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
Héroes (Chilean miniseries) Here, José Miguel Carrera is portrayed by a new young actor, Diego Casanueva, who makes a very good interpretation to the character, especially his moments in which he is more revengeful. Other co-stars are Javiera Díaz de Valdés as Mercedes Fontecilla, Sebastián Layseca as José María Benavente, Daniel Muñoz as José de San Martín, Benjamín Vicuña as Manuel Rodríguez, Julio Milostich as Bernardo O´Higgins, Alfredo Allende as Luis Carrera, and Gabriel Sepúlveda as Juan José Carrera. The film is set during 1808 to 1818, especially highliting the period of the Reconquista and having as its main plot surrounding Rodriguez's time