Chilean Civil War of 1829 – 30 The Chilean Civil War of 1829 – 1830 ( ) was an armed conflict between conservative Pelucones and liberal Pipiolos forces in Chile over the constitutional regime in force . This conflict ended with the defeat of the liberal forces and the approval of a new constitution in 1833 , that was in force until 1925 . Background . The resignation and self - exile of General Bernardo O ' Higgins in 1823 did not put an end to the political infighting . Civil conflict continued , focusing mainly on the issues of anticlericalism and regionalism . Presidents and constitutions rose and fell quickly in the 1820s . The Chilean political scene divided itself into two groups that were already embrionary during the independence days . The followers of O ' Higgins became the " Conservatives " or " Bigwigs " ( ) . This group was mainly composed by the remains of the colonial aristocracy , and defended the ideas of a strong central government , respect of tradition and a strong support for the Catholic Church . Their most prominent leaders were José Gregorio Argomedo , Juan Egaña and José Joaquín Prieto . Opposed to them were the " Liberals " or " Pipiolos " . This group was mainly composed of the followers of José Miguel Carrera , and were strongly influenced by the European liberal ideas . They defended a more free and democratic government , without interference from the Church . Their leaders were Ramón Freire , Manuel Borgoño and Francisco Antonio Pinto . The " Conservatives " and the " Liberals " , began to coalesce around the church - state issue . Not only more favorably inclined toward the church , the Conservatives were also more sympathetic than the Liberals toward the colonial legacy , authoritarian government , the supremacy of executive powers , and a unitary state . Together with this two political tendencies , which in time developed into the two main political parties of the 19th century , there were also some minority groups . One of them was the Federalist Party under the leadership of José Miguel Infante , who promoted a model of government based on the one adopted by the United States . Another group was the " Estanqueros " or " Monopolists " ( " estanco " means monopoly ) , a very heterogeneous political group under the leadership of Diego Portales . The name came out of the fact that most of them were merchants , and their leader , Portales , was in charge of the tobacco monopoly . Their principal figures were Juan Francisco Meneses ( ex - monarchist ) ; Manuel José Gandarillas ( Carrera supporter ) and José Antonio Rodríguez Aldea ( O ' Higgins supporter ) . Constitutional essays . The time between 1823 and 1828 is called of the " Constitutional Essays " . The first of these three essays is the moralist ( 1823 ) of Juan Egaña , which created a unitary state , democratic ( for men of the upper classes ) and catholic . The executive power was in the hands of a Supreme Director , elected for four years and to be reelected only once . This system was no sooner in place when it came under attack from the proponents of a federalist system . The abolition of slavery in this constitution - long before most other countries in the Americas - was considered one of the liberals ' few lasting achievements . In their impatience , the federalist leaders forced Congress to adopt some laws giving federal rights to the provinces . In 1825 , José Miguel Infante was President of the Directorial Council that was in charge of the administration while Supreme Director Freire was away capturing Chiloé from the Royalist forces . Using their position , the council created the eight Provincial Assemblies that would become the basis for the federal system . The eight provinces were : Coquimbo , Aconcagua , Santiago , Colchagua , Maule , Concepción , Valdivia and Chiloé . The second essay thus was the federalist written by Infante in 1826 , though it was never formally adopted . Election of 1826 . On July 14 , 1826 Congress passed a law calling for a new election . The Supreme Director was to be substituted by a President . The first elected President was Manuel Blanco Encalada , with a 59 . 45 % ( 22 electoral votes ) , defeating José Miguel Infante who only obtained a 40 . 54 % ( 15 electoral votes ) . For the position of vice president Agustín Eyzaguirre , with a 57 . 14 % ( 20 electoral votes ) , defeated Francisco Antonio Pinto who only got 40 . 