Stamp Collector

31 MAY 2020 www.allaboutstamps.co.uk The history of 19th-century South America is full of romantic-sounding ‘Libertadores’ such as Simón Bolívar and Francisco de Miranda, writes Chris West. Up there among these individuals is the unusually named Bernardo O’Higgins, celebrated on Chilean stamps Who was Bernado O’Higgins? STAMP STORIES WORLD STAMPS O ’Higgins came from a noble Irish family, who had once been court poets for clan chieftains and had over the centuries acquired substantial lands. These were seized by Cromwell, and by the start of the 18th century the O’Higgins were tenants on land that had once been theirs. This was too much for Bernardo’s father, Ambrose, who emigrated to South America, found employment with the Spanish colonial government and organized a postal service across the Andes between Argentina and Chile (then a remote outpost of empire). A military career followed, which ended up with his becoming a general. He also had an illegitimate son: Bernardo. Ambrose disowned his child publicly but paid for Bernardo’s upbringing and left him a large estate when he died. The two never met. The young man was sent to London to complete his education – a reminder that for the well-off, the world was already ‘global’ in the eighteenth century. Here, Bernardo imbibed American ideas about national self-determination and joined the Lautaro Masonic lodge that supported Latin American liberation. In 1801, his father died. Bernardo returned to Chile and adopted his father’s name. He did not plunge into politics, however, but busied himself with running his estate. In 1808, Napoleon invaded Spain and deposed its king. This created a power vacuum in the old Spanish Empire: cue a Civil War in Chile between monarchists, who wanted the old Spanish king back, and supporters of national independence (who, to complicate things further, fought bitterly among themselves). Bernado’s youthful idealism was restimulated; he raised a militia from his estate workers and went to fight for the cause of national self-determination. He soon developed a reputation for courage. It was storybook stuff. In October 1813, he turned the Battle of El Roble, which his side was losing, by exhorting his men to one last charge, shouting: ‘He who is brave, follow me!’ Despite the victory that resulted, the rebel campaign ended in defeat due to internal rivalries. O’Higgins fled to Argentina, where he rebuilt his forces, teamed up with another doughty fighter and fellow Lautaro lodge member, General José de San Martin. In 1817, they launched a new attack on Spanish Chile. This campaign ended in victory at the Battle of Maipú, and O’Higgins became ‘supreme director’ of the country (San Martin went off to fight in other liberation wars). On 12 February 1818, Chile proclaimed itself an independent republic. Chilean stamps from 1942 and 1952 celebrating Bernado O’Higgins. The denomination of the 1952 value, by the way, is one peso, not one dollar O’Higgins’ rule was a largely benevolent one. He built roads, schools and hospitals. He founded a navy and hired a dashing Scotsman to command it: Thomas Cochran, whose exploits inspired CS Forester’s Hornblower series. He tried to introduce democracy and undermine the power of the church – two things that finally got him into trouble. After six years he was deposed in a right-wing coup. After this, he travelled round South America, doing his best to help nationalist movements in other countries, and died aged 64. His name is still revered in Chile (one of its premier football clubs is named after him). Both the military junta of 1973 to 1990 and the democrats who have followed it claimed to be his true successors. As a result, O’Higgins has appeared on many Chilean stamps over the years. He is also highly regarded in Ireland. In 2002, An Post (the post office of Ireland) and Correos Chile jointly issued stamps that celebrated him.