While wandering in Richmond we came across this bust of Bernardo O’Higgins as we were winding our way down to the Thames. I recognized the name but couldn’t for a moment remember who he was, except that he was connected with a South American country… a few scraps of information float back, Chile, he was something to do with Chile and its bid for freedom from the rule of Spain.
On inspecting the bust more closely found the following information carved into its plinth: General Bernardo O’Higgins, 1778 – 1842, Chilean statesman, liberator of his country, lived and studied in Richmond upon Thames, 1795 – 1798. In our later wanderings, we came across a blue plaque honouring him; blue plaques are attached to buildings and put in places to commemorate significant people or events or even buildings.
I had imagined that O’Higgins had been born in Ireland left as part of the diaspora, but discovered that it was his father who had been born in County Sligo and had come to South America. Bernardo’s father Ambrosio, later a governor of Peru, had a relationship with a sixteen year old girl, and as a result, Bernardo was born. Bernardo studied in Richmond as a young man, before returning to his homeland where he fought for its independence. He is acknowledged as one of the men who founded the independent state of Chile, and was its Supreme Director until he was exiled and became involved in the independence movement in Peru. He died before he was able to return to his homeland, in 1823, aged sixty-four.
Lois Elsden 