Treaty of Lircay
The Lircay Treaty concluded on May 3, 1814, the leaders of the Chilean independence movement with the general of the Spanish-loyal troops. He assured the Chileans of their own government, while Chile's membership of the Spanish Kingdom was established. Both sides soon broke the contract.
Conclusion of the contract
The resistance of the Chileans was directed from 1810 against the usurpation of the Spanish throne by Joseph Bonaparte , the brother of Napoléon Bonaparte . With the Treaty of Valençay in December 1813, Ferdinand VII received the Spanish crown back and claimed rule over the entire Spanish colonial empire, including the general captainate of Chile . Militarily, the Spaniards had put the Chileans on the defensive during the Chilean War of Independence . The new situation also split the Chileans into a faction loyal to the king and the advocates of independence (led by Bernardo O'Higgins ).
The Spanish military leader Gabino Gaínza (assisted by José Rodríguez, who later was Chile's finance minister under O'Higgins) met with representatives of the Chileans (including the Director Supremo Francisco de la Lastra , Bernardo O'Higgins and Juan Mackenna ) on River bank of the Río Lircay , about two miles outside of Talca .
Contents of the contract
The agreement consisted of 16 articles. The Chileans reaffirmed their loyalty to King Ferdinand and admitted that Chile was an integral part of the Spanish monarchy. They promised to support Spain as far as possible , to send representatives to the Cortes of Cádiz and to withdraw their troops north of the Río Lontué . In the preamble to the treaty, the Carrera brothers (without naming them) were condemned as the culprits for the "ruin of the kingdom". As part of the agreement, the Chileans decided not to wear the Chilean tricolor and instead wanted to fly the royal Spanish flag again.
In return, the Spaniards recognized the provisional Chilean government and promised to withdraw the majority of their troops from the province of Concepción, not to cross the Río Maule and not to enter the city of Talca.
In addition, the parties agreed on various practical arrangements for ending hostilities, including an exchange of prisoners (from which José Miguel Carrera was expressly excluded), the return of confiscated goods and the payment of costs for the Spanish troops.
Consequences after the conclusion of the contract
When the negotiations were over, Gaínza began to withdraw to Chillán , but did not leave the province to the agreed extent, but stayed there in the hope of reinforcement. His superiors blamed him for wanting to leave the province to the Chileans, but he reassured them that he never intended to fulfill that part of the contract.
On the other hand, the Chileans did not withdraw in accordance with the contract, but stayed in Talca.
The Spanish viceroy José Fernando Abascal y Sousa refused to ratify the treaty and instead sent a new expeditionary army to Chile; this time under the leadership of Mariano Osorio . His chief negotiator, Gaínza, was brought to justice in Lima because he had exceeded his competences with the concessions.
On the Chilean side, the concessions were the main trigger for the overthrow of the Lastra government by the coup under José Miguel Carrera on July 23, 1814.
