Chilean Independence
In January 1817 San Martín led his Army of the Andes in a spectacular crossing of the Cordillera from Mendoza to Chile, defeating royalist forces at the Battle of Chacabuco (12 February 1817). Chilean independence was formally proclaimed on 12 February 1818, and royalist forces were definitively defeated at the Battle of Maipú (5 April 1818). San Martín then used the liberated Chile as a base for a maritime expedition to Peru, the final stronghold of Spanish power in South America. Chilean independence was thus a crucial step in the broader liberation of the continent.
- Year: 1817 CE
- Category: Military
