History of Chile the Spaniards at the Battle of Chacabuco on February 12 and marking the beginning of the "Patria Nueva". San Martín considered the liberation of Chile a strategic stepping-stone to the emancipation of Peru, which he saw as the key to hemispheric victory over the Spanish. Chile won its formal independence when San Martín defeated the last large Spanish force on Chilean soil at the Battle of Maipú on April 5, 1818. San Martín then led his Argentine and Chilean followers north to liberate Peru; and fighting continued in Chile's southern provinces, the bastion of the royalists, until 1826. A declaration
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'