Manuel Bulnes placeholder image, Born in Concepción (Chile) in 1799, he was a Chilean politician and military man who held the presidency of the country during the decade 1841-1851. He was the second president of the so-called Conservative Republic, a period of 30 years in which the rulers belonged to that ideology.
The presidency of Bulnes is considered one of the most important of the 19th century. During the 10 years in which he held office, Chile established the principles of the republican regime and some of its main institutions were founded. Likewise, there was a territorial expansion that was promoted by the president.
Before entering politics, Bunes had stood out for his role in various military conflicts. When he was very young he enlisted in the Spanish colonial army, although he soon joined the ranks of the independentistas. As a curious fact, this led him to face his own father in the siege of Chillán, since they defended opposite sides.
Apart from ordering the construction of various infrastructures and inaugurating the University of Chile, Bulnes was also the one who commissioned the lyrics of the National Song of Chile, the anthem that represents the country..
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Manuel Bulnes Prieto was born in Concepción (Chile) on December 25, 1799. His father was a military man, having the rank of captain of the Spanish army. Bulnes was not sent to school, but carried out his first studies in his own home.
Family tradition weighed on the vital choice of little Manuel. With only twelve years he entered the army, becoming part of an infantry battalion in his city. Two years later, through the mediation of his father, he was promoted to deputy brigadier.
He soon showed discrepancies with his father, since he did not want to support the Spanish in the fight against independence..
Bulnes spent a few months in Santiago, studying. In 1814 the Spanish closed his school, so he had to return to Concepción.
His sympathies for the independence cause led him to be sent, along with 200 other young people from his town, to Quiriquina Island. In this way, the Spanish command in Concepción wanted to prevent them from joining the Liberation Army, which was advancing positions.
For several months Bulnes and the rest of the prisoners were on the island. When the war approached the south of the country, the guards had to withdraw and the young people took the opportunity to try to escape and reach the continent. Provided with only a few weak rafts, 30 of them died on the way.
It was at this stage in Chilean history that Manuel Bulnes' military career began. In June 1817 he joined the National Guard with the rank of lieutenant. Months later he joined the Army of the Line.
Some of the battles in which he participated were those of Quechereguas and Cancha Rayada, already in 1818. In the same way, he was present in one of the most important combats of the war for independence: that of Maipú.
One of the moments that marked his military career occurred in July 1818, in the siege of Chillán. Manuel was informed that his father, on the Spanish side, was among the besieged.
Immediately she went to parley with him, trying to convince him to join her cause, but to no avail. In the end, the battle did not produce a winner, but his father ended up in exile in Peru..
The Spanish troops looked for allies to confront the independentistas. Some of those they encountered were the Mapuches, with whom they became strong in the area between the Maule and Biobío rivers..
Bulnes participated in some of the battles against that coalition, under the command of Freire. His mission led him to reach the rank of captain in 1820.
The following year, in recognition of his actions, General Prieto Vial (his uncle) entrusted him with a division of the army. Bulnes managed to pacify the border and returned to Concepción in March 1822.
In Concepción, he received the Chilean Legion of Merit from O'Higgins and was appointed Sergeant Major.
The fall of O'Higgins gave the command of the patriots to Freire, who offered Bulnes the post of governor of Talca. In 1823 he was elected to form part of the Constituent Congress, although his military obligations did not allow him to participate in the sessions..
Years later, Bulnes participated in the revolution against the government that took place in 1829. It was his uncle José Joaquín Prieto who convinced him to get involved in this uprising..
In 1830 he was also present at the decisive Battle of Lircay, which marked the defeat of the Liberals led by Freire..
Before reaching the presidency, Manuel Bulnes participated in the war that confronted Chile with the Peru-Bolivian Confederation. Between 1838 and 1839 he led the troops, defeating his enemies in battles such as Yungay. This earned him national recognition, being promoted to Major General.
