Diego Portales, 1793-1837
There have been many tides and turns in the history of Chile in the 19th and 20th century. The colonies were poor, but worked hard to form nations. However, while there were good leaders who came into power, there were also various tyrants who sought to be dictators. A visit to Spanish language school in Chile provides a perfect opportunity to learn more about this history.
When you learn Spanish in Santiago, you will have the opportunity to visit various museums and landmarks that reveal details about life and politics in the 1800’s. If you visit the National History Museum or Museo Historico Nacional, you will gain some unique insight, as there are exhibits focusing on wars and industry. This museum will also help you to better understand the colonial expansion. You can also see the faces of the history makers through portraits of many of the country’s hero’s, dictators and leaders including Bernardo O’Higgins and Jose de San Martin.
Bernardo O’Higgins was the President of Chile’s Supreme Directors and became quite notorious during his rule from 1817-1823. He wanted to reform the land tenure system and make other big changes as well. For example, he tried to enact a constitution in 1818 to recognize his government. He also angered the Roman Catholic Church because many of his views were very liberal. Ultimately, he was forced to resign.
One of the next major leaders was Diego Portales. He made a lot of waves between 1830-1837 and came up with the autocratic republic, with the goal of making sure there was a central area of political control in Chile. Much of his work was considered to be quite dictatorial. For example, he rigged the elections and, as a result, the Chilean constitution of 1833 recognized a republican Portalian State. This authority lasted almost 100 years. Part of what the constitution did was set up national authority and control of a president who could serve 2 five-year terms.