantiago and Chilean armed services; US.
Hero article1973 Chilean coup d'etat
Makers
Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende (President) is a named maker of the Chile 1973 coup story. Physician-Marxist president of a plurality coalition; died 11 September 1973 in La Moneda. His last broadcast is a primary source.
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto Pinochet (Junta / dictator) is a named maker of the Chile 1973 coup story. Army commander who headed the regime until the 1988 loss and 1990 handover. Arrested in London in 1998 -- a late legal afterlife.
Carlos Prats
Carlos Prats (Army commander (to Aug 1973)) is a named maker of the Chile 1973 coup story. The constitutionalist who resigned in August and was later murdered in exile (Buenos Aires, 1974).
Jose T. Merino
Jose T. Merino (Navy) is a named maker of the Chile 1973 coup story. A junta principal; the navy's role on 11 September is part of the services' shared act.
Gustavo Leigh
Gustavo Leigh (Air force) is a named maker of the Chile 1973 coup story. Ordered air action against La Moneda; later fell out with Pinochet (1978).
Orlando Letelier
Orlando Letelier (Diplomat / exile) is a named maker of the Chile 1973 coup story. Allende's ambassador and minister, assassinated in Washington in 1976 -- a crime that brought the dictatorship onto US streets.
The 1980s protest dead and the 1988 No are part of the same bill's last pages.
Economic "miracle" arguments cannot cancel the commission ledgers.