54 % ( 15 electoral votes ) The system very quickly proved to be a failure . Blanco Encalada resigned , and was replaced by Eyzaguirre in 1827 . He in turn was deposed by colonel Enrique Campino Salamanca , who called back general Ramón Freire . Constitution of 1828 . The first ( of many ) measures of the new government was to call for a constitutional convention . Congress confirmed the return of General Freire and proceeded to dissolve itself . Immediately after , Freire resigned on his vice - president Francisco Antonio Pinto . In August 1828 , Pinto ' s first year in office , Chile abandoned its short - lived federalist system for a unitary form of government , with separate legislative , executive , and judicial branches . The new constitution was finalized in 1828 by José Joaquín de Mora together with Melchor Santiago Concha . This became the third or liberal essay . The government became a unitary system , but maintained the eight Provincial Assemblies created by the federalist essay . The executive was in the hands of a President , elected for five years with no re - election . By adopting a moderately liberal constitution in 1828 , Pinto alienated both the federalists and the liberal factions . He also angered the old aristocracy by abolishing estates inherited by primogeniture and caused a public uproar with his anticlericalism . Election of 1829 . At the end , it was not a military incident which caused the revolution , but a mere political disagreement that led to anarchy . A new presidential election was called in 1829 . The clear winner ( out of 9 candidates ) was General Francisco Antonio Pinto , liberal and already Provisional President since the resignation of Freire in 1827 , with 118 electoral votes ( 29 , 06 % . ) The problem happened in the vice presidential election . The winner should have been the first runner - up , Francisco Ruiz - Tagle ( 98 electoral votes or 24 , 13 % ) , or the second runner - up , General José Joaquín Prieto , ( 61 votes or 15 , 02 % ) , both conservatives . Nonetheless , Congress was controlled by the liberals and presided by Francisco Ramón Vicuña , also liberal . Arguing that no vice - presidential candidate had a majority , they selected Joaquín Vicuña , brother of the president of the senate , even though he only got 48 electoral votes ( 11 , 82 % ) . That was the excuse for the conservatives to rebel . Revolution of 1829 . The liberal leader " par excellence " , General Ramón Freire , rode in and out of the presidency several times ( 1823 – 27 , 1828 , 1829 , 1830 ) but could not sustain his authority . From May 1827 to September 1831 , with the exception of brief interventions by Freire , the presidency was occupied by General Francisco Antonio Pinto , Freire ' s former vice president . The conservative side was under the military leadership of General José Joaquín Prieto and the political guidance of Diego Portales , while the liberal side was under the command of Ramón Freire and Francisco de la Lastra . Presidente Pinto promptly resigned on July 14 , not on the elected vice president but on his brother , the president of the senate Francisco Ramón Vicuña . On December 7 , 1829 the conservative troops under General Prieto approached Santiago from the South . The conservative army decided to halt the march for a while and camped a few miles outside the city . The government under President Vicuña immediately collapsed and they fled first to Valparaíso and then northward to Coquimbo . On December 14 , 1829 , General Prieto and his troops met the liberal army under Francisco de la Lastra and defeated them at the Battle of Ochagavía . Meanwhile , President Vicuña and his ministers where captured and imprisoned by the victorious conservative troops . Chile was without a leader for a few weeks ( from December 7 to 24 , 1829 ) . After the Battle of Ochagavía , General Freire agreed to a cease - fire with Prieto . A Government Junta was organized and took control , in order to avoid the continuance of hostilities , under a neutral José Tomás Ovalle who was acceptable to both sides . This junta ruled the country from December 24 , 1829 to February 18 , 1830 . Power was retained by Ramón Freire who organized a liberal convention with the intention of calling for new general elections and the formation of a new Congress . At the same time , the conservatives who were in control of Santiago also called for their own convention , where an agreement was reached which nominated Francisco Ruiz - Tagle as acting president . Immediately that Ruiz - Tagle took over as president , the principal leaders of the liberal side ( Manuel Borgoño , Francisco de la Lastra and Juan Gregorio de las Heras ) were eliminated from the army rosters . This guaranteed the restart of the hostilities . President Ruiz - Tagle and all the cabinet resigned on April 1 , and José Tomás Ovalle , as vice president assumed power . The last engagement happened at the Battle of Lircay , near Talca , on April 17 , 1830 . The liberals were totally routed , and their leader , General Ramón Freire , was exiled first to Peru and then to Tahiti . Later in life he was allowed to return to Chile , but he never participated in politics again . Due to the chaotic situation nobody wanted to participate in the government , so President Ovalle named Diego Portales as his universal minister . Portales took over the running of the government bringing with him the political ideas that were to shape Chile for the rest of the century . After the defeat at the Battle of Lircay , the liberal side finally decided to negotiate and signed the Treaty of Cuz - Cuz , that brought an end to the anarchy and their political dominance and ushered 30 years of conservative governments .