Cochrane had the misfortune of a bad temper, and quarrelled with nearly every one in authority. He could not understand San Martin’s deliberation in attacking Peru, so that these two men, both able and honest, could not work together. He quarrelled with O’Higgins and others. He drove the Spanish fleet off the Pacific waters from Guayaquil south. He cleared the waters of pirates, and to him in great part was due the emancipation of Chile and Peru—all of this in two and one-half years. Cochrane finally left Chile and commanded the Brazilian navy from 1823-5, which position he resigned because of charges of insubordination. He then went to Greece and commanded their army for two years. Finally his good name was cleared in England and he returned to his native country, and had achieved the high rank of rear-admiral in the British navy when he died at the ripe old age of eighty-five. The victory of Maipo, although won at great loss, forever settled the Spanish power in Chile. Absolute independence from Spain was at once proclaimed. O’Higgins managed to introduce a few reforms, but the country was still lawless, disturbed and unsettled. Armed bands of robbers, calling themselves royalists, attacked haciendas and villages, and murdered travellers. The dictator did the best he could and introduced many reforms in procedure. Even these improvements seemed to bring discontent. He was always optimistic, which was not for the best. Some men in whom he placed confidence betrayed it. The priests were insidious in their preaching, as they favoured the royalty. The Indians were incited to rebellion whenever possible. Traitors arose among the malcontents. Others were jealous of O’Higgins. San Martin and Lord Cochrane were both appointed to head the opposition, but each declined. One General Freire consented. An assembly was convened, which the dictator attended. After a stormy scene O’Higgins resigned his office rather than plunge the country into civil war. The withdrawal of his firm but kindly hand was a great loss to Chile. He went to Peru, where he died an exile at Lima in 1842. The long struggle with Spain had accustomed the Chileans to military service, and the control of the country naturally fell into the hands of the military element. Once the common danger disappeared, intrigue and personal ambition ran riot and led to a condition of affairs bordering on anarchy. Chile, however, never acquired the revolutionary habit to such an extent as its neighbours, for there was a powerful landed aristocracy whose interests lay in the cultivation of the soil, for which peace was necessary. Anarchy lasted only for a few years, and then followed four decades during which time four successive presidents ruled the country for two terms of five years each.