The Irish in Chile: Bernardo O'Higgins created the South American country

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Monument celebrating Bernardo O’Higgins

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I have been visiting Chile since 1991 and had learned quite a bit about Bernardo O’Higgins, who had a most significant impact on the politics and culture of Latin America and on Chile in particular.

Bernado O’Higgins’ father, Ambrose O’Higgins, born in Ballynary, County Sligo, served the Spanish Imperial Service as an engineer. He  went on to serve as Governor of Chile and Viceroy of Peru and was named the Baron de Ballenary by the king of Spain in 1788. It was during his reign as governor of Chile that he had a special “relationship” with Isabel Riquelme, a criolla whose family was a member of the Spanish ruling class. It was from that liaison that Bernardo was born in 1778. While Ambrosio saw to it that his son was well provided for, because of the prevailing social and political circumstances he never met his son until 1788.

One doesn’t need to go into detail about Bernardo’s youth or how he rose to power; suffice to say that he was responsible for Chile’s independence even though he was considered by many to be rather dictatorial. Civil liberties were guaranteed though not necessarily upheld. Perhaps that’s what led to his eventual fall from power since there were parts of southern Chile suffering from famine and neglect that weren’t happening in the capital of Santiago and that disparity between the haves and the have-nots contributed to rebellion. O’Higgins voluntarily resigned his office so that the popular will might express itself in a more constitutional manner, and six months later he left Chile to live in exile in Peru for the last 17 years of his life.

Apparently, O’Higgins was keen on having Irishmen settle in the territory around Trujillo in northwestern Peru and the Apurimac River and he kept an engaging correspondence related to the subject of Irish immigration with Sir Thomas Hardy, a British naval officer who served under Admiral Lord Nelson, and Sir John Doyle, a member of the Irish House of Commons. Unfortunately, after his exile all that was forgotten, but what did remain are the monuments in Santiago to O’Higgins’ service to the Chilean people.

I didn’t know exactly where that monument was until I started asking the police. Now, I had never been keen on asking Chilean carabineros much of anything since I had been wary of them for years. And even though Pinochet was dead and gone and Chile was a democratic republic, the anxiety about asking the police much of anything remained. I knew the monument was near the Palacio de La Moneda, the seat of Chilean government, and so I subwayed to the Moneda and, garnering what gringo courage I could, asked the first available carabinero where the monument to O’Higgins was. He looked at me rather askance and in Spanish asked, “Why?” I answered that I wanted to take a photo and showed him my digital camera which even to the most circumspect of eyes did not look lethal. He flicked his hand and pointed to somewhere across the street from the Moneda and then proceeded to ignore me. I thanked him and without delay sought out the statue, which really wasn't where he pointed, but which was nearby nonetheless. But even taking photos of the statue of O’Higgins caught the attention of the police and once again I had to explain that all I wanted to do was photograph the statue since I was just a visitor to Chile.

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