Why did Bernardo O’Higgins create a Chilean navy after independence?

Bernardo O’Higgins, as supreme director of Chile, initiated the creation of the Chilean navy primarily to secure the nation's independence by clearing the Chilean coast of Spanish vessels.1

This naval development was a critical component of a broader military strategy, largely conceived by José de San Martín, to liberate the southern portion of the continent. The plan involved first securing Chile and subsequently launching a major military expedition against Peru by sea to defeat the royalist forces stationed there. By late 1818, the nascent navy was already actively engaged in clearing the coast, and O'Higgins later recruited the British admiral Thomas Cochrane to lead naval operations, including a daring and successful attack on the royalist stronghold at Valdivia in 1820.123