=ARGENTINA=, or =ARGENTINE REPUBLIC=, takes its name from the river La
Plata (“River of Silver”). After Brazil, it is the largest state of
South America. Its territory reaches from the Pilcomayo River, on the
borders of Bolivia, southward for two thousand four hundred miles to
Staten Island, off the southeastern extremity of Tierra del Fuego; and
from the slope of the Andes on the west to the Uruguay River and the
Atlantic in the east.
=Physical Features.=--Excepting on the northwest, where the spurs of the
Andes reach down into the state, the surface of Argentina presents vast
monotonous and level plains, broken only by the detached ridges of
Córdova and San Luis, in the western interior. In the north the portion
of the region called the Gran Chaco, within the frontier, is partly
forest covered, but all the central and southern region presents only
vast treeless plains or “pampas,” covered at most seasons with coarse
grass, which is green in the winter months, but which dries up in summer
so as to give an aspect of aridity to the plains. Some portions of the
interior, called “Salinas,” are barren and white throughout the year.
=Rivers.=--The great watercourse of the country is the Paraná, formed by
the union of the Upper Paraná and Paraguay rivers near the northeastern
corner of the state. This is a noble river, in all parts of its course
through Argentine territory scarcely ever less than a mile in width, and
in some places spreading out in lateral channels, or “riachos,” to a
breadth of ten miles.
The Pilcomayo, which forms part of the northern boundary, has now been
explored throughout its length, and is navigable at high water; the
Vermejo, the next river southward, has of late years become a regularly
navigated highway from the Paraguay up to the northeastern provinces;
the Salado, farther south, flowing directly to the Paraná, is also an
important river; but the remaining streams which tend eastward to the
Paraná have not strength of water sufficient to resist evaporation in
crossing the dry plains, and terminate for the most part in marshes and
salt lakes.
=Climate.=--The climate in the extreme north is very hot, for it lies
north of the tropic of Capricorn. The more remote southern territories
have an extremely disagreeable climate, but are not really so cold as
might be expected from their relatively high latitude. But the country
in general enjoys an equable, temperate, and healthful climate. Stormy
southwest winds, called “pamperos,” sweep over the plains at times, and
raise great clouds of dust, which fly across the plains.
=Production and Industry.=--The principal productions are wheat, maize,
oats, linseed, sugar, wool, hides, cattle, sheep, and horses.
The great wealth of the state, however, lies in its countless herds of
cattle and horses and flocks of sheep, which are pastured on the
“pampas,” and which multiply there very rapidly. The rearing and tending
of these herds is the great and characteristic industry of the country;
these also yield enormous quantities of hides, horns, and salted beef.
The northwestern provinces of the Argentine Republic, crossed by the
lower ramifications of the Andes, are rich in metals, including gold,
silver, nickel, copper, tin, lead, and iron, as well as in several kinds
of marble, jasper, and precious stones. On the Rio Vermejo petroleum
wells have recently been discovered.
The export of frozen beef and mutton is an important industry. The
exports are made up entirely of pastoral and agricultural products, with
the exception of quebracho, copper, manganese, and wolfram.
=People.=--The people of the country are mostly Spanish in their
language and descent, although there are many Italians, French,
Americans, Swiss, and Germans. The Gauchos, or herdsmen of the plains,
are a hardy and spirited, but ignorant race, often of partial Indian
descent. Some of the Indians of the remote districts have become skilled
in the rearing of flocks and herds.
The religion is Roman Catholic. The government is closely modeled upon
that of the United States.
EDUCATION.--Primary education is secular, free and nominally compulsory
from the ages of six to fourteen. Schools are maintained by provincial
taxation, and controlled by provincial boards (except in the capital,
where there is a National Council), with grants from the Federal
Government. Secondary education is controlled by the Federal Government
in lyceums and normal schools. There are also Special Government
Schools--one naval, one military, one mining, and one agriculture. There
are National Universities at Cordoba and Buenos Aires, and Provincial
Universities at La Plata, Santa Fé, and Paraná.
=Government.=--The Constitution vests the executive power in the hands
of a President, who is also Commander-in-chief of the troops, elected by
representatives of the provinces for six years, not being immediately
re-eligible; and the legislative authority in that of a Senate of thirty
members, two chosen by the capital and two by the legislature of each
province, and a House of Deputies of one hundred and twenty members
elected for four years by the people, one-third of the Senate retiring
every three years, and one-half of the House retiring every two years.
