Biography of Bernardo OHiggins, Liberator of Chile

Bernardo OHiggins (August 20, 1778–October 24, 1842) was a Chilean landowner, general, president, and one of the leaders of its struggle for independence. Although he had no formal military training, OHiggins took charge of the ragged rebel army and fought the Spanish from 1810 to 1818, when Chile achieved its independence. Today, he is revered as the liberator of Chile and the father of the nation. Fast Facts: Bernardo O'Higgins Known For:  Leader during Chiles struggle for independence, general, presidentBorn:  August 20, 1778 in Chillà ¡n, ChileParents: Ambrosio OHiggins and Isabel RiquelmeDied:  October 24, 1842 in Lima, PeruEducation: San Carlos College, Peru, Catholic school in EnglandNotable Quote: Lads! Live with honor, or die with glory! He who is brave, follow me! Early Life Bernardo was the illegitimate child of Ambrosio OHiggins, a Spanish officer born in Ireland who immigrated to South America and rose through the ranks of the Spanish bureaucracy, eventually reaching the high post of Viceroy of Peru. His mother Isabel Riquelme was the daughter of a prominent local, and he was raised with her family. Bernardo only met his father once (and at that time he did not know who he was) and spent most of his early life with his mother and traveling. As a young man, he went to England, where he lived on a small allowance that his father sent him. While there, Bernardo was tutored by legendary Venezuelan Revolutionary Francisco de Miranda. Return to Chile Ambrosio formally recognized his son in 1801 on his deathbed, and Bernardo suddenly found himself the owner of a prosperous estate in Chile. He returned to Chile and took possession of his inheritance, and for a few years he lived quietly in obscurity. He was appointed to the governing body as the representative of his region. Bernardo might well have lived his life as a farmer and local politician if it were not for the great tide of independence that was building in South America. OHiggins and Independence OHiggins was an important supporter of the September 18 movement in Chile, which began the nations struggle for independence. When it became apparent that the actions of Chile would lead to war, he raised two cavalry regiments and an infantry militia, mostly recruited from families who worked his lands. As he had no training, he learned how to use weapons from veteran soldiers. Juan Martà ­nez de Rozas was president and OHiggins supported him, but Rozas was accused of corruption and criticized for sending valuable troops and resources to Argentina to help the independence movement there. In July 1811, Rozas stepped down and was replaced by a moderate junta. OHiggins and Carrera The junta was soon overthrown by Josà © Miguel Carrera, a charismatic young Chilean aristocrat who had distinguished himself in the Spanish army in Europe before deciding to join the rebel cause. OHiggins and Carrera would have a tempestuous, complicated relationship for the duration of the struggle. Carrera was more dashing, outspoken, and charismatic, while OHiggins was more circumspect, brave, and pragmatic. During the early years of the struggle, OHiggins was generally subordinate to Carrera  and dutifully followed his orders as best he could. This power dynamic would not last, however. The Siege of Chillà ¡n After a series of skirmishes and small battles against the Spanish and royalist forces from 1811–1813, OHiggins, Carrera, and other rebel generals chased the royalist army into the city of Chillà ¡n. They laid siege to the city in July of 1813, in the middle of the harsh Chilean winter. The siege was a disaster for the rebels. The patriots could not completely dislodge the royalists. When they did manage to take part of the town, the rebel forces engaged in raping and looting, which caused the province to sympathize with the royalist side. Many of Carreras soldiers, suffering in the cold without food, deserted. Carrera was forced to lift the siege on August 10, admitting that he could not take the city. Meanwhile, OHiggins had distinguished himself as a cavalry commander. Appointed Commander Not long after Chillà ¡n, Carrera, OHiggins, and their men were ambushed at a site called El Roble. Carrera fled the battlefield, but OHiggins remained despite a bullet wound in his leg. OHiggins turned the tide of the battle and emerged a national hero. The ruling junta in Santiago had seen enough of Carrera after his fiasco at Chillà ¡n and his cowardice at El Roble and made OHiggins commander of the army. OHiggins, always modest, argued against the move, saying that a change of high command was a bad idea, but the junta had decided: OHiggins would lead the army. The Battle of Rancagua OHiggins and his generals battled