Chilean independence debt
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The Chilean independence debt was a debt obtained from a large loan the nascent republic of Chile obtained in the last years of its independence war. The loan was obtained in London in 1822 by the government of Bernardo O'Higgins.[1] To address the debt Minister of Finance Manuel Rengifo made first a study to identify all debts incurred before 1830.[2] Chilean agent Francisco Javier Rosales was sent to London to negotiate the payments of the debt in 1836.[2] He was however unable to reach an agreement with the creditors.[2]
In parallel with the independence debt the Chilean government obtained in 1825 a loan from copper mining businessman Charles Saint Lambert who had settled in Chile. This loan allowed to finance the invasion of Chiloé Archipelago, a Chilean territory still held by royalists.[3]
Exports of Chilean silver alongside copper and wheat were instrumental to help Chile prevent default in the 1830s and 1840s.[2] Joaquín Tocornal who succeeded Rengifo as Minister of Finance paid off all the default and refused at the time to take new loans.[2]