Iglesia de San Francisco, Santiago de Chile Iglesia de San Francisco, Santiago de Chile The San Francisco Church (Spanish: "Iglesia de San Francisco") is a Franciscan church on Avenida Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, in the downtown of Santiago de Chile. The church, along with the adjacent convent, is one of the oldest colonial-era building in the country. The church was consecrated in 1622. The bell tower was destroyed by an earthquake in 1647, while the rest of the building successfully resisted it. In 1730 another earthquake badly damaged the rebuilt tower, which was demolished in 1751. The current bell tower is of Victorian architecture and was constructed
Battle of Quechereguas Battle of Quechereguas The battle of Quechereguas occurred on 8 April 1814, during the War of Chilean Independence. The Royalists had taken the key Patriot town of Talca in March, 1814, and an army, under the command of Gabino Gaínza, now threatened to advance on the Patriot capital of Santiago itself. Bernardo O' Higgins, the famous Patriot leader, attempted to intervene to prevent this. Gabino Gaínza had crossed over the Maule river with his forces, advancing northwards. O' Higgins was unable to pursue him during the day, because of the size of the Royalist force. During the night, however, O'