Spanish and royalist forces throughout Chile for another year before the next decisive engagement. In September 1814, Spanish General Mariano Osorio was moving a large force of royalists into position to take Santiago and end the rebellion. The rebels decided to make a stand outside the town of Rancagua, on the way to the capital. The Spanish crossed the river and drove off a rebel force under Luà ­s Carrera (brother of Josà © Miguel). Another Carrera brother, Juan Josà ©, was trapped in the city. OHiggins bravely moved his men into the city to reinforce Juan Josà © in spite of the approaching army, which far outnumbered the rebels in the city. Although OHiggins and the rebels fought very bravely, the result was predictable. The massive royalist force eventually  drove the rebels out of the city. The defeat could have been avoided had Luà ­s Carreras army returned, but it did not—under orders from Josà © Miguel. The devastating loss at Rancagua meant that Santiago would have to be abandoned: There was no way to keep the Spanish army out of the Chilean capital. Exile OHiggins and thousands of other Chilean rebels made the weary trek into Argentina and exile. He was joined by the Carrera brothers, who immediately began jockeying for position in the exile camp. Argentinas independence leader,  Josà © de San Martà ­n, supported OHiggins, and the Carrera brothers were arrested. San Martà ­n began working with Chilean patriots to organize the liberation of Chile. Meanwhile, the victorious Spanish in Chile were punishing the civilian population for their support of the rebellion. Their harsh brutality only caused the people of Chile to long for independence. When OHiggins returned, the general population was ready. Return to Chile San Martà ­n believed that all of the lands to the south would be vulnerable as long as Peru remained a royalist stronghold. Therefore, he raised an army. His plan was to cross the Andes, liberate Chile, and then march on Peru. OHiggins was his choice as the man to lead Chiles liberation. No other Chilean commanded the respect that OHiggins did (with the possible exception of the Carrera brothers, whom San Martà ­n did not trust). On January 12, 1817, a formidable rebel army of some 5,000 soldiers set out from Mendoza to cross the mighty Andes. Like  Simà ³n Bolà ­vars epic 1819 crossing of the Andes, this expedition was very harsh. San Martà ­n and OHiggins lost some men in the crossing, although their sound planning meant that most soldiers survived. A clever ruse had sent the Spanish scrambling to defend the wrong passes and the army arrived in Chile unopposed. The Army of the Andes, as it was called, defeated the royalists at the  Battle of Chacabuco  on February 12, 1817, clearing the path to Santiago. When San Martà ­n defeated the Spanish last-gasp attack at the  Battle of Maipu  on April 5, 1818, the rebel victory was complete. By September 1818, most Spanish and royalist forces had retreated to try to defend Peru, the last Spanish stronghold on the continent. End of the Carreras San Martà ­n turned his attention to Peru, leaving OHiggins in charge of Chile as a virtual dictator. At first, he had no serious opposition: Juan Josà © and Luis Carrera had been captured attempting to infiltrate the rebel army. They were executed in Mendoza. Josà © Miguel, OHiggins greatest enemy, spent the years from 1817 to 1821 in southern Argentina with a small army, raiding towns in the name of gathering funds and weapons for liberation. He was finally executed after being captured, ending the long-standing and bitter OHiggins-Carrera feud. OHiggins the Dictator OHiggins, left in power by San Martà ­n, proved to be an authoritarian ruler. He hand-picked a Senate and the 1822 Constitution allowed representatives to be elected to a toothless legislative body.  OHiggins was a de facto dictator. He believed that Chile needed a strong leader to implement change and control simmering royalist sentiment. OHiggins was a liberal who promoted education and equality and curtailed the privileges of the wealthy. He abolished all noble titles, even though there were few in Chile. He changed the tax code and did much to encourage commerce, including the completion of the Maipo Canal. Leading citizens who had repeatedly supported the royalist cause saw their lands taken away if they had left Chile and they were heavily taxed if they remained. The Bishop of Santiago, the royalist-leaning Santiago Rodrà ­guez Zorrilla, was exiled to Mendoza. OHiggins further alienated the church by allowing Protestantism into the new nation and by reserving the right to meddle in church appointments. He made many improvements to the military, establishing different branches of service, including a Navy to be led by the Scotsman