The Judicial system consists, like that of the United States, of a
Federal Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal, with Provincial Courts in
each state for non-national or single state cases.
=Cities.=--The chief seaport is Buenos Aires, the capital and largest
city, with a population of 1,315,000 in 1911. La Plata lies twenty-five
miles to the southeast of the Federal capital, and, although founded in
only 1882, already numbers 80,000 inhabitants. A canal joins it to the
vast docks of Ensenada.
Córdova (53,000), nearly in the center of the state, is the seat of the
chief observatory of the Republic.
Rosario (135,000), on the right bank of the Paraná, more than two
hundred miles up from the La Plata inlet, is a substantially built town,
and a great outlet of the animal produce of the interior plains.
Tucuman (55,000) and Salta in the northwestern mountain region, and
Mendoza (32,000) at the eastern base of the Andes, where they are
crossed to enter Chile, with Corrientes (18,000) on the Paraná, are
other important places.
=Buenos Aires= (_bwā´nōs ī´rez_; Sp. pron. _bwā´nōs ī´res_; Eng. pron.
usually _Bonos Ai´rez_) stands on the right bank of the Plata, which
here, at a distance of one hundred and fifty miles from the open sea, is
twenty-eight miles across.
The city is partitioned into blocks of about one hundred and fifty yards
square. The streets are regularly laid out at right angles to each other
and well lighted. Many are planted with trees, and there are numerous
open squares and several fine parks, the most famous being Palermo Park
(eight hundred and forty acres). The main buildings are the Roman
Catholic Cathedral, the chapel of Santa Felicitas, the Casa Rosada, or
Government House, the university, the Opera House, and various
government and municipal buildings. Much of the town has lately been
rebuilt on European lines. It is the terminus of six railway lines, and
has excellent street car, cable, and telephone services. There are
manufactories of furniture, machinery, carriages, leather, hats,
textiles, boots, tobacco, liquors, etc., and the trade is very large.
An elaborate system of harbor works was carried out between the years
1887 and 1895 at a cost of twenty million dollars; it includes an
advanced river wall, a north and south basin, and a series of four
docks, which connects two channels of the Rio de La Plata, and so brings
large vessels up to the wharfs. About half of the inhabitants are of
European birth or descent. Among the Europeans the vast majority are
Italian; the rest are principally Spanish, French and British.
Newspapers are published in French, English, Italian, and German, as
well as in Spanish.
=History.=--The river La Plata was visited by the Spaniards in 1516, and
the country was colonized in 1535, when Buenos Aires was founded. For
many years the country was regarded as a part of Peru. The progress of
the colony was not more hindered by the bloody wars which prevailed with
the natives for a hundred years than by unwise legislation at Madrid.
In 1776 Buenos Aires became the capital of a new viceroyalty. In 1806
that capital was occupied by a British force under General Beresford,
but the town was soon besieged and compelled to surrender. In 1808 the
British forces under Whitlock assaulted the town, but after very severe
loss were themselves compelled to capitulate.
In 1810 the colonists founded a local provisional government. A
sanguinary war for independence followed, which did not cease till 1824.
Spain acknowledged the independence of the country in 1842. The first
half-century of Argentine autonomy was much disturbed by revolutions.
The Brazilian-Argentine war against Paraguay (1865-1870) was interrupted
and followed by renewed revolts at home. For a time the great material
progress of the country was accompanied by an equally remarkable
movement in favor of stability of government and the repression of
factions. But once more dissensions and an insurrection in Buenos Aires
led to civil war (1890), which again was followed by a disastrous
financial panic (1891); and political and commercial crises, with riots
and risings in various parts of the country, continued to succeed one
another and to prevent progress. In May, 1910, the Argentine celebrated
its centenary of independence.
=BRAZIL= (_brä-zil´_; Portuguese pron. _brä-zēl´_), a republic of South
America, of which it covers nearly half, is little less in area than the
whole of Europe, its area being 3,300,000 square miles, including the
Acrá territory bought from Bolivia in 1902. It has a length of 2,660
miles, and a breadth of 2,705 miles between extreme points. It borders
on every state in South America except Chile. The name was given by
early explorers from thinking that the red dyewood (brazil-wood) found
here was identical with the East Indian dyewood known to them as Brasil.
=Surface.=--This vast territory presents two contrasted regions. First,
the wide, low lying, and humid forest plain of the Amazon River in the
north; second, the uplands in the south, which are traversed by
radiating hills and mountain ridges, and which present wide grass plains
between woods and bush-covered country.
