alternatehistory.com

First of all sorry for being late. I had university stuff to do and lost momentum on this TL. I will experiment with a more conversation-like chapter this time.

Pedro de Luna, son of Alejandro de Luna (founder of Nueva Andalucía in Australia) was invited to go inside the building. It was heavily guarded by paramilitary dressed as royalist soldiers. Inside were several members of the Lautaro Lodge, a clandestine organisation with diverse ideas, one of them was liberating South America from the Spanish yoke. If that meeting had happened a couple of years before Pedro would have fully supported them, but since the viceroy of Peru expelled Mariano Osorio (the man who re-conquered Chile for the Spanish crown) to Australia his political views switched. In his meetings Osorio told him about the importance of keeping Spain united and that dividing the empire would bring nothing but misery to the nations that emerged from it. He initially disagreed, having been in Buenos Aires, a city that seemed to have improved since the Revolution of 1808, but after months of discussion, he understood Osorio's point. During his time in Buenos Aires he joined the Lodge hoping to assist the rebels in securing their independence and maybe, one day, liberate Australia too. No one in the Lodge knew they were about to let a spy enter the spider web. The first to talk was Antonio José Balcarce:

-Gentlemen, as you all know the occupation of Chile has continued despite our valiant efforts to fight for our freedom. When that damned Osorio took Santiago many of us crossed the Andes heading to the invicted Buenos Aires, among them our liberator, Bernardo O'Higgins, which seems to have found a good friend in a Platinean caudillo which also happens to be a member of this Lodge, José de San Martín. I've heard news that an army is amassing in the east side of the Andes and it will march all the way from San Juan to Santiago, probably in January next year.

Tomás Guido continued.

-As my companion said, San Martín's army is ready to cross the Andes. As far as we know his army outweights the Spanish one in Chile and he plans to cross the mountains from different points to confuse and further disperse the Royalists. They will stand no chance unless a miracle of some sort happens.

-A miracle, huh? - Said Pedro de Luna - I guess our friend Henríquez knows about them. Isn't he a priest.

-Indeed I am, Luna - Henríquez replied -. Once upon a time the Spanish were stuck in a little island known as Empel, isolated and surrounded by the Dutch Fleet. While building some trenches a soldier found a portait of Mary of the Immaculate Conception. They thought it was a divine singal. During that night the river froze and the soldiers defeated the Dutch navy, to which the Dutch commander replied "I have no doubt that God is Spanish". However these times are over. If God supports someone, it is definetely our side. We are Spanish after all. Well, Spanish in Chile.

Balcarce then took a piece of paper from his pocket and opened it:

-This is a letter from San Martín. I'll proceed to read this proclaim as it follows:

Chileans, friends and compatriots!
The army under my command comes to liberate you from the tyrants that opress this precious ground. I entender when I think about the reciprocal joy of hugging so many families privated from the happiness of their fatherland, or for a violent expulsion, or due to a necessary emigration. The calm possesion of their homes is for me an interesting object. You can accelerate that sweet moment readying yourselves to cooperate with your liberators, which shall receive with most cordiality to those who want to join them for such a great enterprise. The troop is well disciplined and has respect for the religion, the properties and the honour of every citizen. It's not within our judge to examinate opinions: we know fear and afert start many times the most lost feelings of the heart. I swear in my honour and for the independence of our beloved fatherland that nobody will be repulsed when presenting. The soldier shall join our forces with the same distinction as those who form them, and with a special prize for those who brought arms. The hospitalarian countryman and auxiliator of the army will be greeted for his merit and will have the greet of his brothers...

At this point Luna's blood was boiling in anger. "Who do they think they are to decide over those who voluntarily sided with the king", he thought. Disobeying his impulses to leave the place knowing he would be executed at any time, he kept listening.

the smallest insult will be severely punished. I promise that none will happen under American flags, and he'll regret too late and without resource those who offends them. Those are the feelings of the Supreme Government of the United Provinces in South America whish sends me, throwing a principal part of his forces to break the bloodened chains that link you to the infamous carriage of the tyrants; it is mine and those of my brethren in the campaign. She (the campaign) starts to save you. Generous Chileans! Answer to the cry of those who defy death for the fatherlands' freedom!

Everyone clapped. Luna reacted quickly and started to clap aswell. He proceeded to ask if someone knew the mountain passes San Martín's army was to use, to which he replied with an affirmative reply. The meeting continued for another hour in which Luna managed to keep calm enough. "If Osorio was here, no crossing would happen". He thought many times during the meeting. Close to the end of it Ignacio Centeno told him that it would be a good idea to liberate Australia and the Fernandines too once Chile and Peru fell. Luna stated that it would be marvelous, and he left the meeting saying "the extreme joy of this moment is threatening my emotions, I must depart". Luna walked away, convinced that no one noted he was a spy working for the crown. He proceeded to go to the palace of the governor, which at the time was Casimiro Marcó del Pont. He asked for a private meeting with him, which was conceded. In the meeting Luna told the governor about the Lodge and the plan to invade Chile. Del Pont was initially skeptic, but Luna had an hability to convince people into trusting him, he entered the Lautaro Lodge after all. Del Pont agreed to mobilise the army and place campaign artillery in the designated mountain passes. Luna also warned him of the place where the Lodge meeting took place and of the members that were in it, asking Del Pont to seize the building while most of them were in a meeting a week later, and so he did. The Lautaro Lodge in Chile was beheaded in a single hit.

Luna then proceeded to sent a letter to Osorio. While in Australia he had been preparing an army, at the moment he was at the Fernandines with an army of 20,000 men, and was ready to set sail to Chile. At the time Luna didn't notice, but his actions had changed the course of America's history forever...