Lord Thomas Cochrane. Under OHiggins, Chile remained active in the liberation of South America, often sending reinforcements and supplies to San Martà ­n and  Simon Bolà ­var, then fighting in Peru. Downfall OHiggins support began to erode quickly. He had angered the elite by taking away their noble titles and, in some cases, their lands. He then alienated the commercial class by continuing to contribute to expensive wars in Peru. His finance minister Josà © Antonio Rodrà ­guez Aldea was revealed to be corrupt, using the office for personal gain. By 1822, hostility to OHiggins had reached a crucial point. The opposition to OHiggins gravitated towards General Ramà ³n  Freile as a leader, himself a hero of the Independence wars, if not a hero of OHiggins stature. OHiggins attempted to placate his foes with a new constitution, but it was too little, too late. Seeing that cities were prepared to rise against him in arms, OHiggins agreed to step down on January 28, 1823. He remembered only too well the costly feuding between himself and the Carreras and how a lack of unity had almost cost Chile its independence. He went out in dramatic fashion, baring his chest to the assembled politicians and leaders who had turned against him and inviting them to take their bloody revenge. Instead, all present cheered for him and escorted him to his home. Exile General Josà © Marà ­a de la Cruz claimed that OHiggins peaceful departure from power avoided a good deal of bloodshed and said, OHiggins was greater in those hours than he had been in the most glorious days of his life. Intending to go into exile in Ireland, OHiggins made a stop in Peru, where he was warmly welcomed and given a large estate. OHiggins had always been a somewhat simple man and a reluctant general, hero, and president, and he happily settled into his life as a landowner. He met Bolà ­var and offered his services, but when he was offered only a ceremonial position, he returned home. Final Years and Death During his final years, OHiggins acted as an unofficial ambassador from Chile to Peru, although he never did return to Chile. He meddled in the politics of both countries, and he was on the verge of being unwelcome in Peru when he was invited back to Chile in 1842. He did not make it home, as he died of heart trouble while en route on October 24, 1842. Legacy Bernardo OHiggins was an unlikely hero. He was a bastard for most of his early life, unrecognized by his father, who was a devout supporter of the king. Bernardo was ingenious and dignified, not particularly ambitious nor an especially dazzling general or strategist. He was in many ways as unlike Simà ³n Bolivar as it is possible to be: Bolà ­var had much more in common with the dashing, confident Josà © Miguel Carrera. Nevertheless, OHiggins had many positive qualities that were not always apparent. He was brave, honest, forgiving, and dedicated to the cause of liberty. He did not back down from fights, even those he could not win. During the wars of liberation, he was often open to compromise when more stubborn leaders like Carrera were not. This prevented unnecessary bloodshed among rebel forces, even if it did mean repeatedly allowing the hot-headed Carrera back into power. Like many heroes, most of OHiggins failings have been forgotten and his successes are exaggerated and celebrated in Chile. He is revered as the Liberator of his country. His remains lie in a monument called The Altar of the Fatherland. A city is named after him, as well as several Chilean navy ships, countless streets, and a military base. Even his time as dictator of Chile, for which he has been criticized for clinging too tightly to power, is viewed by many historians as more beneficial than not. He was a strong personality when his nation needed guidance, yet by most accounts, he did not overly repress the people or use his power for personal gain. Many of his liberal policies, seen as radical at the time, are respected today. Sources Concha Cruz, Alejandor and Maltà ©s Cortà ©s, Julio.  Historia de Chile.  Bibliogrà ¡fica Internacional, 2008.Harvey, Robert.  Liberators: Latin Americas Struggle for Independence. The Overlook Press, 2000.Lynch, John.  The Spanish American Revolutions 1808–1826. W. W. Norton Company, 1986.Scheina, Robert L.  Latin Americas Wars, Volume 1: The Age of the Caudillo 1791–1899. Brasseys Inc., 2003.Concha Cruz, Alejandor and Maltà ©s Cortà ©s, Julio.  Historia de Chile  Santiago: Bibliogrà ¡fica Internacional, 2008.Harvey, Robert.  Liberators: Latin Americas Struggle for Independence.The Overlook Press, 2000.Lynch, John.  The Spanish American Revolutions 1808-1826. W. W. Norton Company, 1986.Scheina, Robert L.  Latin Americas Wars, Volume 1: The Age of the Caudillo 1791-1899. Brasseys Inc., 2003.

