In 1870 a revolution occurred in Bolivia, and a new government came into power which refused to carry out the provisions of the last treaty entered into with Chile. It, furthermore, at the alleged suggestion of Peru, attempted to increase the taxes upon all nitrate exports, in absolute violation of its treaty obligations. The manager of a Chilean company was imprisoned, and the property was confiscated on his refusal to pay the enhanced tax. Chile issued an ultimatum through her diplomatic representative. Upon the refusal of the Bolivian government to recede, Chile landed troops at Antofagasta and took possession of that city. Bolivia declared war against Chile on the 1st of March, 1879, and, because Peru refused to abrogate the secret treaty between it and Bolivia, Chile declared war against Peru the following month. Most writers lay the blame for the war entirely upon the aggressiveness and covetousness of Chile, but a careful study of the situation shows great moderation on the part of Chile for a long period of time.
It was generally believed that the Peruvian navy was far superior to that of Chile, but, as a matter of fact, they were pretty evenly matched. For several years Chile had steadily strengthened her naval forces. Peru had suffered from internal dissensions and corrupt administrations, and was ill prepared for war. Bolivia was in still worse condition. At the time of the outbreak of hostilities the only available arms were fifteen hundred Remington rifles, and the stock of ammunition was small; the rest of the army was equipped with old flint-lock muskets. The bulk of both the Peruvian and Bolivian armies were Indians. The Chilean army was not large at the time of the declaration of war, but its personnel, man for man, was far superior to either of its adversaries. The Chileans were likewise prompt and energetic in their preparations for war. The land forces were increased, and both naval and army supplies were accumulated at strategic points. Because of the long stretch of sea coast it was inevitable that the navies of the two countries would bear the brunt of the fighting, as subsequent events proved.
The naval war was opened with the blockade of Iquique by the Chileans. With Iquique as a rendezvous the Chilean navy visited various ports, and inflicted serious damage to commercial interests. The aim was to deprive Peru of her main source of revenue. Peru had an intrepid and doughty admiral by the name of Grau, who commanded the Peruvian fleet, of which the Huascar was the flagship. While the main part of the Chilean navy was away from Iquique, two Peruvian boats appeared in that harbour. The Huascar rammed and sank the Esmeralda, one of the best of the Chilean ships, after four hours of heavy firing. It was at this fight that Arturo Prat, who was in command of the Esmeralda, made a hero of himself by leaping upon the deck of the Huascar. “Follow me,” said this brave officer, as he boarded the Huascar, sword in hand. The ships, however, separated so quickly that only one man was able to follow him. Prat rushed along the deck of the ship as though he himself had captured it. “Surrender, Captain,” said Admiral Grau, “we wish to save the life of a hero.” Prat refused, and was soon cut down while still fighting with his sword. The Esmeralda sank with colours flying, and only fifty out of a crew of two hundred were saved. Before the conflict ended, however, Peru also lost one vessel, the Independencia, which ran upon the rocks while pursuing the Chilean Covadonga.
For four months Admiral Grau traversed the Pacific coast from Arica to Valparaiso. He prevented the transport of the Chilean army northward. Discontent grew rapidly. The Chileans decided that they could do nothing until they rid themselves of this doughty seaman. Their navy was divided into two squadrons, both of which began patrolling the coast. The Huascar was accompanied by the Bolivian Union. These two vessels were cruising together near Antofagasta on October 8th, 1879. When the mist, which had been thick, lifted, they made out three distinct clouds of smoke toward the northeast. These were soon recognized as one of the Chilean squadrons. Admiral Grau fled, but soon ran into the other squadron approaching him from the direction in which he was fleeing. The Admiral at once decided that the only thing to do was to close with the Cochrane before the other boats could come up, and steamed straight for that boat. None of the shots of either boat were effective until they were in close quarters, when a chance shot disabled the Huascar’s turret. Grau tried to ram the Cochrane, but the latter was too quick for her. By this time the Chilean Blanco had come up and added her shots to those of her sister boat. A shot struck the conning-tower, in which the Admiral was stationed, and blew that commander into atoms. A little later the second officer, and then the next one in seniority, were killed, which demoralized the Peruvian crew. One-third of the officers and men had been either killed or wounded when the vessel was finally surrendered. This fight is interesting not only because it was one of the deciding events of the war, but it was the first fight between modern ironclads. The entire engagement lasted but little over an hour. After repairs the Huascar was incorporated into the Chilean navy.
