First issue of Aurora de Chile

Background. Until the Aurora's publication, Chileans relied on newspapers printed in Lima, Buenos Aires, and Spain, which arrived only after considerable delay. Although Enlightenment political philosophy and revolutionary pamphlets from the United States and France were known and translated in Chile, no native press existed to reprint them until the first printing press arrived in 1811.

Arrival of the Press. After the revolutionary Government Junta of 18 September 1810 felt the need for contact with public opinion, failed attempts to procure a press from Spain and Buenos Aires followed. On 24 November 1811 Mathew Hoevel landed the Galloway at Valparaíso with a printing press, American printers, and arms for the independence movement.

First Issue. The first issue appeared on 13 February 1812, directed by Camilo Henríquez González, the first editor of Chile's first periodical and the first to argue seriously for Chilean independence. The paper had four printed pages of two columns each, published weekly on Thursdays, and republished speeches by Washington, Jefferson, and Madison.