Bernardo O'Higgins accepted the position instead, and became the leader of an independent Chile. He was granted dictatorial powers as Supreme Director on 16 February 1817. On 12 February 1818, Chile proclaimed itself an independent republic. Throughout the war with the royalists, O'Higgins had engaged in an ongoing feud with José Miguel Carrera. After their retreat in 1814, O'Higgins had fared much better than Carrera, who found little support forthcoming from San Martín, O'Higgins' political ally. Carrera was imprisoned to prevent his involvement in Chilean affairs; after his escape, he ended up taking the winning side in the Argentine Federalist war, helping
Bernardo de' Rossi Bernardo de' Rossi Bernardo de' Rossi (26 August 1468 – 28 June 1527) was an Italian bishop and patron of the arts. The son of a feudal family of the area of Parma, at a young age he received the archdiaconate of Padua and the Abbey of St. Crisogonus in Zadar. In 1488, thanks to the support of the Republic of Venice, he became Bishop of Belluno. In 1499 he was appointed as bishop of Treviso. Here he held a small court, featuring artists such as Lorenzo Lotto, who painted a portrait of him around 1505. In 1503, de' Rossi