The northern coast is bordered by low, alluvial bottom lands and sandy
plains, full of lakes, and in places very sterile; while the southern
angle of the country is rolling campo land, bordered by a low sandy
coast. Above its eastern angle a large area of coastlands and
neighboring plateau is subject to periodical devastating drought.
The highest mountain ranges of Brazil rise in the center of the
southeastern uplands, where the Montes Pyrenéos rise to nine thousand
five hundred feet, but the coast range, or Serra do Mar, to the south of
the beautiful Gulf of Rio de Janeiro, hardly yield to these, for within
it the Itatiaiossu is scarcely six hundred feet lower, while the Organ
Mountains, at the back of Rio, have summits which reach up to seven
thousand five hundred feet.
=Rivers.=--Brazil possesses three great river-systems--the Amazon, La
Plata, and San Francisco.
The Amazon and its tributaries drain fully a half of the country. To the
east of the Madeira these tributaries are tableland rivers, broken by
rapids and freely navigable for comparatively short distances. West of
the Madeira they are lowland rivers, sluggish, bordered by extensive
flood plains, and afford free navigation for long distances. The La
Plata system drains nearly one-fifth of the country through its three
branches--the Paraguay, Paraná, and Uruguay.
The first of these is a lowland river, freely navigable for a long
distance, while the other two are tableland rivers, full of
obstructions, and without free outlets for their upper level navigation.
The San Francisco is a tableland river, flowing northeast between the
Goyaz and maritime mountains, and then, breaking through the latter,
southeast to the Atlantic. It is not freely navigable because of the
Paulo Affonso Falls. The other coast rivers are generally short.
=Climate.=--Brazil lies almost wholly within the tropics, and is still
in great part unexplored and unsettled. The climate of Brazil varies
greatly--the lowlands of the Amazon and a great part of the coast being
hot, humid, and unhealthy, while the tablelands and some districts of
the coast swept by the trade winds are temperate and healthy.
=Production and Industry.=--The minerals are very considerable and
valuable, comprising gold, silver, iron, diamonds, topazes, and other
precious stones. Its forests are immense, abounding in the greatest
variety of useful and beautiful woods adapted for dyeing, cabinet work,
or ship-building; among these are mahogany, logwood, rosewood,
brazil-wood, etc.
Its agricultural produce is abundant; maize, beans, cassava root, and
nuts are very generally cultivated; also, in some parts, wheat and other
European cereals.
Cattle raising is an important industry, the number being computed at
eighteen million. Cotton is being largely cultivated for export, and is
being used for home manufactures. Sugar cane is grown in large and
increasing quantities in the northern provinces, Pernambuco being the
center of the sugar-producing zone.
India rubber comes from the more northern provinces, especially the
valley of the Amazon, and is shipped from Pará and Manáos; and coffee,
though also grown in the north, comes chiefly from Rio de Janeiro,
Minas, São Paulo, and Esperito Santo. Tobacco and cocoa are grown
largely, especially in Bahia. The exports consist solely of the raw
produce of the soil.
=People.=--The inhabitants of Brazil, as of other parts of South
America, present three great elements--that of the aboriginal Indians,
that of the European conquerors and colonists and their descendants, and
that of the Africans introduced as slaves. The most important section
of the Brazilians are the descendants of the Portuguese settlers. There
are, however, several flourishing German and Italian colonies in the
southern states.
The number of pure white people is very small in proportion to those who
have some mixture of Indian or African blood, and the Brazilians
themselves have developed into a number of more or less distinct
physical types in the widely separated provinces of the republic.
Formerly about one-half of the entire population of Brazil was formed of
negro slaves.
The Roman Catholic is the established religion, and is supported by the
state; but all other sects are tolerated. There are, however, very few
Brazilians who are not Roman Catholics.
Education is still in a very backward condition. The language is
Portuguese, with dialectal varieties.
=Government.=--According to the new Constitution of 1890, the empire was
abolished and the Brazilian nation is constituted a Federal Republic
under the title of the United States of Brazil, each of the twenty
provinces forming a separate state with local self-government. At the
head of the federation is a president with executive authority, elected
by the people for six years. The National Congress with legislative
functions comprises a Senate and Chamber of Deputies, the senators being
chosen three for each state, for nine years, the deputies for three
years in the proportion of one to every seventy thousand of the
population. The franchise extends to all citizens not under twenty-one
years of age.
