 Although philosophy developed in an academic context in the post independence period, and helped define the mission of the University of Chile when it was founded in 1842 (Andrés Bello crafted the statutes of the institution and became its Rector for the next 23 years), other philosophers brought the discipline closer to political action. The most important example is José Victorino Lastarria (1817–1888) who advocated the elimination of the colonial legacies still embedded in the Church, and in authoritarian practices that prevented free individual initiative and expression. Be it through his congressional seat, his role as founder of the Liberal Party (1849), or his copious writings, Lastarria promoted the main tenets of liberalism and articulated a coherent philosophy of history firmly based on Enlightenment thought. Other thinkers who contributed to the development of liberal views in Chile included the Argentine exiles Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (1811–1888) and Juan Bautista Alberdi (1819–1884), who presented their ideas in various widely circulated writings, some of them of a philosophical nature, and through vigorous polemics in the press.