THE CHILENO-ARGENTINE REVOLUTION.
1810--1811.
In September, 1814, San Martin took charge of the Government of Cuyo.
The revolution in Chile had then lasted four years and was about to
succumb, a prey to intestine discords and to the arms of Peru. In order
to understand what followed we must first know what preceded the
appearance of San Martin upon the scene.
Never were two peoples more analogous and less alike than the peoples of
Chile and of the United Provinces. Both countries were situate at the
southern extremity of the new continent, under the same degrees of
latitude, but while one was shut up between the mountains and the sea,
the other spread over vast plains. The first was agricultural, the
second pastoral and commercial. Chile possessed a territorial
aristocracy, and a population of half-breeds, whose relations were
somewhat feudal in character. The Argentine people were by nature
democratic. Both people sprang from the same origin, and were in
temperament alike.
The colonization of Mexico and Peru was an imitation of the feudal
system of Europe; the labour of an enslaved race was utilized for the
production of the precious metals. The colonization of the River Plate
and of Chile was effected by the colonists themselves. Assimilating in
some degree the indigenous races, they conquered their territories from
a warlike people, and, in so doing, developed their own aptitude for
war, while they supplied themselves with the first necessaries of life
by their own labour.
While the colonists of the River Plate crossed immense deserts and
reached the Pacific by way of Upper Peru, the colonists of Chile crossed
the Andes from Arauco and established themselves to the east of the
Cordillera at Mendoza, opening for themselves a road to the Atlantic.
Thus the city of Mendoza, capital of the Argentine Province of Cuyo, was
a bond of union between the two countries.
During the colonial epoch Chile had vegetated in obscurity amid peace
and plenty, but the Provinces of the River Plate had lived in a state of
almost constant warfare with their neighbours the Portuguese, with the
English, and with the Indians, which gave them some knowledge of their
own strength, and inoculated them with new ideas. These ideas filtered
across the Cordillera to Chile, and there smouldered till, in the year
1810, the flames of revolution burst out in both countries almost
simultaneously.
The kingdom of Chile, as it was called, was colonized under the auspices
of Peru, but was, in 1778, separated from this Viceroyalty and placed
under the orders of a governor, who was at the same time President of
the Real Audiencia. These two authorities, with the Cabildos granted to
some cities, constituted the whole political, judicial, and municipal
system of the colony. The separation from Peru inspired the colonists
with instinctive ideas of independent autonomy, till the death of the
then governor, Muñoz Guzman, on the 10th February, 1808, plunged the
hitherto pacific colony into a fever of expectancy.
The Home Government followed no fixed system in the appointment of the
superior authorities in the colonies. Their nomination came from the
Crown direct; sometimes vacancies were provided for beforehand,
sometimes the colonists were empowered to make a provisional
appointment; but, latterly, that power was, as a rule, vested in the
Audiencia. In 1806 all this was changed by Royal decree, which enacted
that, in case of a vacancy, the military official of the highest rank
then in the colony should assume the vacant post. On the death of Muñoz
Guzman, the Audiencia of Chile raised its own President to the vacant
office. The officers stationed on the frontier of Araucania protested
against this appointment, and proclaimed Colonel Don Francisco Garcia
Carrasco Provisional Governor and Captain-General, and the Audiencia was
forced to yield.
The new Captain-General took with him to the capital, as his secretary
and councillor, a man who had for many years resided at Concepcion, who
had great influence in the south and was highly thought of throughout
the country. This was Dr. Don Juan Martinez de Rozas, an Argentine, born
in Mendoza, who was at that time forty-nine years of age. He was a
graduate of the University of Cordoba, and a fellow-student with Dr.
Castelli, through whom he afterwards entered into political relations
with Belgrano. In various official positions in Chile he had gained
experience of public affairs, and his wife was a daughter of one of the
principal families of the South. Of a passionate character, he was at
the same time prudent, was well read in the current literature of the
day, and was the leading spirit in a group of men who discussed among
themselves the future destinies of America.
The new Captain-General was a man of limited intelligence, violent in
his proceedings, and with no firmness of character. Thus he soon made
himself hated, and was despised by all. His one passion was
cock-fighting, his greatest pleasure was in listening to jokes, and his
affections were concentrated upon a domestic of African race, through
whose hands all favours were bestowed. The whole aim of Rozas was to
make him an instrument for social and political reform. To this end he
strove to raise the Cabildo of Santiago into a position analogous to
that of Buenos Ayres, and to use it as a counterpoise to that of the
Audiencia. The Governor, by his advice, added twelve new members to this
body, influential citizens, most of whom were men of advanced opinions.
