Archivo Nacional de Chile ANH / ARNAD

History and Founding

The Archivo Nacional de Chile was formally created on November 25, 1927, by Decreto con Fuerza de Ley No. 7,217, through the merger of the Archivo General de Gobierno (established in 1887) and the Archivo Histórico Nacional (1925). The institution's earliest roots, however, lie in 1847, when President Manuel Bulnes established the Archivo General of the Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas, and further in the Ley Orgánica de Ministerios of 1887. Today the archive falls under the Servicio Nacional del Patrimonio Cultural (SNPC) within the Ministerio de las Culturas, las Artes y el Patrimonio.

Collections and Holdings

The archive operates through two main repositories. The Archivo Nacional Histórico (ANH) is located in the eastern wing of the Biblioteca Nacional building in Santiago, preserving more than 100,000 boxes and volumes (approximately 9 linear kilometers) across more than 300 funds. These include colonial-era records from the Capitanía General, Real Audiencia, contaduría mayor, escribanos, missions of the Jesuits in Chile and America, and other colonial institutions. The ANH also holds donations from notable historical figures including Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna, Claudio Gay, Pedro Aguirre Cerda, and Gabriel González Videla, as well as engineering and architectural plans from the 17th to early 20th centuries. The Archivo Nacional de la Administración (ARNAD), created in 1993, holds more than 480,000 volumes and boxes (approximately 31 linear kilometers) of 20th and 21st century governmental, ministerial, and state enterprise documentation, including the collections of Endesa, LAN Chile, Chilectra, and the private funds of Orlando Letelier and the Sociedad Colonia Dignidad.

Notable Materials Related to Journalism and Media

The ARNAD holds the fund of the newspaper Fortín Mapocho, an important historical daily. Additionally, the ANH and ARNAD together contain extensive records related to the political press, government censorship, and public information during the military dictatorship of 1973–1990, accessible through a dedicated human rights portal.

Access and Usage

Both reading rooms are open Monday through Friday, 9:00 to 17:30. The archive also directs the Sistema Nacional de Archivos (SINAR), a network of regional archives across Chile established in 2017. The archive's Archivo de Mujeres y Géneros has operated since 2011.