Chile had formed a conservative political system…

Chile had formed a conservative political system under the 1833 Constitution, drafted by Mariano Egaña, which had established a one-party presidential polity after the Battle of Lircay ended the Chilean Civil War of 1829–30.

In the succeeding decades, various liberal social and political movements have emerged, led by intellectuals like Santiago Arcos, Francisco Bilbao, José Victorino Lastarria and Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna.

These and others had formed institutions such as the Literary Society of 1842 and the Society of Equality, which seek to rally the population to achieve an increase in civil rights.

The European Revolutions of 1848 have also inspired and encouraged opposition political movements, who increasingly see armed action as the most realistic means of forcing political change.