The immediate result of this innovation was to inoculate this assembly
with revolutionary ideas.
Ferdinand VII. being now a prisoner of Napoleon, the Creoles thought
that the time had come to replace the colonial system by a government of
their own, but the Spaniards, who thought only of preserving their own
privileges, protested against the idea. The two parties soon came into
collision. The Governor cancelled the decree which added twelve members
to the Cabildo, and quarrelled first with the Audiencia and then with
Dr. Rozas.
The Spaniards strove to reconcile him with the Audiencia, and advised
him to fortify the hill of Santa Lucia which commands the city, and to
arm their partisans; but finding their counsels set at nought, they
denounced him to the Viceroy of Buenos Ayres as unfit for the post he
held. He, on his part, appealed for help both to the Viceroy of Buenos
Ayres and to him of Peru.
At the same time several leading Chilians, aided by young Argentines
resident at Santiago, opened communications with the popular leaders of
Buenos Ayres. Carrasco then tried what intimidation would do. On the
25th May, 1810, the same day on which the Viceroy of Buenos Ayres was
deposed by the people, he ordered the arrest of three of the principal
citizens of Santiago, as advocates of revolutionary ideas. The municipal
authorities protested, and convened an open Cabildo, which cited the
Governor before them. He thought at first of resistance, but 3,000 men
filled the Plaza. He could not depend upon the troops, and at the
request of the Audiencia he presented himself, amid the shouts of the
populace who clamoured for his deposition.
A new Procurator, elected by the Cabildo, the previous one being among
the prisoners, opened the case by declaring that it was the will of the
people that the prisoners should be set free, and that the Cabildo would
remain sitting till it was done. This was the first time that such a
thing as “the will of the people” had been heard of in Chile, and the
speech of the new tribune was loudly applauded.
Carrasco yielded, and decreed not only the liberation of the prisoners,
but also the dismissal from their posts of those who had aided in the
arbitrary measure. He also accepted the control of an Assessor, without
whose authorization his judicial acts should, in future, be invalid.
These decrees were endorsed by the Audiencia, which was a virtual
dismissal from office of the last Governor and Captain-General of Chile.
From that day the latent spirit of revolution gained ground, but the
efforts of the Patriots were as yet limited to theoretical discussions.
Their head-quarters were in Santiago, the warlike Province of Concepcion
was their base, and their teaching came from Buenos Ayres, “the Athens
of the New World,” as it is styled by a Chilian historian. The growth of
public opinion in Santiago, and the news constantly arriving from Spain,
more especially that of the battle of Ocaña, kept the interest alive.
The south of Chile, whose capital was Concepcion, virtually formed a
distinct country. The people called themselves “Penquistos,” to
distinguish themselves from their northern neighbours, who styled
themselves “Chilians.” Their troublesome neighbours, the Indians of
Araucania, had accustomed them to war; their pastoral and agricultural
pursuits made them strong and hardy. Their society included a class of
free peasantry, among whom the army of the frontier found recruits, and
from whom sprang the most distinguished leaders on both sides in the war
which followed. The man of most influence in this district in 1809 was
Dr. Rozas, who, after his quarrel with Carrasco, returned to Concepcion
and began openly to work for independence.
He advised that Chile, without renouncing her allegiance to her captive
sovereign, should provisionally appoint a National government, after the
example set by the Provinces of Spain, which idea he advocated in a
manuscript circular, for at that day there was no printing-press in
Chile.
Among the co-workers with Rozas was a wealthy proprietor of the South
named DON BERNARDO O’HIGGINS, son of the celebrated Viceroy of the same
name. Educated in Europe he spoke English, and was, by reason of his
Irish descent, partial to the institutions of England. A disciple and
confidant of Miranda he had been affiliated in his lodge, swearing as
did San Martin and Bolívar to work for the liberty of the New World.
Carrasco kept the prisoners in gaol in spite of his promise to the
Cabildo, and issued a decree establishing a special Junta to keep watch
over the advocates of the new ideas. The excitement in Santiago
increased, and eight hundred armed citizens demanded the institution of
a governing Junta, in imitation of that established in Buenos Ayres on
the 25th May. The Audiencia prevailed upon Carrasco to resign his power
into the hands of the Count de la Conquista, a Chilian noble, who was
eighty-five years of age. The Patriots were not satisfied, but as they
succeeded in surrounding the new Governor by councillors in whom they
could trust, they for a time acquiesced.
