Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme was a Chilean independence leader who freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. He was a wealthy landowner of Basque-Spanish and Irish ancestry. Although he was the second Supreme Director of Chile (1817–1823), he is considered one of Chile's founding fathers, as he was the first holder of this title to head a fully independent Chilean state.
José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras, nicknamed "the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru", was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and central parts of South America's successful struggle for independence from the Spanish Empire who served as the Protector of Peru. Born in Yapeyú, Corrientes, in modern-day Argentina, he left the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata at the early age of seven to study in Málaga, Spain.
José Miguel Carrera Verdugo was a Chilean general, formerly Spanish military, member of the prominent Carrera family, and considered one of the founders of independent Chile. Carrera was the most important leader of the Chilean War of Independence during the period of the Patria Vieja. After the Spanish "Reconquista de Chile" ("Reconquest"), he continued campaigning from exile after defeat. His opposition to the leaders of independent Argentina and Chile, San Martín and O'Higgins respectively, made him live in exile in Montevideo. From Montevideo Carrera traveled to Argentina where he joined the struggle against the unitarians. Carreras' small army was eventually left isolated in the Province of Buenos Aires from the other federalist forces. In this difficult situation Carrera decided to cross to native-controlled lands all the way to Chile to once and for all overthrow Chilean Supreme Director O'Higgins. His passage to Chile, which was his ultimate goal, was opposed by Argentine politicians and he engaged together with indigenous tribes, among them the Ranquel, in a campaign against the southern provinces of Argentina. After the downfall of Carrera's ally, the Republic of Entre Ríos, and several victories against the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, Carrera's men were finally defeated by numerically superior forces near Mendoza. Carrera was then betrayed by one of his Argentine helpers, leading to his capture and execution in that city.
The Argentine War of Independence was a secessionist civil war fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli, Martin Miguel de Guemes and José de San Martín against royalist forces loyal to the Spanish crown. On July 9, 1816, an assembly met in San Miguel de Tucumán, declaring independence with provisions for a national constitution.
The Battle of Maipú was fought near Santiago, Chile on 5 April 1818, between South American rebels and Spanish royalists, during the Chilean War of Independence. The Patriot rebels led by Argentine general José de San Martín effectively destroyed the Spanish forces commanded by General Mariano Osorio, and completed the independence of the core area of Chile from Spanish domination.
The Battle of Chacabuco, fought during the Chilean War of Independence, took place on February 12, 1817. The Army of the Andes, from the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata and led by Captain–General José de San Martín, defeated a Spanish force commanded by Rafael Maroto. This victory was a significant defeat for the Captaincy General of Chile, the royalist government established after the division of the Viceroyalty of Peru.
Manuel Xavier Rodríguez Erdoíza was a Chilean lawyer and guerrilla leader, considered one of the founders of independent Chile. Rodríguez was of Basque descent.
The Chilean War of Independence was a military and political event that allowed the emancipation of Chile from the Spanish Monarchy, ending the colonial period and initiating the formation of an independent republic.
The Army of the Andes was a military force created by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (Argentina) and assembled by General José de San Martín as part of his campaign to liberate Chile from the Spanish Empire. In 1817, it crossed the Andes Mountains from the Argentine province of Cuyo and succeeded in its objective by driving the Spanish out of Chile.
Treaty of Lircay was a truce treaty agreed between the Royalist and the Patriot forces during the Chilean War of Independence.
Events from the year 1814 in Chile
The Chilean Declaration of Independence is a document declaring the independence of Chile from the Spanish Empire. It was drafted in January 1818 and approved by Supreme Director Bernardo O'Higgins on 12 February 1818 at Talca, despite being dated in Concepción on 1 January 1818. The ceremony of independence was performed on 12 February 1818, the first anniversary of the Battle of Chacabuco.
The Battle of Les Tres Acequias, fought during the Chilean War of Independence, occurred near San Bernardo on 26 August 1814. The confrontation occurred between the two factions of Carrera and Bernardo O'Higgins, resulting in a defeat for O'Higgins that would in turn lead on to the defeat of the nationalists by the royalist forces at the battle of Rancagua a month later.
The Battle of El Roble was fought on the Itata river, 17 October 1813, between the Chilean patriot general José Miguel Carrera and Spanish royalist forces under the command of Clemente Lantaño and Luis Urrejola. The surprise patriot victory at El Roble as a result of Bernardo O'Higgins' actions at the end of the day was to result in a change of patriot commander, and a severe split within the patriot movement.
The first battle of Cancha Rayada, sometimes termed the 'Disaster' or 'Surprise of Cancha Rayada', took place on 29 March 1814, during the War of Chilean Independence.
The Battle of Curapalihue fought in Chile, was a minor encounter between South American rebels and Spanish royalists, during the South American wars of independence. The result was a defeat for the royalists.
The Hussars of Death were a paramilitary group founded by Chilean guerrilla Manuel Rodríguez Erdoíza after the Second Battle of Cancha Rayada, on March 23, 1818.
New Fatherland was a period in the history of Chile that began with the victory of Ejército de los Andes in the Battle of Chacabuco on 12 February 1817 and ended with the resignation of Bernardo O'Higgins as Supreme Director in 1823.
The Protectorate of Peru, also known as the Protectorate of San Martín, was a protectorate created in 1821 in present-day Peru after its declaration of independence from the Spanish Empire. The protectorate existed for one year and 17 days under the rule of José de San Martín and Argentina.
The following lists events that happened during 1818 in Chile.
Chile 
United Provinces 
Spanish Monarchy 