The Constitution of 1833 was the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

used in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

from 1833 to 1925 when it was replaced by the Constitution of 1925. One of the most long-lived constitutions of

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

, it was used to endorse both an

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...

presidential system A presidential system, or single executive system, is a form of government in which a head of government, typically with the title of president, leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch in systems that use separati ...

and from 1891 onwards an

oligarchic Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, r ...

parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

. The constitution emerged after the Chilean Civil War of 1829 in which the conservative ''

Pelucones 180px, Mariano Egaña, was a notable Pelucón; politically he felt affinity to constitutional monarchy as a form of government. Pelucones (spanish language, Spanish for bigwigs) was the name used to refer to Chilean aristocracy, aristocratic c ...

'' (Whigs) defeated the ''

Pipiolos image:RamonFreire.jpg, 180px, Ramón Freire, hero of the Chilean War of Independence and head of state between 1823 and 1826 and again in 1827, was an icon of the Pipiolo movement ''Pipiolos'' (spanish language, Spanish for a young or naive pers ...

'' (liberals). Its main ideologues where

Mariano Egaña Mariano Egaña Fabres (Santiago, 1793 – Santiago, 1846) was a Chilean lawyer, conservative politician and the main writer of the Chilean Constitution of 1833 The Constitution of 1833 was the constitution used in Chile from 1833 to 1925 when ...

Manuel José Gandarillas Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name) * Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * Manu ...

and

Diego Portales Diego José Pedro Víctor Portales y Palazuelos (; June 16, 1793 – June 6, 1837) was a Chilean statesman and entrepreneur. As a minister of president José Joaquín Prieto's government, he played a pivotal role in shaping the state and po ...

all of whom saw from a conservative point of view the necessity of a

unitarian state A unitary state is a sovereign state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create (or abolish) administrative divisions (sub-national units). Such units exercise only th ...

under a strong leadership. The constitution made

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

the

state religion A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular state, secular, is not n ...

and forbade the practise of other religions, both in public and private life.Lagos Schuffeneger, Humberto and Chacón Herrera, Arturo. 1987. ''Los Evangélicos en Chile: Una lectura sociológica.'' Ediciones Literatura Americana Reunida. p. 17. The first president to be elected under the constitution was the general

José Joaquín Prieto José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

. The constitution allowed for 5 year terms with the possibility of one reelection which resulted in 3 consecutive conservative presidents ruling Chile each for 10 years.

had initially aimed at not putting any restriction on reelection. Chilean liberals considered the constitution authoritarian and made attempts to overthrow the government. During the failed

Revolution of 1851 The Revolution of 1851 (or Civil War of 1851) was an attempt by Chilean liberals to overthrow the conservative government of president Manuel Montt and repeal the Chilean Constitution of 1833. After various battles and sieges, by late December 18 ...

liberals in La Serena declared the constitution abolished. After the first liberal 10-year-long government the constitution was amended in 1871 to eliminate reelections. After the

1891 Chilean Civil War The Chilean Civil War of 1891 (also known as Revolution of 1891) was a civil war in Chile fought between forces supporting Congress and forces supporting the President, José Manuel Balmaceda from 16 January 1891 to 18 September 1891. The war ...

the constitution was amended in 1891, 1892 and 1893, and was interpreted to endorse a parliamentary system. Chilean historiography refers to this period as the " pseudo-parliamentary epoch". It was not until the turmoils of the 1920s that the constitution was replaced by the Constitution of 1925.

References

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

Defunct constitutions Constitutions of Chile 1833 documents {{chile-law-stub

See also

References