Until recently neither Bernardo O’Higgins nor his illustrious father has received much attention from historians outside Latin America. That both deserve scholarly attention is made amply clear in the present study. Bernardo won fame as the liberator of Chile, but he lacked the qualities that would have made him popular as well as respected. Because he was the illegitimate son of the “English viceroy” and not a born member of the landed aristocracy, even his own countrymen have been divided in accepting him as a national hero.
Like Rivadavia of Argentina and Morelos of Mexico, O’Higgins articulated the liberal program for his country for the remainder of the nineteenth century. He abolished primogeniture and entail, promoted education, and tried to make Protestants welcome. This aspect of his career is not emphasized in this study, which is concerned primarily with his role in Chilean independence.
The opening third of the book is a welcome biography of Ambrosio O’Higgins, whose energy and ability carried him from a low station to the heights of royal service. Ironically, his enlightened rule as viceroy of Peru was an inspiration to his son in the struggle to overthrow the viceroyalty. Because of the risk to his career Ambrosio maintained strict secrecy about his illegitimate son until the week of his death, when he relented and included Bernardo in his will. It was a great sorrow to Bernardo that he never had the opportunity to know his father.
After the battle of Chacabuco Bernardo became Supreme Director of Chile. A number of factors soon began to arouse resentment against him: his membership in the Lautaro Lodge and its control over his policies, the execution of the Carreras, for which the Lodge was held responsible, and O’Higgins’ reforming zeal. Unlike most of his contemporaries he was convinced that society must be changed before the legal code or political system could be effectively improved, and his efforts to transform Chileans solidified the opposition. Some of his efforts succeeded; for example, he recruited Lord Cochrane and created the naval squadron with which Cochrane broke royalist naval power and prepared the way for the invasion of Peru. As his friend Casimiro Albano remarked: “The whole ambition of O’Higgins was to make of Chile the England of South America” (p. 236).
After his overthrow by Ramón Freire in 1823 O’Higgins went into exile in Peru, where he was given the former royalist estate of Montalván. He longed to take part in the final campaigns against the royalists, but he arrived on the scene too late for Junín and did not wait long enough for Ayacucho.
This is a much anticipated study of the O’Higgins, father and son. The author’s ground is a bit shaky on events not directly concerned with them. He does not make it clear, for example, that the Congress of New Granada refused to let Bolívar take part in the fighting in Peru. Also the footnotes should be used with caution. But with regard to the O’Higgins the author has done his work well.