Diary of a Disenfranchised Person in Chile

Flag of ChileDear Diary, This is my very first entry, I need something to do in my spare time that will keep me away from my master in these times of distress. He is constantly angry at the lower class and ridicules the poor. With King Ferdinand ousted from his rule, and Joseph Bonaparte in power, my master’s life has taken a turn for the better he is now one of the Elite, and with that comes money and power. I guess that is good for me, now he can afford even more servants, which lightens my workload. July 15th, 1808 -Pablo

Dear Diary, today is a big day for my master and his country, because today they choose their new leader, the government is run by the military, but are loyal to Ferdinand VII and Garcia Carrasco is the Governor. No matter what happens, whether the country falls or not, I wont really be affected, I will either stay a servant or if the country falls, then I will go free (hopefully).

September 5th, 1808 -Pablo

Dear Diary, the people of Chile have been divided into two groups, those who favored the status quo and the divine right of Ferdinand VII (whatever that is), and those who wanted Charlotte Joaquina as queen. I hear the two groups are called the absolutists and the carlotists. Whichever side ends up getting their way, i hope it goes in favor of my master, it always ends badly for me when my master is furious, when he is happy, that means less work which is always better.

September 17th, 1808 -Pablo

Dear Diary, I have not had the time to write in a long time, but something preposterous has happened, and brings shame to Chile. Thinking back on what I just overheard, I still can’t believe it. Governor Carrasco has been involved in a huge scandal that has caused riots all over. He was involved in a criminal act, the robbery of a British ship that was attempting to smuggle fine cloth into Chile. Carrasco was involved, because he provided a squadron of disguised police to provide the manpower needed to kill the sailors on the ship and take the cloth. Master has been extremely angry (not that he is usually happy) and has had many guests over to get more details and information most likely.

September 25th, 1809 -Pablo

Dear Diary, today Carrasco was forced to resign, and Mateo de Toro Zambrano Count of la Conquista is the new governor. I don’t know why the chose him, (he seems like he’ll die at any moment.) he is a criollo and his political commitments aren’t certain. He has promised to decide and has arranged an open city hall meeting for September 18th.

July 16th, 1810 -Pablo

Dear Diary, today is the day Governor Zambrano will decide which political party to follow in an open city hall meeting. I was not at the meeting, and don’t know the exact details, but in the end the juntistas came out the victors. The First Junta was established and had the powers of the Royal Governor. They took an oath of loyalty to Ferdinand VII, but the real power was given to Juan Martinez Rozas.

September 18th, 1810 -Pablo

Dear Diary, Juan Martinez de Rozas was not favored by the people of Chile. There were many discussions between the different political parties about independence, and gained momentum in mid-1811. The famous Jose Miguel Carrera who was in the Peninsular War, was greatly in favor of independence too, and he took power in the end of 1811 after two coups. Things seem to be getting a little bit more violent, but hopefully better with Carrera in power.

November 23rd, 1811 -Pablo

Dear Diary, Carrera lost his power, he was disliked by all sides due to his incompetence and in his place Bernardo O’Higgins took control of the pro-independence forces. Although Carrera was not in power, he still had a say and some followers, the Spanish Royalist forces have marched and taken over Chillan, O’Higgins and Carrera had different plans on where to take a stand against them, and the independence forces split which led to loss of Rancuaga. I hope the Royalist Forces don’t do much more damage; I’m not worried about Chile, but rather my life.

October 7th, 1814 -Pablo

Dear Diary, Chile has been taken over by the Spaniards; Casimiro Marco del Pont is now the governor. Luckily due to my masters’ neutral position, none of us have been harmed. Carrera and O’Higgins fled for a while, and Carrera was executed, but O’Higgins and Jose de San Martin who was a leader of the Argentine independence movement, organized an army. With the help of Manuel Rodriguez, they managed to create the Army of the Andes by 1817. All it took was one battle and O’Higgins returned to power once again. February 27th, 1817 -Pablo

Dear Diary, over the past seven years, I have been caught up in work and overwhelmed with the confusion involved with Chile attempting to gain independence. Even though it doesn’t concern me, I’m indirectly involved through my master. San Martin had many chances to secure the independence of Chile, but it was Simon Bolivar who did it for the people of Chile, after the Battle of Ayacucho on December 9th, 1824 the Royalist army has been defeated for good. Chile is free at last! I guess my master has rubbed off on me, because I am happy all of the battles, and confusion is finally over.

December 22nd, 1824 -Pablo