=Cities.=--The capital city is Rio de Janeiro, the second largest in
South America. Next in importance is the city and seaport of Bahia
(230,000), finely placed on an inlet of the Atlantic, the oldest city of
Brazil. Pernambuco, also called Recife from a reef of rock which forms
the natural breakwater of its harbor, is the fourth in population, being
now surpassed by São Paulo, which ranks next to the capital (332,000).
Maranhão, on an island of the north coast; Pará, in the Tocantins
estuary; Rio Grande, and Santos are the other notable places along the
Atlantic. In the interior the principal towns are Ouro Preto, in the
gold mining region, and Diamantina, the center of the diamond fields.
Cuyabá, in the interior, is important as being at the head of the
regular navigation into Brazil by way of the Paraná and Paraguay rivers.
=Rio de Janeiro= (_Ree´o deh Zha-nay´e-ro_) stands on the west side of
one of the most magnificent natural harbors in the world. An inlet of
the Atlantic, the bay of Rio de Janeiro runs fifteen miles northwards,
varying in width from two miles to seven; it is girdled on all sides by
picturesque mountains (one thousand five hundred to three thousand
feet), covered with tropical vegetation. The entrance, less than a mile
wide, passes between two bold headlands, one of them called the
Sugar-loaf (one thousand two hundred and seventy feet).
The city and its suburbs stretch nearly ten miles along the shore. About
three miles southwest of the city stands the precipitous cone of
Corcovado (two thousand three hundred and thirty-six feet), with a
cog-railway up to the top. Public institutions are the vast hospital of
La Misericordia; the national library with three hundred thousand
volumes; the national museum; the large lunatic asylum; the botanical
gardens, with a celebrated avenue of palms; the observatory; the
Geographical and Historical institute; the former royal palace at Sāo
Christovão, the arsenal, the naval dockyards, the academy of fine arts,
a cadet-school, a school of medicine, a conservatory of music, a
polytechnic school, etc. A good water supply, chiefly by an aqueduct
twelve miles long, and a new system of sewage draining, much improved
the city health; but surrounding hills shut out the breezes, and the
heat grows intense in summer.
The population includes many foreigners: Portuguese, British, French,
and Germans.
Rio de Janeiro is also the commercial capital, sending out one-sixth of
the total exports of Brazil, and bringing in forty-five per cent of the
imports. The chief export is coffee.
The whole sea frontage of the city is lined with quays, and has been
improved by extensive new harbor works, embracing a dock of seventy-five
acres, a breakwater three thousand two hundred yards long, an elevated
railway, hydraulic cranes, warehouses, etc.
The city possesses cotton, jute, and silk mills, tobacco and hat
factories, machine shops and tanneries.
=History of Brazil.=--As early as 1480, expeditions sailed from Europe
in search of the island of Brasil, rumored to exist in the western seas.
Brazil was discovered on January 26, 1500, by Vincent Yañez Pinzon, who
landed at Cape St. Augustine, near Pernambuco, and then followed the
coast north to the Orinoco. In the same year a Portuguese expedition to
the East Indies, under Pedro Alvarez Cabral, discovered the Brazilian
coast near Porto Seguro on April 25 (April 22, Cazal). Cabral took
formal possession, and named his new discovery “Terra de Vera Cruz.” Two
Portuguese expeditions were sent out in 1501 and 1503, the first
exploring the coast, and the second planting a colony and bringing back
a rich cargo of brazil-wood, which gave a name to Portugal’s new
possession.
In 1530 the Portuguese government resolved upon the definite settlement
of Brazil. Many of the earliest colonies failed through lack of means,
and from inability to hold their ground against the natives. In 1567 a
Huguenot colony, established on the bay of Rio de Janeiro twelve years
before, was overthrown by the Portuguese, who then founded the present
capital of Brazil.
The discovery of gold in Minas Geraes in 1693, and of diamonds in 1729,
gave a new impetus to the growth of the country, one result of which was
the removal of the colonial capital from Bahia to Rio de Janeiro. The
cultivation of cotton, tobacco, and sugar cane had already attained
great prominence and prosperity.
In 1808 the royal family of Portugal was expelled by the French and took
refuge in Brazil, and the very first act of Dom João VI. was to open
Brazilian ports to foreign commerce. He then removed various
restrictions on domestic industries, founded a printing office and
library, created new courts, and opened various schools and public
institutions. All these acts greatly stimulated the growth of the
country.
