The ripples of the Peninsular War (1808-1814) were not just felt in Brazil, but throughout all of South America at the time divided between Portugal and Spain, countries that Napoleon was invading by then.In Chile, the independent process began as early as 1810 by the establishment of a "Junta" that would in fact take the responsibilities of local government while still recognizing Madrid's royal sovereignty, albeit struck by the french invasion - Carlos IV (Charles the fourth) had recently abdicated in favor of his son Fernando, who took over the Empire as Fernando VII (Ferdinand the seventh), just in time to get imprisoned by the French together with his father who was persuaded by Napoleon to nullify his earlier abdication only to abdicate in favor of the french emperor himself, who then proceeded to name his brother, Joseph Bonaparte, king of Spain. The stage was set for the South American colonies independence.
This process also took place in Argentina, where San Martin had already become famous, and Peru would follow soon after Chile, which combined with the actions of Símon Bolívar in the northern colonies of South America illustrates the ripple effect mentioned above.
Be as it may, the date of establishment of the first "Junta" is the day that symbolizes the independence process and it eventually became Chile's national day of independence, known as "Dieciocho" (Eighteen) or "Fiestas Patrias" (National Holiday).
About the Chilean flag:
Two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; a blue square the same height as the white band at the hoist-side end of the white band; the square bears a white five-pointed star in the center representing a guide to progress and honor; blue symbolizes the sky, white is for the snow-covered Andes, and red represents the blood spilled to achieve independence.
Note: design was inspired by the United States flag.
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