killed himself, rather than surrender to the new government. His reason for this act, put forward in letters written shortly before his end, was that he did not believe the conquerors would give him an impartial trial. The death of Balmaceda finished all cause of contention in Chile, and was the closing act of the most severe and bloodiest struggle that the country had ever witnessed. Family On 11 October 1865, Balmaceda married Emilia de Toro Herrera, granddaughter of Mateo de Toro Zambrano, 1st Count of La Conquista, and together they had eight children, six of whom survived to adulthood: María Emilia del Cármen (born 14 July 1866) Domingo Nicolás (born 14 September 1870) Pedro Alberto José (23 April 1868–1889), poet and writer, died age 21 María Elisa (born 24 March 1873), married Emilio Bello Codesido Julia (born 10 May 1874) María Catalina (6 November 1875–1967) Enrique Víctor Aquiles (3 March 1878 – 4 January 1962), Chilean diplomat José Manuel (born 13 March 1882) See also Balmaceda family Pedro Balmaceda Enrique Balmaceda Notes References (published under the Creative Commons Atribución 3.0 Chile ) Attribution External links 1840 births 1891 deaths People from San Antonio Province Chilean people of Basque descent Liberal Party (Chile, 1849) politicians Presidents of Chile Chilean Ministers of the Interior Foreign ministers of Chile Deputies of the XVI Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the XVII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the XVIII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the XIX Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the XX Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Senators of the XXI Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Candidates for President of Chile Chilean diplomats Anti-imperialism in South America Chilean nationalists Instituto Nacional General José Miguel Carrera alumni People of the Chilean Civil War of 1891 Heads of state who committed suicide Chilean politicians who committed suicide Suicides by firearm in Chile