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The "Patria Nueva"
(Reads: 217, 26-Feb-2010)The Government of Bernardo O’Higgins: After the triumph of the Patriotic Army at Chacabuco, the people of Santiago met in open council and appointed don Bernardo O’Higgins Riquelme to the post of Supreme Director. The aristocracy handed over power to the only force which at that moment appeared to be in a position to exercise sovereignty. Six years later however, because of the excesses committed by the Director, and angry at the slights which they had received at his hands, this same group relieved him of power in another open council.
Personality of O’Higgins: All those who have discussed the personality of O’Higgins stress the influences of his Irish and Hispanic-creole descent, which left him two clearly different legacies. The former is responsible for his tenacity in action, the strength of his convictions, his commitment to the ideal which he had forged, his persistence in pursuing the objective proposed and the circumspectness of his character. The latter for the impetuousness of his reactions, his impassioned relationships and the violence of many of his acts. These characteristics fit the guiding sentiments of his political activity: faith in independence and the benefits that it would bring to improve society with the assistance of wise laws; hatred for the past, for Spain and the Spaniard; disdain for the aristocracy; confidence in Americanism. The concepts of loyalty, honour, duty and morality define his ethics as a citizen. Strength of will, optimism and daring are the qualities which explain his performance as a soldier.
The Political Thinking of O’Higgins: O’Higgins' political ideas changed over time. At the beginning of the revolution he was a firm believer in the democratic republican system. As a disciple of Miranda, he imbibed through the latter the political philosophy of the 18th century; however his ideas were not formed by his reading of treatises but by the practical experience which he gained in England. An admirer of the English parliamentary system, he sought to establish democracy from the outset and as a result he was in favour of forming a Congress in 1810. Events soon convinced him that it would be impossible to establish the type of system which he favoured: there was no political tradition, the people were lacking in civic virtues and there was no rooted habit of democratic government.
The failure of the Patria Vieja, due more than anything else to the rivalry of family and party groupings; the anarchy which could be observed in the region of the River Plate; contact with Argentinean military leaders, monarchist and authoritarian in character; and his own exercise of command in military life, all inclined him towards personal government. Although he continued to be republican in his thinking, to the point of rejecting the monarchical plans of San Martín, he opted for a patriarchal autocracy, a formula which recalls the governments of enlightened despotism, when he asserted that: ‘Our peoples will not be happy until we oblige them to be’. The type of government installed by O’Higgins was a dictatorship by civil court. During his period in power he made independence secure by eliminating the last remains of the royalist army in mainland Chile and forming the Fleet for the Liberation of Peru. He also proved the nation politically and administratively with his dictation of the Constitutions of 1818 and 1822. Finally his efforts to transform the colonial characteristics of Chilean society should be mentioned. These reforms attacked the interests and wounded the feelings of the aristocracy and spurred them to opposition, and this led to the abdication of O’Higgins from the post of Supreme Director (28th January 1823).
Personality of O’Higgins: All those who have discussed the personality of O’Higgins stress the influences of his Irish and Hispanic-creole descent, which left him two clearly different legacies. The former is responsible for his tenacity in action, the strength of his convictions, his commitment to the ideal which he had forged, his persistence in pursuing the objective proposed and the circumspectness of his character. The latter for the impetuousness of his reactions, his impassioned relationships and the violence of many of his acts. These characteristics fit the guiding sentiments of his political activity: faith in independence and the benefits that it would bring to improve society with the assistance of wise laws; hatred for the past, for Spain and the Spaniard; disdain for the aristocracy; confidence in Americanism. The concepts of loyalty, honour, duty and morality define his ethics as a citizen. Strength of will, optimism and daring are the qualities which explain his performance as a soldier.
The Political Thinking of O’Higgins: O’Higgins' political ideas changed over time. At the beginning of the revolution he was a firm believer in the democratic republican system. As a disciple of Miranda, he imbibed through the latter the political philosophy of the 18th century; however his ideas were not formed by his reading of treatises but by the practical experience which he gained in England. An admirer of the English parliamentary system, he sought to establish democracy from the outset and as a result he was in favour of forming a Congress in 1810. Events soon convinced him that it would be impossible to establish the type of system which he favoured: there was no political tradition, the people were lacking in civic virtues and there was no rooted habit of democratic government.
The failure of the Patria Vieja, due more than anything else to the rivalry of family and party groupings; the anarchy which could be observed in the region of the River Plate; contact with Argentinean military leaders, monarchist and authoritarian in character; and his own exercise of command in military life, all inclined him towards personal government. Although he continued to be republican in his thinking, to the point of rejecting the monarchical plans of San Martín, he opted for a patriarchal autocracy, a formula which recalls the governments of enlightened despotism, when he asserted that: ‘Our peoples will not be happy until we oblige them to be’. The type of government installed by O’Higgins was a dictatorship by civil court. During his period in power he made independence secure by eliminating the last remains of the royalist army in mainland Chile and forming the Fleet for the Liberation of Peru. He also proved the nation politically and administratively with his dictation of the Constitutions of 1818 and 1822. Finally his efforts to transform the colonial characteristics of Chilean society should be mentioned. These reforms attacked the interests and wounded the feelings of the aristocracy and spurred them to opposition, and this led to the abdication of O’Higgins from the post of Supreme Director (28th January 1823).
Bibliography CHILE y AMERICA, ayer y hoy Authors: LORENZO S., Santiago and ZAMORANO G., Manuel Ed. Sociedades Ediciones Pedagógicas Chilenas Ltda. Stgo. 1971
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More articles in History of Chile
The Break Up of America and NationalityThe Independence of America
Chilean Independence, "La Patria Vieja"
The Spanish Reconquest or Restoration (1814 - 1817)
The "Patria Nueva"
The Law which named us Chileans
The History of Chile
History of Easter Island
Gabriela Mistral and the Elqui Valley
Pablo Neruda, Chile's Nobel Prize Winner
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