About the end of July an emissary from Belgrano and Castelli crossed the
Andes. The Patriots, stimulated by the news he brought, determined to
persist in their previous design, and induced the Count to convene an
open Cabildo on the 18th September. To ensure their triumph the Cabildo
called out the city militia, and the proprietors of Santiago filled the
suburbs with their armed tenantry. They were also joined by some
officers of the garrison. In spite of the protest of the Audiencia, the
Count laid down his baton of command, and the Cabildo appointed a
governing Junta of seven members, of whom Dr. Rozas was one, the Count
being named President.
The new Government was accepted by the whole country, but nothing was
changed until the arrival of Dr. Rozas, who on the 2nd November entered
the capital in triumph, between lines of troops, amid salvoes of
artillery, the clang of bells, music, and loud acclamations. All that
night the city was illuminated and fireworks blazed in his honour. Never
had Santiago witnessed such an ovation.
The Chilian revolution resembled that of Buenos Ayres, in that it was
Parliamentary and legal, initiated and carried out within the precincts
of the municipal forum; and that it triumphed by the force of opinion,
without violence, in the name of the public weal. Both followed the same
formula, the resumption of their own rights, without a rupture with the
mother country and protesting fidelity to the legitimate sovereign. The
first was an aristocratic revolution, the second was democratic and
radical; but, both were essentially American and obeyed the same
historic law. Thus from the beginning, the two nations were bound
together by fraternal ties and by a common cause.
The news of the installation of the Junta of Chile was received in
Buenos Ayres with transports of joy, and the thunder of their guns on
the 11th October, reverberated in the hearts of the Chilian people.
Buenos Ayres proposed at once an alliance offensive and defensive,
assuring the Chilians that England would recognise any constitution they
might give themselves, now that Spain had fallen. Rozas, in return,
presented a plan for a vast continental confederation, which idea found
an eager advocate in Alvarez Jonte, the Argentine envoy, who as a
practical exposition of it, asked Chile for an auxiliary force in aid of
the Argentine Government against the reactionary movement which had its
headquarters in Monte Video.
The Cabildo opposed the project, but Rozas had the majority of the Junta
with him, and in 1811 a decree was published for the despatch of an
auxiliary force of 500 men, and authorizing the Argentine envoy to
enlist 2,000 recruits. This sealed the alliance of the two countries and
united their destinies for good or evil. Of the promised contingent, 100
dragoons and 200 infantry reached Buenos Ayres on the 14th June, 1811,
and met with an enthusiastic reception.
The Patriot party soon became divided into two factions. The Radicals,
who aimed at independence, were headed by Rozas, and had in their front
line the Argentine residents. The death of the Count de la Conquista in
February, 1811, left Rozas at the head of affairs, but his power was
more apparent than real. Against him, at the head of the Moderate party,
was ranged the Cabildo, sustained by the Creole aristocracy, whose timid
temporising policy almost placed them in line with the party of
reaction. The Royalist, called the Goth or Saracen party, recognized the
leadership of the Audiencia, accused Rozas of personal ambition and even
of aspiring to the crown. Rozas had no such ambition and lacked even the
spontaneous courage of the man of action. Through all this opposition he
carried on his plan of reform, of which freedom of commerce was the most
important feature. This was proclaimed in February, 1811, with the
result that in a few months the revenue was doubled and was soon after
quadrupled. He also raised troops and summoned a general Congress of
Deputies from the Provinces, whose election was based upon the
limitations established by municipal precedent.
The 1st April was the day appointed for the elections. That same day a
part of the garrison of Santiago mutinied under Colonel Figueroa, who
was a friend of Rozas. At first the daring Royalist was successful, and
occupied the Plaza, placing himself under the orders of the Audiencia,
who however, declined all responsibility. Rozas, who alone of his
colleagues preserved his presence of mind, ordered the rest of the
troops to march against the mutineers. The two forces met in the Plaza
and opened fire on each other simultaneously, at close quarters. The
affair soon ended in favour of the Patriots, young Manuel Dorrego, of
Buenos Ayres, at that time a student of the University, particularly
distinguishing himself in the fight.
