Timeline of The Chilean War of Independence

Timeline Of The Chilean War Of Independence

Chilean War of Independence was an armed conflict between pro-Independence criollos who sought political and economic independence from Spain and royalist criollos, who supported the continued allegiance to and permanence within the Spanish Empire of the Captaincy General of Chile. Its beginning is traditionally dated as September 18, 1810 and, depending on what terms one uses to define the end, extended until 1821, when royalist forces were expelled from mainland Chile, or 1826, when the last Spanish troops surrendered and the Chiloé Archipelago was incorporated to the Chilean republic. A declaration of independence was officially issued by Chile on February 12, 1818 and formally recognized by Spain in 1844, when full diplomatic relations were established.

The Chilean War of Independence was part of the more arroused Spanish American wars of independence. Independence did not have unanimous support among Chileans, who were divided between independentists and royalists. What started as a political movement among elites against the colonial power, ended as a full-fledged civil war. Traditionally, the process is divided into three stages: the Patria Vieja, 1810–1814; the Reconquista, 1814–1817; and the Patria Nueva, 1817-1823.