Chile Banknotes 10 Escudos banknote 1975 Jose Manuel Balmaceda
Central Bank of Chile - Banco Central de Chile
Obverse: Portrait of José Manuel Balmaceda (1840 – 1891) was the 11th President of Chile from September 18, 1886 to August 29, 1891. While he was president, his political disagreements with the Chilean congress, led to the 1891 Chilean Civil War, at the end of which he shot and killed himself.
Signatures: Alfonso Inostroza Cuevas & Jaime Barrios Meza.
Reverse: The "Embrace of Maipu" (Part of the Chilean War of Independence) between José de San Martín and Bernardo O'Higgins after the victory in the Battle of Maipú, April 5th, 1818. Portrait by Pedro Subercaseaux, 1908. Coat of arms of Chile at right.
Watermark: Diego José Pedro Víctor Portales y Palazuelos.
Printer: Casa de Moneda de Chile.
Jose Manuel Balmaceda
Jose Manuel Balmaceda (José Manuel Emiliano Balmaceda Fernández: born July 19, 1840, Santiago, Chile — died Sept. 19, 1891, Santiago), liberal reformer and president of Chile (1886–1891) whose conflict with his legislature precipitated a civil war in 1891.
Balmaceda was elected to the Chilean congress from the Liberal Party in 1870. While serving in the cabinet of President Domingo Santa María (1881–1886), he pushed anticlerical measures and promoted public works. As president he advanced public education and railroad construction but inherited the legislative revolt against the executive begun in the 1860s. His attempts to prevent congressional limitation of the presidential powers led to civil war in 1891. Congress, with navy support, defeated Balmaceda’s forces within eight months. His defeat and subsequent suicide left parliamentary dominance firmly entrenched until the mid-1920s, when it was challenged by Arturo Alessandri.
Battle of Maipu
The Battle of Maipu (Spanish: Batalla de Maipú) was a battle fought near Santiago, Chile on April 5, 1818 between South American rebels and Spanish royalists, during the Chilean War of Independence. The Patriot rebels led by José de San Martín effectively destroyed the Spanish forces commanded by General Mariano Osorio, and completed the independence of the core area of Chile from Spanish domination.
The battle left 2,000 Spaniards dead and 3,000 captured; the patriots lost about 1,000 men. The victory produced tremendous results. The victory bought an end to major Spanish operations in Chile. It also allowed the united Chilean and Argentine patriots to launch a series of attacks against Spanish positions along South Americas Pacific coast climaxing with the liberation of large parts of Peru from Spanish rule.