Figueroa took refuge in a convent, where he was captured by Rozas at the
head of a party of citizens, was tried that same night, sentenced to
death “as a traitor to his country and the government,” and was shot the
next morning at four o’clock. The bodies of five of the mutineers who
had been killed, were hung on a gallows in the Plaza on the afternoon of
the 1st, and next day proclamation was made that all who conspired
against the State would be similarly punished.
Immediately afterwards the Audiencia was dissolved, and with it
disappeared the last semblance of monarchical authority in Chile.
Meantime the elections passed off quietly in the rest of the country. In
the Centre the Creole oligarchy triumphed, the great proprietors being
elected by their tenants without opposition; but in the South and in
some of the northern districts, the Radicals were successful.
Following the example of Buenos Ayres, the Deputies were incorporated
with the executive, in spite of the just protest of the Cabildo, which
revenged itself by procuring the election of twelve deputies for the
capital in place of the six it ought to have had according to the
electoral census.
On the 6th May the interrupted election took place in Santiago. The
candidates of Rozas being defeated from this day his power waned.
Congress met on the 4th July. Out of forty members Rozas could only
count upon thirteen votes. On the same day the Junta resigned, and the
“High Congress” assumed the executive power. Rozas in an eloquent
speech gave a sketch of his policy, which he recommended for their
adoption, and was listened to with deep attention by the whole Assembly;
for the moment all the discordant opinions vibrated in harmony.
It is an interesting question whether this early establishment of the
Parliamentary system was of benefit or was an evil to Chile. The Chilian
historian, Vicuña Mackenna, considers it premature. He says, “the
dictatorship of a Cæsar rather than that of a Cicero” would have been
preferable for a people without constitutional education. Gervinus
thinks that it assured to Chile, later on, that tranquillity so wanting
in the other republics of South America. Lastarria, more philosophical
than either, observes that the establishment of the doctrine of the
sovereignty of the people, even under such restrictions as placed them
in the hands of a few only, was the true way to weaken colonial
prejudices and to arouse the idea of the dignity of man. The fact is
that it was the natural outcome of the feudal character of Chilian
society. In the Parliamentary drama the people played the part of the
Greek chorus, which repeated the words of the principal actor. Chile
soon remedied the error, copied from Buenos Ayres, of incorporating
Congress with the Executive, which shows the existence of a hidden force
neutralising the effect of an evil example.
The revolutions of Holland and the United States had shown the world
that a regulating Congress was compatible with a dictatorship; and even
in South America it was seen later on that no dictatorship, however
powerful, could disregard the will of the people from whom its authority
was derived. In Chile less than in any other colony was this possible;
nevertheless it is certain that Rozas convened this Congress in
obedience to a solemn promise exacted from him by O’Higgins as a
condition of his support.
The Moderate party, which had a large majority in Congress, knew not
what use to make of their power; they were without experience, without
plans, and had no fixed ideas; most of them desired only peace and
security for their properties. The minority had clearer views; they
aimed at raising their leader to the head of the State, and at
independence.
On the 27th July an English ship of war reached Valparaiso, whose
captain was commissioned by the Viceroy of Peru, with credentials from
the Regency of Spain, to receive the subsidy which Chile was expected to
contribute for the maintenance of the war in the Peninsula. One million
six hundred thousand dollars had been deposited in the treasury for this
purpose. The Moderates and the Royalists were for paying the amount at
once, but O’Higgins, speaking for the Liberals, said:--
“Although we are in a minority we shall know how to supply that defect
by our energy and our courage; we are sufficient to oppose effectually
the delivery of this money, of which our country threatened with
invasion has need.” This bold protest decided the question in the
negative.
The Liberals afterwards proposed the appointment of an Executive of
three; one for each of the three territorial divisions of the country,
the North, the South, and the Centre. The Moderates accepted the idea
but put off the election. The Liberals then attempted to intimidate
Congress by popular tumults, sadly compromising their leader by these
sinister manœuvres. Congress showed more firmness than could have
been expected from its composition, and the defeated minority seceded
from the Assembly. The majority then named three of their own party as
the Junta, and Rozas, looking upon his cause as lost, retired to
Concepcion, where he was received in triumph, and set up an opposition
Junta, the South recalling its members from Congress.
Congress then drew up a constitution, so unworkable that it only served
to show their utter lack of all political knowledge. It never came into
operation.