Changes
/* XIX Century, Independence, State Consolidation and Wars with neightbours */
[[File:Diego Portales-2.jpg|150px|thumbnail|left|[[Diego Portales]] author of the 1833 Constitution which prioritized order over democracy.]]
[[File:Arturo Prat Chacón.jpg|150px|thumbnail|left|[[Arturo Prat|Arturo Prat Chacón]], the maximum naval hero of the Chilean Nation.]]
[[File:Sinking of the Esmeralda during the battle of Iquique.jpg|300px|thumbnail|Sinking of the Esmeralda during the [[battle of Iquique|naval battle of Iquique]].]]
The drive for independence from Spain was precipitated by usurpation of the Spanish throne by Napoleon's brother Joseph in 1808. A national junta in the name of Ferdinand—heir to the deposed king—was formed on September 18, 1810. The junta proclaimed Chile an autonomous republic within the Spanish monarchy. A movement for total independence soon won a wide following. Spanish attempts to reimpose arbitrary rule during what was called the "Reconquista" led to a prolonged struggle.
In 1888 Chile incorporated [[Easter Island]] to the national territory.
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===XX Century===
By the 1920s, the emerging middle and working classes were powerful enough to elect a reformist president, whose program was frustrated by a conservative congress. In the 1920s, Marxist groups with strong popular support arose.
