It was Voltaire who said that “cruelty leads to independence.” The colonial system of Spain in South and Central America, of which the writer has had occasion to treat before, was one of selfishness, cruelty and tyranny. Only the merchants of Cadiz were allowed to sell goods to the colonists, and the colonists were permitted to sell their products only to the same traders, who managed to reap a profit, owing to the monopoly granted them, of as much as three hundred per cent. Local human rights were not recognized by the government of Spain. It was treason for a man to assert his freedom, or to seek a free field for his labour. The natives were compelled to labour for the conquerors without profit. Imposing buildings were constructed, cities were encircled with massive walls, great monasteries, churches, and convents rose on the hills, all by the unrequited toil of generations of these impressed natives. Education was denied, and the local government, including the church officials, united in this system of repression and disregard of human rights. There was, however, another element which entered into final independence. For this we must hark back to Spain for a moment. Charles IV had resigned his throne in favour of his son, Ferdinand VII. The colonists accepted this change because of their loyalty to the heredity in line of succession, which had to them a religious as well as political significance. Charles IV afterwards regretted his abdication and appealed to Napoleon, who was then in the height of his power, alleging that the abdication had not been voluntary. Napoleon poured troops into Spain, and it was not long until Ferdinand VII was compelled to yield. Napoleon then placed his favourite brother, Joseph, upon the throne of Spain. Joseph was a well-meaning monarch, a man of far more principle than his brother, who, perhaps, would have done well by the colonists, had he been permitted to work out their destinies. The colonists, however, felt no loyalty toward him, and would not recognize his authority. When Ferdinand VII was finally restored to the throne after the downfall of Napoleon, he became a tyrant, and violently opposed all liberal ideas. The despotism that Napoleon had overthrown was reestablished. These mistaken moves on the part of Ferdinand, a period of a few years during which the Crown had been opposed, and the free air of America all had tended to induce a spirit of liberalism and opposition to monarchy in the New World. It was not long before Chile was caught in the same whirl as the rest of the Spanish-American provinces.