José Miguel Carrera: The 'great freedom fighter'

Born in Santiago, Chile, in 1785, José Miguel Carrera was a military commander and the most important leader of the Chilean War of Independence during the period of the old republic. On leaving school, his parents sent him to Spain, where he enrolled in the Spanish Army in 1808, a time when the country was under threat from Napoleonic forces.

Obtaining the rank of Sergeant Major, Carrera displayed great courage in Spain during the Spanish War of Independence, fighting in Madrid against troops led by Napoleon Bonaparte in December 1808. In February 1809, he occupied Mora, Toledo, participating in battles in Consuegra and Yévenes. For his merits in battle, he was promoted to captain in April 1809. A few months after this, he distinguished himself again at the Battle of Talavera de la Reina, where he supported the English cavalry with great skill and bravery, earning him the 'medal of valour'.

Carrera showed great courage again when defending the archbishop's bridge on the Tagus river, during which he was taken prisoner by the invading French troops. He escaped from his captors with surprising skill and immediately joined the ensuing battle. He went on to play a crucial role in numerous other battles during this war, until he was seriously wounded in combat. He was transferred to Cadiz, where he received treatment for his near fatal injuries.

He returned to Chile from Cadiz in 1810, when he learned about the Junta de Gobierno that had been established to rule during the imprisonment of King Ferdinand VII of Spain. He was later exiled to Argentina, where he was one of the main promoters of the Argentine federalist war, during which he was executed by his enemies in September 1821.

In October 2012, the then mayor of Cadiz, Teófila Martínez, unveiled a bust of the 'great freedom fighter' in the historic centre of Cadiz.