The Revolution of 1851 was an attempt to overthrow the conservative government by Chilean liberals.
In the elections of 1851

Chilean presidential election, 1851

The Chilean presidential election of 1851 took place through a system of electors, and resulted in the election as President of Manuel Montt. Montt was the first non-military president....

 the conservative candidate José María de la Cruz Prieto lost against another conservative, Manuel Montt

Manuel Montt

Manuel Francisco Antonio Julián Montt Torres was a Chilean statesman and scholar. He was twice elected President of Chile between 1851 and 1861.-Biography:...

 in Concepción

Concepción, Chile

Concepción is a city in Chile, capital of Concepción Province and of the Biobío Region or Region VIII. Greater Concepción is the second-largest conurbation in the country, with 889,725 inhabitants...

. José María de la Cruz

José María de la Cruz

General José María de la Cruz Prieto was a Chilean soldier.The son of Luis de la Cruz and of Josefa Prieto Sotomayor, and was a cousin of future presidents José Joaquín Prieto and Manuel Bulnes...

, who belonged to the most influential family in Chilean politics of the time declared the election to have been rigged and allied liberals who then tried to seize power in Santiago. The liberal commander Pedro Urriola Balbontín led a coup d'etat

Coup d'état

A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...

 attempt in Santiago on April 20 but was defeated after some 5 hours of fighting. Despite the setback in Santaigo the rebels took the power in La Serena and Concepción (September 13). In La Serena the constitution of 1833

Chilean Constitution of 1833

thumb|right|200px|Painting of Diego Portales. The Constitution of 1833 has been seen as the embodiement of the "Portalian thought".The Constitution of 1833 was the constitution used in Chile from 1833 to 1925 when it was replaced by the Constitution of 1925...

 was declared abolished. At the battle of Loncomilla fought on December 8 Manuel Bulnes

Manuel Bulnes

-Sources:* Juan B. Alberdi, Biografia de general Bulnes...

 won a decisive victory over the rebel army that had attempted to occupy Talca

Talca

Talca is a city and commune in Chile located about south of Santiago, and is the capital of both Talca Province and Maule Region . As of the 2002 census, the city had a population of 193,755....

. On the northern front fight broke out between December 1 and 31 leading ultimately to the fall of the rebel stronghold of La Serena ending thus the rebellion.

After the failure the conservatives begun a political persecution against the supporters of the rebellion, many of whom had like Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna

Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna

Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna was a Chilean writer, journalist, historian and politician. Vicuña Mackenna was of Irish and Basque descent.-Biography:...

to go into exile.