José de San Martín Manuel Rodríguez had returned to Chile before the crossing, and began a guerrilla war in Santiago de Chile against the royalists, in support of the upcoming army. He was supported in the south of the city and the countryside. The strategy was to occupy nearby villages, seize the royalists' weapons and flee. The attacks on Melipilla and San Fernando, and a failed one at Curicó, demoralized the royalists. The columns that crossed the Andes began to take military actions. The column in the north led by Cabot defeated the royalists in Salala, seized Coquimbo and then Copiapó. In the south,
Independence of Paraguay Independence of Paraguay Independence of Paraguay "de facto" started on May 14 of 1811 after the Revolution of May 14 when a local ruling junta was created. In early 1811 Paraguayan forces had repeatedly defeated the Argentinian army which considered Paraguay to be a break-away province. On October 12, 1813 the Paraguayan Republic was proclaimed. Officially Independence was proclaimed only on November 25, 1842. Paraguayan independence was assured only after the Paraguayan War, when the Empire of Brazil resisted Argentine offers to divide and annex the country. In 1776 Spanish king Carlos III created Viceroyalty of the Río de la