CHILEAN CIVIL WAR: ANTECEDENTS, CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES - HISTORY - 2025

The Chilean Civil War of 1891 was a conflict that confronted the supporters of the country's president, José Manuel Balmaceda, and those of the National Congress. Also called the Revolution of 1891, it lasted approximately 6 months, concluding with the triumph of the congressmen.

The confrontation between the different Chilean presidents and the parliament had been growing for several decades. The constitution passed in 1833 had given great primacy to the President. The different occupants of the position, in addition, had been increasing their prerogatives, eliminating some of the powers of Congress.

This worsened when Balmaceda came to power. In addition, the ideology of this president led him to come into conflict with some powerful layers of the population, such as the oligarchy, the church and the businessmen who controlled the nitrate industry.

In January 1891, a series of confrontations with Congress led to its dissolution by the President. The Civil War took little time to begin, with the army divided into two parts.

A series of quick battles, with the victory of the supporters of the congressmen, ended the conflict. The President had to flee the country, committing suicide days later and a parliamentary system was installed in Chile.

Background

The Constitution approved in Chile in 1833 had supposed the stabilization of the country that, like others in Latin America, had been marked by internal conflicts.

One of the bases on which this stabilization was established was granting the executive power a preeminence over the legislative one. That is, the powers of the President were much greater than those of Congress.

According to the legislation, the Presidency of the Republic monopolized a good part of the powers of the State. In this way, it had to counteract the influence of the oligarchy and the privileged sectors of society, serving as a counterweight so that they did not control the economy, culture and education.

However, throughout the 19th century, this presidential power had generated various confrontations with Congress, deepened by the authoritarian actions of some leaders.

Constitutional reforms

This authoritarianism reached special strength during the tenure of José Joaquín Pérez, which lasted a decade, between 1861 and 1871. The opposition from the oligarchy, which had been acquiring more social and economic power, multiplied.

At the end of that presidential term, a small constitutional reform took place to try to limit the power of the Head of State.

Initially, these reforms took effect and, for the next 20 years, the concept of "parliamentary government" was lived, with a truly effective Congress that coexisted with and controlled the president.

However, the various politicians who held the presidency were not satisfied with this situation. All tried to strengthen their position in front of Parliament, with greater or lesser success.

The traditional way they had to increase their powers was electoral intervention: to manage to rig a Congress that would be favorable to them and that would give them free rein to legislate almost unopposed.

Jose Manuel Balmaceda

The last of these post-1871 presidents was José Manuel Balmaceda, who came to office in 1886. The politician was one of the most important leaders of Chilean liberalism and his government was markedly progressive.

Despite this, his coexistence with Congress deteriorated throughout the legislature and, by the time 1890 arrived, the confrontation had already reached a climax.

Causes

The Civil War broke out when Balmaceda's mandate was coming to an end. The causes were various, from political to economic.

Tension between presidentialism-parliamentarism

As has already been detailed, the conflict between the presidential regime that all the leaders wanted to impose and the Congress' claim that it should be governed from parliament, was a constant throughout that century.

The period of Balmaceda was no exception, producing a confrontation that grew in intensity throughout the term.

Electoral intervention

The President tried to continue with a practice that had become common among all the top Chilean leaders of the time. Thus, he wanted to appoint Congress and his successor to the presidency without respecting electoral freedom.

Confrontation against the oligarchy

Part of the traditional confrontation between the President and Congress was the translation of the tensions between the dominant oligarchies and the liberal political power.

Balmaceda also tried to weaken the oligarchs. To do this, he proceeded to appoint a series of young ministers, unrelated to the most powerful.

This movement provoked a reaction from the oligarchy, unwilling to lose social and political power.

Economic reasons

One of the most important causes of the Civil War of 1891 was Balmaceda's economic project, which ended up confronting him with some of the most powerful businessmen.

The intention of the president was to take advantage of the income from the export of nitrate, even increasing its production.

The goal was to use what was achieved to modernize all the country's infrastructures and develop a major public works plan.

Within its project it was also intended to give facilities to the nationals to exploit the nitrate deposits, almost all in foreign hands.

Finally, he wanted to expropriate the railways dedicated to the transport of this material, which also belonged to the same businessmen, especially John North, an Englishman nicknamed the "king of saltpeter"

This project cost him strong opposition from these businessmen, as well as from some countries with interests in the deposits.

Armed Forces Division

Although it is not considered a direct cause for the war, the existing division in the Armed Forces was an indispensable condition for it to occur. If there had been unity of action, one of the two sides would not have been able to stand up.

In general, the Navy supported the congressmen, while the rest of the army remained loyal to the President.

Conflict with the Church

Another of the great traditional powers in Chile, the Church, also turned against President Balmaceda. His liberal status clashed with the conservative vision of the ecclesiastical institution, which contributed to increasing social and political tension.

Development and main battles

Outbreak

The beginning of the events that finally led to the Civil War can be marked in 1890.

At that time, the tension between the two powers of the state was already at a fever pitch. The Congressmen did not support the laws that established the disposition of the bodies of the Armed Forces, nor the Budget Law.

Balmaceda reacted forcefully: on January 7, 1891, he declared that the situation was ungovernable and personally extended the laws passed the previous year on these matters.

The congressmen, for their part, published the so-called Manifesto of the Representatives of Congress, in which they denied presidential authority.

With this Manifesto, Congress declared the President out of the law and Balmaceda, in response, proceeded to close the Legislative Chamber and assumed all public power.

In this way, the Civil War was a sure fact and very soon the military hostilities began.

