Bernardo O’Higgins was born in Chile in 1778. Like José de San Martín, his father was also in the military, although as you may have guessed from his name, O’Higgins’ father was an Irish officer who fought on the side of the Spanish. Like Simón Bolívar, O’Higgins was also educated in Europe, but eagerly returned to Chile in the 1810s when he heard the country may have been headed towards revolution. Unlike his compatriots, O’Higgins was not overly successful at the beginning of his campaign. His attempt to defend Santiago, the Chilean capital, failed. Unsure of how to move forward on his own, O’Higgins asked San Martín for some help. San Martín marched his troops through the Andes, catching the Spanish by surprise, and after some more effort, San Martín and O’Higgins were able to take back Santiago in 1817.
By 1818, Chile was officially independent of Spain. While Bolívar is typically credit with being the enlightened thinker of the independence movement, O’Higgins had some of his own enlightened ideals, some even more so than Bolívar. O’Higgins wanted to establish a Republic that would offer modern economic and social reforms. While his ideas were pleasing, his name and appearance were not. The Chilean people felt that he was too European to properly represent their new country, and in 1823, due to the growing displeasure with his position in power, O’Higgins stepped down as the Chilean leader.
Independence in Latin America 