The Raven By Edgar Allan Poe Essay - 2246 Words

â€Å"Nevermore,† the infamous word that directly connects you to a well-known poem by Edgar Allan Poe. â€Å"The Raven† is a literary work that has gone down in ages as being a timeless classic that transcends your senses as you dive into this sinister tale. Poe had a life of hardships but still was able to prevail in life becoming a great writer writing many poems and stories that are mysterious and prevalent today. â€Å"The Raven† has many displaced factors that make it seem as though Poe is truly referencing his life throughout the work. The poem takes you through many different feelings as you dwell on the meanings that the text could have. â€Å"The Raven† was written in 1845 close to the time his wife Virginia Clemm was being treated for tuberculosis. This infamous poem seems to be closely related to his current life and the feelings that he was having towards his wife. Edgar Allen Poe was born in 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts. During the course of his life, it seemed death and despair always followed and no matter how far he tried to run from it, it always seemed to catch up to him. His father abandoned him when he was just a year old but his mother died one year after that from tuberculosis. So, at the young age of just two he was an orphan. With both parents being gone, Poe was sent to be raised by John Allan who was a merchant in Virginia. This family never truly adopted Poe though they still made him feel like family by giving him his true name Edgar Allan Poe. When Poe wasShow MoreRelatedThe Raven By Edgar Allan Poe849 Words   |  4 Pagesnarrator of The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe experiences this void after the loss of his love Lenore. The narrator is isolated from the world until a raven appears before him. The events and dialogue that follow are what makes The Raven such a legendary piece of literature. The gothic poem The Raven by Edgar Al lan Poe is an example of repetition and shift. With the help of repetition and shift, Poe’s use of diction gives the reader clarity to the meaning of the poem. Nevermore, the answer the Raven gives theRead MoreEdgar Allan Poe (the Raven)1496 Words   |  6 PagesEdgar Allan Poes The Raven Poes The Raven is not only an American classic, its a favorite of high school students around the world, as well as their teachers. That being said, its still poetry and therefore can be difficult to understand. Read this summary to review the contents and get a better understanding. * Stanzas: 1-2 Make everyone in class think youre really smart when you bust out everything youve learned in this summary: Stanza 1:  Its late. The poems speaker is tiredRead MoreThe Raven By Edgar Allan Poe1062 Words   |  5 PagesWritten by Edgar Allan Poe, â€Å"The Raven† is a famous short poem known for the dark fantasy that it portrays. From the mindset of a first person narrative, one may experience the tale through the eyes of a haunted man who is in mourning for the death of his beloved Lenore. As this man sits in his chamber, within a dark and dreary December night, a â€Å"raven of the saintly days of yore† visits him. The raven is no ordinary bird, for it is like a ghost, silent, yet it answers every inquiry the man presentsRead MoreThe Raven by Edgar Allan Poe1334 Words   |  6 PagesCastro Professor Gary Smith English 1302 10/31/2012 Symbolism in â€Å"The Raven† Edgar Allan Poe was highly criticized throughout his life whether it was for his high achievements or his downfalls; he always seemed to be talked about. Poe was born in January 19, 1809; his mother died shortly after being abandoned by his father leaving him and his brothers’ orphans at an early age. Poe was taken by John and Francis Allan. With the help of his foster parents he was later able to attend the UniversityRead MoreThe Raven By Edgar Allan Poe964 Words   |  4 Pages Essay 1 In the poem â€Å"The Raven†, Edgar Allan Poe expresses a current state of drunkenness, drug use, and depression as existing in a dark and dreary prison like setting, tormented by the memories of a lost love. Poe’s literary career was undoubtedly influenced by the many tragedies he suffered in his life. These misfortunes are evident in the correlation between his characters in his writings and real life events. It is clear that Poe had a problematic life from a young age; he struggled with mentalRead MoreThe Raven, By Edgar Allan Poe Essay1741 Words   |  7 Pagesprominent writer of the horror fiction genre would be Edgar Allan Poe, well known for writing The Raven, who would be the most recognizable and most established horror writer. Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston on January 19, 1809 and was the middle child of three children. At the age of 3, both of his parents died and was then taken in by a tobacco merchant by the name of John Allan in Richmond, Virginia. John Allan wanted Poe to be a businessman but Edgar was by no means a businessman. By the age of 13Read MoreThe Raven By Edgar Allan Poe1157 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"The Raven† is a fictional poem written by Edgar Allan Poe in which the audience witnesses the narrator’s gradual change from a weary scholar to grieving lover. While falling asleep, he suddenly hears a tap at his chamber door. In alarm, the scholar tries to reason with himself and explain away the soft tapping. Eventually, he gains courage, opens the door, and finds it void of anyone. The narrator immediately wonders if it is perhaps his lost love, Lenore waiting for him, yet the only answer toRead MoreThe Raven By Edgar Allan Poe Essay1073 Words   |  5 Pages The poem I selected is â€Å"The Raven† written by popular American writer, Edgar Allan Poe. I