In 1821 he returned to Portugal, leaving his eldest son in Brazil as
prince regent. Personal ambition, and the advice of men opposed to
government from Lisbon, led the young prince to declare for Brazilian
independence, September 7, 1822. He was proclaimed and crowned emperor
as Dom Pedro I. before the end of the year, the small Portuguese force
in the country being quickly and easily expelled. The constitution was
ratified and sworn to early in 1825, and some amendments were added in
1835.
The new empire, however, did not start smoothly, nor was the reign of
Dom Pedro I. a fortunate one. Vexed with the opposition encountered, he
in 1831 voluntarily abdicated in favor of his eldest son, and withdrew
to Portugal. During the next nine years Brazil was governed by
regencies, but in 1840 a popular agitation led to the declaration of the
young prince’s majority, at fifteen years of age, and to his coronation
the following year as Dom Pedro II. The reign was one of almost unbroken
peace, interrupted by two wars--one with Buenos Aires in 1852, and the
other with Paraguay in 1865-1870.
At the revolution of November, 1889, the empire became a republic, and
Dom Pedro and his family were exiled. Under the new and enlightened
constitution and a succession of patriotic presidents, Brazil has
enjoyed a season of peace and prosperity such as it has not experienced
since its colonial times. In 1904 the third Pan-American congress was
held in Brazil, and did much to bind closer the bonds existing between
her and the other American republics.
=CHILE= (_Tchee´lee_; Span. _Chile_, pron. _Tchee´lay_), is one of the
republics of South America, on the west coast, and borders on Peru,
Bolivia, and Argentina. It reaches from the southern boundary of the
coast line of Peru to the southern extremity of Tierra del Fuego,
through a distance of about two thousand eight hundred miles, rising
inland to the summits of the Andes, which here form a single chain at a
distance of about one hundred miles from the ocean. The Strait of
Magellan is by treaty considered neutral as between Chile and Argentina.
Its breadth varies from forty to two hundred miles.
=Physical Features.=--The range of the Andes, visible from the sea all
along the coast of Chile, towers up in a series of volcanic cones and
snowclad peaks; the loftiest summit, that of Aconcagua, being probably
the highest point of all the South American continent.
Numbers of streams descend from the range, and have furrowed deep
valleys across the width of the country. The most considerable of these
are the Maypú near the center of Chile, and the Maule and Biobio in the
south, both of which are to some extent navigable.
In the south are also many deep lakes. Mineral waters, chiefly saline
and sulphureous, are abundant. The most important islands are those
constituting the southern province of Chiloé; Juan Fernandez also
belongs to Chile.
=Climate.=--This long strip of maritime country presents remarkable
gradations of climate from north to south. Nearest the Peruvian frontier
the coast-land of Tacna, Tarapacá and Atacama is a hot, rainless, sandy
desert without sign of vegetation. Southward is found a temperate
climate which enjoys a moderate rainfall. This central belt is the most
valuable and the most productive agricultural region of Chile. Farther
south the westerly winds blow toward the mountains from over the wide
Pacific and bring with them such quantities of moisture that the
rainfall is excessive; here, in southern Chile, in consequence of the
abundant moisture, the mountain slopes are densely covered with
evergreen forest.
=Production and Industry.=--Agriculture and mining are the principal
occupations. Wheat, maize, barley, oats, beans, peas, lentils, wines,
tobacco, flax, hemp, Chile pepper, and potatoes are grown extensively;
the vine and all fruit trees flourish. The live stock includes cattle,
sheep, horses, goats, and pigs. The mineral wealth is considerable, the
country being extremely rich in copper ore, and some rich gold mines
have been discovered. The rainless north yields more especially nitrate
of soda, iodine, borate of soda, gold and silver, a large number of
mines yielding both being in actual work in Tarapacá, Guanaco, and
Cachinal in Atacama, and Caracoles in Antofagasta; the center, copper
and silver; and the south, iron and coal. The nitrate exports are
extremely valuable. There are smelting works for copper and silver,
tanneries, corn and saw mills, starch, soap, biscuit, rope, cloth,
cheese, furniture, candle, and paper factories, breweries and
distilleries; and the domestic industry furnishes cloth, embroideries,
baskets, and pottery. The many ports favor commerce, and six lines of
steamers connect the country with Panama and the Magellan Strait. The
staple articles of export are nitrate of soda, iodine, copper bars and
ores, silver ores, corn, flour, hides, and guano.
=People.=--The inhabitants of northern and central Chile are, for the
most part, descendants of the intermixed Spaniards and native Indians.
