There are various versions of the causes leading up to the war between
Chile, Peru and Bolivia, but the immediate cause of hostilities, which
placed Chile in possession of the greatest nitrate fields in the world,
was the cession by the Bolivian government to the Anglo-Peruvian firm
of Gibbs & Company, of the right to work the nitrate deposits north
of twenty-four degrees south, to construct a mole at Antofagasta and
build a railway to some mines in the interior. Later this firm disposed
of a portion of its concessions to a Chilean company, the “Compañia
Salitres y Ferrocarril de Antofagasta.” When the Bolivian government
discovered that Chilean capital and industry were developing the desert
into a source of wealth, it laid an export bounty of ten cents per
hundred weight upon manufactured nitrate of soda. The Compañia Salitres
y Ferrocarril objected to paying export duties upon the products of
its properties, and appealed to Chile for protection. Bolivia then
threatened to seize all nitrate in the hands of exporters. The Chilean
government protested against this arbitrary action and sent a fleet to
blockade the ports of Antofagasta, Cobija and Tocopilla. On February
14, 1879, Chile took possession of Antofagasta and sent troops to the
interior to protect the property interests of its citizens. General
Hilarion Daza, President of Bolivia, then declared war, expelled some
Chilenos from the country and confiscated their properties. Thus the
fraternity and harmony of interests of the neighboring Republics were
destroyed, the trumpets of war sounded, and the result was a change in
the map of South America.
Peru tendered her services as mediator and sent special envoys to
Santiago and La Paz. But Chile,--having knowledge of a secret treaty
celebrated between Bolivia and Peru in 1873, the purpose of which was
declared to be the mutual guarantee of the independence, sovereignty
and territorial integrity of the two republics, and mutual defense
against aggression,--the proposition was looked upon by Chile
with distrust. Peru proposed that Chilean troops should evacuate
Antofagasta; that the three republics should guarantee a neutral
administration of affairs. Chile demanded the annulment of the secret
treaty of 1873, and that preparations for war on the part of Peru
should cease. These propositions were rejected, and Chile declared war
against the allies on April 5, 1879.
Hostilities began at once and in earnest, both upon land and sea,
continuing until Chile gained her final victories in the battles of
Miraflores and Chorrillos, January 13, 1881, and four days later the
victorious troops marched into Lima and occupied the Peruvian capital.
The campaign was a succession of brilliant victories and achievements
for the Chilean arms.
Peru believed her navy superior to that of Chile, but she had not
reckoned the valor, skill and zeal of the patriotic Chilean officers,
whose feats won for them not only victory, but the admiration of the
world, and established for Chile an international reputation as a
fighting nation. Equally brilliant and successful was the campaign of
the land forces. In the battles of Pisagua, Tacna, Arica, and finally
at Miraflores the Chilean troops were invincible.
Among those who distinguished themselves in the navy during the war
with Peru and Bolivia was Captain Arturo Prat, who gave up his life
in the battle of Iquique, where, after his ship, the _Esmeralda_, had
been disabled and was being rammed by the Peruvian cruiser _Huascar_,
leaped from the deck of his own vessel to that of the enemy, and with
his sword attacked single-handed the forces that confronted him in
overwhelming numbers. There is in the Plaza Intendencia, Valparaiso, a
handsome bronze monument erected to the memory of Arturo Prat, whose
heroic deeds and valiant service form some of the most brilliant
chapters in the history of his country. Admiral Patricio Lynch was
another naval officer with a foreign name who distinguished himself
in the war with Peru, and later received the title of general for
meritorious service in the Chilean army. During the occupation of
Lima, by the Chilean forces, Admiral Lynch was placed in command of
the troops in the Peruvian capital, where he remained in charge until
April, 1884, when the treaty of peace was ratified and Chile withdrew
her army from the conquered country.
By the treaty of peace celebrated with Bolivia on December 11, 1882,
Chile obtained all the latter’s seacoast, including the port of Cobija,
privileges for constructing railways into the interior and twenty per
cent. of Bolivian port customs.
The treaty between Chile and Peru, which was signed at Ancon, on
October 20, 1883, contained provisions that led to complications which
still leave the question of final settlement in dispute; complications
that resulted in a discontinuance of diplomatic relations, which
at times became so strained that another conflict at arms seemed
imminent. Peru ceded to Chile the province of Tarapaca, forever and
unconditionally. In lieu of $10,000,000 cash indemnity, and as security
for payment of same, the territory constituting the provinces of Tacna
and Arica passed into the possession of Chile for a period of ten
years, at the end of which time the ownership of the territory was to
be determined by a vote of the legal residents of those provinces.
Whatever the result of the election, the country to which the
provinces should be annexed, engaged to pay the other $10,000,000 in
cash. The time limit for this provision of the treaty expired in 1894,
and Peru not being prepared to comply with its requirements, Chile
continued in possession of the territory, and the question of Tacna and
Arica remained a disputed one.