Battle of Rancagua in the context of Reconquista (Spanish America)

José Ignacio Zenteno del Pozo y Silva (July 28, 1786 – July 16, 1847), was a Chilean soldier, politician and hero of the Chilean War of Independence.

Zenteno was born in Santiago, the son of Antonio Zenteno y Bustamante and of Victoria del Pozo y Silva. He completed his studies at the Colegio Carolino, and took part in the movement for independence from the very beginning. In 1814, he became the secretary of Supreme Director Francisco de la Lastra, and was forced after the defeat of Rancagua, together with other patriots, to emigrate to Mendoza, Argentina, where, soon after his arrival, he was appointed secretary of the treasury of that province. There he befriended General José de San Martín, of whom became one of his principal assessors.

Spanish Reconquest or just Reconquest (Spanish: Reconquista) is the name of a period of Chilean history that started in 1814 with the royalist victory at the Battle of Rancagua and ended in 1817 with the patriot victory at the Battle of Chacabuco. During this period, the defenders of the Spanish Empire reestablished their dominion in Chile after said country had separated itself from the Spanish Crown, installed its First National Government Board in 1810—the first institution of self-government in Chile, created its First Congress National in 1811 and subsequently elected its first supreme director, Francisco de la Lastra, in 1814.

Authors such as the Chileans Julio Heise and Jaime Eyzaguirre prefer to call the period Absolutist Restoration, considering it merely the return to power of the royalists.