In the upper classes the race has been kept more purely Spanish than in
any other South American country.
Chile is a Roman Catholic country, but other religions are tolerated.
Education receives much attention. There is a first class university at
Santiago, and a lyceum in every provincial capital. The language spoken
in Chile is Spanish, but with many local words of Indian origin.
=Government.=--Under the constitution voted in 1833, Chile is governed
by a president who is elected for five years by delegates nominated by
ballot, who is not re-eligible. A Senate and Chamber of Deputies form
the legislature. The Senate, of thirty-two members, is elected by the
provinces for six years; the Chamber, of ninety-four members, by the
departments for three years, by electors over twenty-one, and able to
read and write.
=Cities.=--Santiago, the capital, has 350,000 inhabitants; Valparaiso,
180,000; Concepcion, Iquique, Talca, Chillan, Antofagasta, over 30,000.
=Santiago= (_San-tee-âh´go_) stands near the western base of the Andes,
one thousand seven hundred feet above sea-level, and one hundred and
fifteen miles by rail east by southeast of Valparaiso. The snow-capped
mountains seem to enclose it on the north and east; while in the east of
the city rises the picturesque park, Cerro de Santa Lucia (eight hundred
feet above the plain), dotted with grottoes, statues, kiosks,
restaurants, an historical museum, and an observatory. The small but
turbulent stream, the Mapocho, is crossed by five bridges.
The city is regularly laid out, lighted with gas and electric light, and
has electric railways in all directions. Most of the houses are of one
story only, owing to the earthquakes (the most serious occurred in 1575,
1647, 1730, 1822, 1835, 1906).
On the great Plaza Independencia are the government palaces, the Grand
English Hotel, the cathedral, and the archbishop’s palace. On the site
of the Jesuit church, burned down in 1863, a monument was erected in
memory of the two thousand worshipers who perished in the fire.
Santiago boasts a noble Alameda, or boulevard, adorned with four rows of
poplars and statues. Facing it are the University and the National
Institute. The city has also a military school, schools of arts and
agriculture, a conservatory, a national library with one hundred and two
thousand volumes; botanical and zoological gardens, etc.
The manufactures include cloth, ship’s biscuits, beer, brandy, etc., and
it has also an ice factory, a fruit-conserving establishment, and
copper-smelting works.
Santiago was founded by Pedro de Valdivia in 1541.
=History of Chile.=--The name Chile is supposed to be derived from an
ancient Peruvian word signifying “snow.” The first European to land in
Chile was the Portuguese discoverer Magellan, after his famous voyage
through the strait which now bears his name. He landed at Chiloé in
1520.
After the conquest of Peru by Pizarro, an expedition was made to Chile
from that country overland under the leadership of Diego de Almagro in
1535. This expedition penetrated as far as the Rio Clano, but returned
unsuccessful. Another was sent under command of Pedro Valdivia in 1540,
which succeeded in annexing the territory as far as the River Maipu.
Santiago, the capital, was founded by Valdivia in 1542. During the
colonial period the governors of Chile were appointed by the viceroys of
Peru.
In 1810 a revolt against the Spanish power broke out, in which Don
Bernardo O’Higgins, son of one of the last viceroys of Peru, but a
native of Chile, played a conspicuous part, and finally became the first
dictator of the new republic. The first constitutional president was
General Blanco Encalada. The government was unsettled until 1847. A
revolution broke out in 1851, but since then there has been no serious
attempt to overturn the government by force of arms.
In 1864 Chile gave Peru very valuable support in her war with Spain.
Valparaiso was bombarded by the Spaniards in 1866. In 1879 Chile
declared war against Bolivia, and immediately thereafter against Peru,
with which Bolivia was allied. For a time the Peruvian fleet kept the
Chileans in check, but in August, 1879, the Peruvian ironclad _Huascar_
was captured by the Chilean men-of-war _Cochrane_ and _Blanco Encalada_,
both armor plated. After this event the success of the Chileans was
uninterrupted--Peruvian towns were bombarded, warships captured, and
Lima taken by storm June 21, 1881. The Chileans occupied Lima and Callao
until 1883, when a treaty of peace was signed.
President Balmaceda’s unconstitutional government led to civil war in
1891, when the congressionalists were victorious. The decisive battle
was fought near Valparaiso on August 28, and Balmaceda committed
suicide.
In September, 1910, the centennial celebration of the first declaration
of independence from the Spanish crown took place, many foreign
governments sending special delegations.