Chilean War of Independence

The Chilean War of Independence began in 1810 after the crisis of the Spanish monarchy encouraged political leaders in Santiago to establish a governing junta. The struggle developed into a war between royalists who supported Spanish authority and patriots seeking self-government and independence. An early patriot government was defeated, but José de San Martín and Bernardo O’Higgins later led the Army of the Andes into Chile and won a major victory at Chacabuco in 1817. Independence was declared in 1818, and the victory at Maipú secured patriot control of central Chile.

The conflict did not end immediately with the declaration of independence. Royalist forces remained active in the south and on the island of Chiloé, while the new state needed to defend its coastline and weaken Spanish power in the Pacific. The British naval officer Thomas Cochrane commanded the Chilean navy, attacked royalist shipping and coastal positions, and supported the expedition that carried the independence struggle into Peru. The final royalist stronghold in Chiloé surrendered in 1826.

Historical fiction set during the war can combine battlefield campaigning, mountain crossings, naval warfare, espionage, political rivalry and the collapse of Spanish imperial rule. It provides the principal historical setting for Sharpe’s Devil, in which Richard Sharpe and Patrick Harper travel to Chile and become involved with Thomas Cochrane and the continuing struggle against royalist power.