chose this poem because of previous memories of reading several of Edgar Allan Poe’s writings. I remember in 8th grade when my teacher introduced the whole class to a short story called â€Å"The Tell Tale Heart†. I loved the poem a lot, I liked how gory, detailed, and interesting it was. It went perfectly for the time of year it was, which was October. Soon after we were done reading the poem, the whole grade wentRead MoreThe Raven By Edgar Allan Poe945 Words   |  4 Pageshad to experience hardly any grief in my life. Everyone is different which results in everyone having their own way that they deal with grief. The way that Edgar Allan Poe describes grief and the way that Emily Dickinson describes grief is both different and similar. Poe’s famous poem titled â€Å"The Raven† is a great example of how Edgar Allan Poe writes about grief. The poem is about the grief of the narrator during the loss of the love of his life, Lenore. The narrator’s opening statement in theRead MoreThe Raven By Edgar Allan Poe1900 Words   |  8 Pagesall expectations and thoughts on poetry. His name is Edgar Allan Poe. He brought a lot more to the scene than just poetry, and that is what he is well known for. His poetry was more than just writing; they were dark stories that somehow resembled to him in some way. He wrote great works such as, â€Å"Eldorado†, â€Å"A Dream†, and â€Å"Alone.† All of those poems are great, but there is two that stand out far greater than all of them: â€Å"Annabel Lee† and â€Å"The Raven.† They share a similar story-line, but different popularity

Topic B College Essay free essay sample

As I write this essay,  I realize that I  will never be able to witness the face of  the reader as they skim down this page for the first time. Does that bother me? No,  not necessarily. We as people have been communicating via written messages since the dawn of calligraphy. For the first time in our evolutionary ladder, humans are adapting for the sake of convenience, the new form of survival. It seems as if life  is just one frantic  rush to get things done in the fastest and most efficient manner. Few  take the time to truly appreciate the company they keep or the moments they  experience; the more forms of connection they make available to society, the less personal each connection becomes. People of this generation seem to care more about their persona on the  Internet  than their persona  displayed in real life. The sad, ironic  truth is, through the improvement of communication between each other,  we are now more disconnected than ever I’ve come to peace with the fact that humanity, as a collective society is moving towards a more technological form of communication. We will write a custom essay sample on Topic B College Essay or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page However, nowadays people seem to be replacing meaningful,  evocative  messages with short euphemisms or even outright ignorance in order to avoid any form of difficult social confrontation. One prime example of this I have encountered through my old habit of â€Å"facebooking† is  seeing people end their relationships online, sometimes without the other person even knowing until he or she logs in to find their relationship status changed. These long distance  cyber breakups as well as  many other tasks are all being done behind the safety of a computer or phone screen. It’s as if humans confide in this virtual realm to shield them from their difficult situations. Such methods could only have negative consequences in the long run when the time comes to face their own problems. To quote an article I read a few years back, â€Å"people’s attention span has been reduced to 140 characters†, the significance being that 140 characters is the maximum allotment on twitter. This shockingly true  revelation made me realize that people are progressively adopting a more zombie like form of conversation, one that is disturbingly expressionless. Whole sentences nowadays can be summed into a few acronyms like â€Å"ttyl†. It feels as if the English language is being corrupted  thanks to â€Å"faster communication† where nobody has the time to spend an extra second taxing their fingers to do the  laborious job of clicking a few more buttons. However what is more depressing is the toll this new technology era is having on family relations. I remember only a few weeks back my international school had let out for a  weeklong  break and  my family and I had  decided to vacation with my  cousins in Ireland. As we all sat  down around the dinner table at  the  most  extravagant  restaurant within 20 blocks, chatting had soon erupted. To my surprise however, the atmosphere swiftly  changed  within a few moments  and everybody had  simultaneously  begun to pull out his or her phone. For the next half hour  I sat in what felt like  one of the most awkward moments  of my adolescence and stared as each family member texted away or responded to emails. What had become of quality family time? Had we really flown all the way from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia  and sat at the best restaurant we could find  to check our emails? Tedious occurrences like these are turning into wide spread epidemics. Words such as â€Å"textaholic† have formed describing the  tendencies of some people to spend nearly every free minute texting rather than conversing in real life. Pretty soon it seems that face-to-face interactions will come to a standstill. Skype video chat may be the extent of a relationship  for some people. We live in a world that is always advancing; it is human nature to want to adapt and excel. However it is crucial that we do not forget to lose our grip on human interaction, for this technology will not last us forever.