Chilean Civil War of 1829 - Background

Background

The resignation and self-exile of General Bernardo O'Higgins in 1823 did not put an end to the political infighting. Civil conflict continued, focusing mainly on the issues of anticlericalism and regionalism. Presidents and constitutions rose and fell quickly in the 1820s. The Chilean political scene divided itself into two groups that were already embrionary during the independence days. The followers of O'Higgins became the Conservatives or Bigwigs (Spanish: Pelucones). This group was mainly composed by the remains of the colonial aristocracy, and defended the ideas of a strong central government, respect of tradition and a strong support for the Catholic Church. Their most prominent leaders where José Gregorio Argomedo, Juan Egaña and José Joaquín Prieto. Opposed to them were the Liberals or Pipiolos. This group was mainly composed of the followers of José Miguel Carrera, and were strongly influenced by the European liberal ideas. They defended a more free and democratic government, without interference from the Church. Their leaders were Ramón Freire, Manuel Borgoño and Francisco Antonio Pinto.

The Conservatives and the Liberals, began to coalesce around the church-state issue. Not only more favorably inclined toward the church, the Conservatives were also more sympathetic than the Liberals toward the colonial legacy, authoritarian government, the supremacy of executive powers, and a unitary state. Together with this two political tendencies, which in time developed into the two main political parties of the 19th century, there were also some minority groups. One of them was the Federalist Party under the leadership of José Miguel Infante, who promoted a model of government based on the one adopted by the United States. Another group was the Estanqueros or Monopolists (estanco means monopoly), a very heterogeneous political group under the leadership of Diego Portales. The name came out of the fact that most of them were merchants, and their leader, Portales, was in charge of the tobacco monopoly. Their principal figures were Juan Francisco Meneses (ex-monarchist); Manuel José Gandarillas (Carrera supporter) and José Antonio Rodríguez Aldea (O'Higgins supporter).