rdfs:comment
| - During the congress which wrote the country's first constitution, there were two prominent proposals for the country's name. The Chilean settlers supported "Santiago", a common name for the region with unclear origins. The Chileans claimed that the name (which translates as "Saint James") was religious in nature, but the Argentines opposed it on the grounds that the name is shared by the capital of Chile. The Argentine counterproposal was to name the country after "Berkner Bay", the geographic region it occupies. This name was also problematic, as it emphasized the British discovery of the region: Berkner Bay is named after its discoverer, the English explorer James Berkner.
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abstract
| - During the congress which wrote the country's first constitution, there were two prominent proposals for the country's name. The Chilean settlers supported "Santiago", a common name for the region with unclear origins. The Chileans claimed that the name (which translates as "Saint James") was religious in nature, but the Argentines opposed it on the grounds that the name is shared by the capital of Chile. The Argentine counterproposal was to name the country after "Berkner Bay", the geographic region it occupies. This name was also problematic, as it emphasized the British discovery of the region: Berkner Bay is named after its discoverer, the English explorer James Berkner. Ultimately, Santiago's first constitution gave its official name as la República de Santiago de la Bahía de Berkner, meaning Saint James' Republic of Berkner Bay. There are multiple Saints named "James" in Christianity, but the constitution specified James the Just, the first Bishop of Jerusalem, as Santiago's namesake. In Spanish, the country has always been referred to most commonly as "Santiago", except in Chile, where the terms "Bahía de Berkner", "Santiago Antártico" and more recently "RDS", an abbreviation for "República de Santiago" are preferred for practical reasons. In many English-speaking countries, especially the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and British Antarctica, "Berkner Bay" and "Saint James" were the most commonly-used names for the country until the 1950s, when "Santiago" became more common as a result of improving Santiago—Commonwealth relations. In the United States, "Saint James" was occasionally used in early texts, but "Santiago" had become commonplace by the time of World War I, partially as a result of the writings of Lionel Palmer, who always referred to the country as "Santiago". The country's current official name, la República Santiagana de la Bahía de Berkner (the Santiagan Republic of Berkner Bay), was first proposed by then-President Benito Zapata in 1962. However, any change to the country's name must be ratified by the House of Delegates, and throughout his entire 10-year Presidency, Zapata never even put an official proposal to the House. For over 30 years, his proposal was forgotten, until his grandson Jefe Zapata (another President) finally put it to the House in 1998, and it passed with little opposition. The reasons for the change (which removes the reference to Saint James) were to emphasize that Santiago is now an officially secular nation, tolerant of all faiths, and to honor the memory of Benito Zapata, who remains one of the country's most respected Presidents.
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