Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme was a wealthy landowner of Basque-Spanish and Irish ancestry who freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. He is considered one of Chile's founding fathers, as he was the first holder of the title "Supreme Director" to lead a fully independent Chilean state.
On 18 September 1810, O'Higgins joined the revolt against Spanish rule and was elected a deputy to Chile's first National Congress in 1811. He became embroiled in a power struggle between the Carrera family, who supported a Chilean nationalism, and the Lautaro Lodge group, which included O'Higgins and the Argentine José de San Martín. O'Higgins was initially appointed to a minor military position in 1812 due to his illegitimate origins, poor health, or lack of military training. In 1813, when the Spanish government made its first attempt to reconquer Chile, Carrera was chosen to lead the military resistance.
O'Higgins was sent to cut off the Spanish at Linares, where his victory resulted in his promotion to colonel. He continued to fight against the royalists, displaying a reckless courage that would make him famous. In May 1814, O'Higgins supported the Treaty of Lircay and was appointed commandant-general by the Junta in Santiago. After Carrera's coup in July 1814, however, O'Higgins was exiled. He returned in 1817, and the two leaders united against a common threat—the Spanish forces under Mariano Osorio. O'Higgins and his forces were defeated at the battle of Rancagua, but he managed to break out with some survivors and retreat to Argentina. He met San Martín there and the two returned to Chile in 1817 and defeated the royalists at the Battle of Chacabuco. San Martín was offered the position of power in the newly-free Chile, but he declined, in order to continue the fight for independence in the rest of South America. O'Higgins accepted the position instead, and became the leader of an independent Chile on 12 February 1818. He continued to fight the royalists and also engaged in a feud with José Miguel Carrera. After Carrera was executed in 1821, the long-running feud between them ended, but the argument as to their respective contributions to Chilean independence has continued up to the modern day.
In 1822, O'Higgins established a controversial constitution which many viewed as an attempt to keep power. This led to his political enemies accusing him of abusing state power and provinces viewing him as a centralizer. He was eventually deposed by a conservative coup in 1823 and replaced with Ramón Freire, who had previously been his closest ally but had slowly turned against him. O'Higgins offered up his life and was declared innocent by the junta before being made governor of Concepción, though he didn't stay long and left Chile shortly afterwards.
Bernardo O'Higgins was deposed in Chile in 1823 and left for Peru, where he was encouraged by Simón Bolívar to join the nationalist effort. He was granted two haciendas near Lima and lived in exile for the rest of his life. He visited Bolívar to celebrate Peru's victory at the Battle of Ayacucho, but as a private citizen.
He endorsed Andrés de Santa Cruz's integrationist policies and offered to act as a mediator in the conflict between Chile and the Peru-Bolivian Confederation. After being rehabilitated by the Chilean government, he argued for the establishment of a Chilean settlement in the Strait of Magellan. In 1842, he was allowed to return to Chile, but passed away shortly after due to cardiac problems.