Chile Declares Independence: O'Higgins Breaks Spanish Rule
Bernardo O'Higgins, the illegitimate son of a former Viceroy of Peru, signed Chile's Declaration of Independence near Concepcion on February 12, 1818, formally severing ties with Spain after eight years of revolutionary warfare. The declaration followed Jose de San Martin's decisive victory at the Battle of Chacabuco the previous year, which had liberated Santiago from royalist control. O'Higgins became the new republic's Supreme Director and immediately set about building state institutions, abolishing noble titles, and establishing public education. His authoritarian tendencies, however, quickly alienated the Chilean aristocracy. He was forced to resign in 1823 and spent the rest of his life in exile in Peru. The Chilean independence movement was unusual in Latin America because it was driven more by local elites seeking autonomy than by popular revolution, a pattern that shaped the country's relatively stable political evolution compared to its neighbors.
February 12, 1818
208 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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