Manuel Bulnes Prieto (; December 25, 1799 – October 18, 1866) was a Chilean military and political figure. He was twice President of Chile, from 1841 to 1846 and from 1846 to 1851. Born in Concepción, he served as the president of Chile between 1841 and 1851. At the age of 16 he was imprisoned as a revolutionary by the Spanish authorities, but was soon released, and in 1818 joined the army of San Martin under whom he served as colonel throughout the Chilean War of Independence. After three years of continuous warfare (1820–23), he accomplished the temporary conquest of the Araucanian Indians. He was appointed brigadier general in 1831. In 1832 he crossed the Cordillera and defeated decisively the Pincheira brothers in the battle of Epulafquén. Then Bulnes commanded the Chilean army in 1838 against Gen. Santa Cruz in Peru; and, after taking Lima and winning the battles of Huaraz and Puente del Buin, combined his forces with those of Gamarra and defeated Santa Cruz at the Battle of Yungay (January 19, 1839), thus putting an end to the confederation between Peru and

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

Presidency (1841–1851)

His presidencies were characterised by educational and cultural expansion, supported by the encouragement of foreign intellectuals to come to Chile. The

National Institute National Institute may refer to: * National Institute on Aging, United States (U.S.) * National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. * National Institute of Mental Health, U.S. * Belgranian National Institute, Argentina * San Martín National Ins ...

was reformed and several junior schools were established along with the José Abelardo Núñez Upper School. In Santiago the University of Chile was founded during his watch, in 1842, as well as a technical training school from which the University of Santiago is descended. Bulnes also presided over a general amnesty in order to reconcile the groups who had opposed one another in the Civil War of 1829. Regarding the nation's strategic goals, Bulnes founded

Fuerte Bulnes Fuerte Bulnes is a Chilean fort located by the Strait of Magellan, 62 km south of Punta Arenas. It was founded in 1843 on a rocky hill at Punta Santa Ana, and named after President Manuel Bulnes Prieto. The fort was built to further the ...

in 1843 in order to establish and enforce sovereignty over the

Magellan Straits The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and Tierra del Fuego to the south. The strait is considered the most important natural pass ...

. The settlement was relocated to Punta Arenas six years later because the original site offered insufficient space for the development of a settled community: it was and remains the most southerly municipality in the world, and has been a focus for economic development in the south of the country. Germans were targeted to colonise the hitherto very sparsely inhabited southern part of Chile in the wake of the

1848 revolutions The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europe ...

which provided an impetus for emigration from the European perspective. It was also during the presidency of Bulnes that the former colonial power, Spain, acknowledged the independence of Chile and became involved in the construction of Chile's first railway. Manuel Bulnes Prieto died in Santiago.

Cabinet

Sources

* Juan B. Alberdi, ''Biografia de general Bulnes'' (Santiago, 1846) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bulnes, Manuel 1799 births 1866 deaths People from Concepción, Chile Conservative Party (Chile) politicians Presidents of Chile Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile Members of the Senate of Chile Candidates for President of Chile Chilean Army generals Chilean military personnel of the War of the Confederation People of the Chilean War of Independence People of the 1851 Chilean Revolution Instituto Nacional General José Miguel Carrera alumni Chilean people of Spanish descent 19th-century Chilean politicians