Personally, Bulnes married in 1841 with the daughter of one of the families of the Chilean aristocracy. Through his wife, Enriqueta Pinto Garmendia, he became related to President Francisco Antonio Pinto, as well as to another future president, Aníbal Pinto.
That same year, José Joaquín Prieto, who held the presidency at that time, appointed him Minister of State. This was the step prior to his candidacy in the following elections.
After the voting was held, on September 18, 1841, Manuel Bulnes was elected president of Chile. His first step was to try to end the divisions in the nation and he decreed an amnesty for the defeated in Lircay. Similarly, he made gestures of reconciliation with San Martín and O'Higgins.
After 10 years of government - since he was reelected in '46 - the situation in the country was changing. The so-called Conservative Republic had among its main characteristics an authoritarian way of exercising power, which caused opponents to appear.
These, especially liberals and part of the Creoles, founded the Equality Society, which sought an increase in public freedoms. The rulers saw her from the beginning as a threat, so they proceeded to try to eliminate her.
This only forced said society to go underground. On April 20, 1851, his supporters staged an uprising against the government, which was crushed by the army under the command of Bulnes.
Although the tension did not subside, the next conservative candidate, Manuel Montt, was elected president.
The end of his presidential term did not mean that Bulnes left public life. The uprisings that took place in various areas of the country forced him to lead the government troops. As head of the army he dedicated himself to ending the revolts.
Bulnes retained the position of chief of the Army of the South until 1863, after which he was able to retire to his private life. However, he returned to be a presidential candidate in 1866, although he was defeated in the elections. That same year, on October 18, 1866, Manuel Bulnes died in Santiago.
The two periods of government of Manuel Bulnes maintained much of the characteristics of the Conservative Republic, although it is true that he tried to end the confrontations that had occurred in the country. For that, he amnesty to the liberals and rehabilitated the military "pipiolos" who had been discharged by his predecessor.
Likewise, he laid the foundations for the Chilean republican regime. It was during his presidency that Spain finally recognized the country's independence, so that Bulnes was finally able to set the government structure that would be consolidated over the years..
Another aspect that characterized his political action is the great importance he gave to education. Under his presidency, numerous educational institutions were founded and made available to all the people..
Despite the fact that Bulnes tried to reconcile and stabilize the country, his government also had the authoritarian overtones typical of that historical period. Public freedoms were very limited and the opposition was repressed, although not as much as with its predecessor.
On the other hand, the electoral system meant that the ruling candidate did not really have any problem being elected. The same happened with other positions, such as mayors or governors, who were placed by the president.
At that time, the Chilean borders were not clearly defined and the government of Bulnes established as one of its priorities to fix them definitively..
For this, for example, he ordered the building of forts in the Strait of Magellan, in order to make his sovereignty clear. In the north he also carried out expeditions to scare off Bolivians from some areas.
The most important economic issue during the government of Bulnes was trying to end the debt that the country had with the British. This made Chile acquire greater economic stability and could attract more investors.
The government of Manuel Bulnes was very prolific in works in all areas of action. One of the most important aspects was its actions to territorially strengthen the country. With him began the colonization of southern Chile, in addition to achieving Spanish recognition of independence.
The latter led him to request a new letter for the national anthem, since the previous one contained some part that was quite offensive for Spain. The first time the new national song sounded was during the national holidays of 1847.
Another of the issues in which Bulnes put more effort was in education. Beyond educational reforms, the government turned to foreign experts to help it modernize it. During his tenure, institutions such as the University of Chile and the School of Art and Crafts were created..
In the economy, the president promoted a law on customs, with a philosophy based on liberalism. On the other hand, in 1843 the Law of Weights and Measures came into force, with which the decimal system began to be used..
Other achievements of his mandate were the Normal School of Preceptors, the Corps of Engineers and the Office of Statistics. Finally, the Military School was reopened and it was he who began the works that brought the railway to Chile.
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