The army

The division of the forces supporting each side was clear from the start. The Armed Forces, under Jorge Montt, sided with Congress. The Navy was joined by some Army officers.

However, most of this, fought supporting President Balmaceda, with special force in Valparaíso, Santiago, Concepción and Coquimbo.

Battle of Iquique

The first area to which the supporters of the congressmen went was to the north of the country. The objective was to control the nitrate deposits that were there and use the profits from their commercialization to pay for the rebellion.

In that part of Chile, in addition, there had been several strikes repressed by the government, which made the congressmen have the sympathy of the population. The businessmen were also against Balmaceda and were willing to support their opponents.

It was in Zapiga where the first battle took place, with which the Northern Campaign began. In rapid advance, and although they only had 1,200 troops, the congressmen took Pisagua. They were then defeated at Huara on February 17.

This defeat put the rebel troops on the ropes. However, the situation changed with the Iquique Customs Combat.

The taking of that city, plus the support of the workers of the region, led to the self-denominated Constitutionalist Army, increasing in number. Thanks to the reinforcements, they achieved victory in Pozo Almonte.

In this way, supporters of Congress came to control Tarapacá, Antofagasta, and Atacama.

Board of Iquique

The command of the congressmen had been in Santiago since the beginning of the war. After taking the north of the country, the Government Junta created by them moved to Iquique on April 12, 1891.

There they also found the support of the British, since most of the nitrate companies were in their hands. His main contribution was the delivery of state-of-the-art weapons, which were essential for the development of the rest of the conflict.

The troops already numbered 10,000 men at that time, many of them recruited from areas rich in saltpeter.

The Governing Board, once it had organized all its forces, ordered to go south. The presidential side had managed to gather 32,000 men to try to resist the congressmen, although it divided them into several squads.

The news that Balmaceda was waiting to receive several tanks to strengthen his army led the congressmen to speed up preparations to try to control the rest of Chile.

Massacre of Lo Cañas

The Lo Cañas Massacre was not a conventional battle, but it did provide further support for the cause of Congress.

It took place when some young volunteers got together to try to sabotage some infrastructure to favor the congressmen. Part of them were members of wealthy families, about 60, and another part were artisans from the area, about 20.

Their main objective was to try to cut the Maipo Bridge, but before doing so they were discovered and attacked by the presidential troops. Most died during the battle and the rest were shot.

Battle of Concón

Between 20 and 21 August another of the battles took place that marked the final result of the conflict.

On the one hand, there were 9000 troops from the Constitutionalist Army, who had landed in Quintero and crossed the Aconcagua. On the other, 7000 men from the President's side, who waited in vain for the arrival of reinforcements from Santiago.

Finally, the victory fell on the side of the congressmen, leaving their enemies in a very bad situation.

Battle of Placilla

A few days later, the last battle of the Civil War, that of Placilla, took place. It took place on August 28, 1891, on the outskirts of Valparaíso.

The presidentialists presented an army composed of about 9,500 men, while the constitutionalists numbered 11,000. Again, the latter managed to defeat their opponents, leaving the war decided.

Final

From Placilla, events accelerated. The next day, August 29, Balmaceda took refuge in the Argentine Embassy and ceded power to General Baquedano.

The power vacuum and the desire for revenge of many, caused a wave of looting and destruction of the properties of the president's supporters that would last until, on the 30th, the constitutionalist forces entered Santiago.

On September 3, the Junta de Iquique, transferred to the capital, called elections based on the electoral law approved the previous year. Likewise, she replaced the former president's supporters with members loyal to her side.

José Manuel Balmaceda never left his refuge in the Embassy: he committed suicide on September 19.

Consequences

Policies

The Civil War brought with it a change in the form of government in Chile. After the defeat of the Balmaceda supporters, a period called the Parliamentary Republic was entered, which lasted until 1924. In this system, the President remained under the total control of Congress.

On the other hand, laws were passed to provide amnesty for some of the opponents of Balmaceda who had been imprisoned or removed from their positions.

The elections were held on December 26, 1891, resulting in the election of Admiral Jorge Montt, who had had a large turnout during the conflict.

Meanwhile, the former supporters of Balmaceda returned to politics and founded the Liberal Democratic Party, which tried to resume the economic project of the deposed president.

Social

The number of deaths left by the war, although there is no exact estimate, is estimated at between 5,000 and 10,000 people. In a total population of two and a half million, this is quite a large number, which shows the virulence achieved.

In addition, the conflict caused a great social division in Chile, which lasted for decades.

Economical

As with the number of victims caused by the conflict, there is also no exact figure for the economic costs. Some sources point to the figure of 100 million pesos at the time.

Some of the economic policies promoted by the new governments led Chile to maintain a great dependence on the nitrate industry for years.

This, on the one hand, prevented the emergence of new sources of wealth and, on the other, kept the main economic income under foreign owners.

References

1. Educarchile. The civil war of 1891. Obtained from educarchile.cl
2. Meza Martínez, Rosario. Civil War 1891: Causes and Development. Obtained from boletinhistoricoshgchile.com
3. Bicentennial Studies Center. The Civil War of 1891. Obtained from bicentenariochile.cl
4. GlobalSecurity.org. Balmacedist Chilean Civil War 1891. Retrieved from globalsecurity.org
5. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. José Manuel Balmaceda. Retrieved from britannica.com
6. Simon Collier, William F. Sater. A History of Chile, 1808-1994. Recovered from books.google.es
7. Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture. Revolution Of 1891. Retrieved from encyclopedia.com