The capture of the Huascar gave the Chileans the absolute command of the sea, and enabled them to land an army wherever they pleased along the coast. Nor did the Chileans delay their onward march. A Chilean army of ten thousand men, well-equipped, had been landed at Antofagasta, and other regiments were in Valparaiso ready to embark as occasion arose. On the 28th of October this army was embarked on fifteen transports convoyed by four men-of-war. The destination was kept a profound secret, but a few days later they steamed into the harbour of Pisagua. A small force of Bolivians defended this port, but they were unable to prevent the landing of the Chilean troops. A brief skirmish ensued but the Bolivians were soon in retreat. The allied forces of Peruvians and Bolivians had an army of some nineteen thousand men at Iquique. These men were marched out to meet the invaders. The march of these forces across the desert regions was difficult because of the lack of provisions, and especially the scant supply of water, from which the troops greatly suffered in many instances. The Chileans had established themselves at Dolores and San Francisco, where there was an abundant supply of fresh water.
The majority of the allied armies were Inca and Aymara Indians. They had generally been recruited by force. Villages would be surrounded, and all the men that could be caught were impressed into the ranks. They were generally obedient and brave, and were capable of enduring hunger, thirst and fatigue such as would have overwhelmed white troops. They were unequalled in their capacity to make long marches with scant supplies of food and water. In no other way could the Chileans have been withstood. The wives of many accompanied them. These women are called rabonas, and were regularly recognized. As soon as a halt was made these women immediately busied themselves in preparing the food. After the battles they ministered to the wounded. Callous to all danger hundreds of these faithful helpmates met death on the field of carnage.
The first battle occurred at San Francisco and Porvenir. The vanguard of the allies was made up of Indians from the Lake Titicaca district. They were led by the brave Colonel Espinar. As these forces led a charge against the Chilean guns a bullet pierced his forehead, and he fell mortally wounded. A cry of grief and horror fell from his countrymen and their courage failed. Disputing every inch of ground they fell back to the main body of troops. The battle so gallantly fought resulted in a decisive victory for the Chileans.
General Buendia, commander of the allied forces, retreated to the village of Tarapacá, which was a collection of mud huts. It is situated in a narrow but fertile valley not to exceed six hundred yards in width, and he there awaited the attack which he knew was soon to follow. With practically no cavalry and a dozen antiquated field-guns the prospect was not alluring. The odds seemed hopeless. He was not kept long in suspense. A force under Colonel Arteaga consisting of picked men, cavalry and artillery soon appeared. The aim was the complete destruction of the allied army. For this purpose the force had been divided into three divisions.
A mist hung over the little valley while the Peruvian army rested with stacked arms. Suddenly a muleteer galloped up to the commander and reported the enemy approaching. Then two others reported the other divisions. It looked as though they were being surrounded and caught in a trap. Then came the call to arms. The men responded and advanced up the bluffs against a withering fire. The stoical Indians saw their leaders fall, but they set their teeth and continued the advance. The Chileans at last found their equals. The allied forces were embarrassed by a lack of artillery, but fought desperately. Many were the deeds of heroism of that day. After a few hours of fighting they captured some guns from the enemy and used them to good advantage. The result of the battle was a decided victory for the allies, their only real victory of the war on land. San Francisco was atoned for, and the loss of the Huascar avenged. The total loss was twelve hundred men, about equally divided. The allies nevertheless retreated across the desert to Tacna, as it was impossible to maintain an army in the interior and they were not strong enough to recapture Iquique. In this way General Buendia saved the flower of his army. In several battles of this campaign several thousand troops were lost on each side, but, as a result, the Chileans came into control of all of the nitrate country. Several months later Tacna was captured, and, with the battle of Arica, which has heretofore been described, all of present-day Chile was in control of the victors.
The disasters to the armies of the allies caused revolutions in both Peru and Bolivia, and the President of each of those countries fled to Europe. Armed revolts arose and fighting took place in the streets of Lima. The position of Peru was desperate. With her navy destroyed Peru could no longer defend herself against the aggressions of the enemy on the sea. The Chileans blockaded Callao, and a marauding expedition under Captain Lynch bombarded a number of coast towns. Captain Lynch had been ordered to ravage the whole coast north of Callao, and he executed his instructions to the letter, destroying government and private property in every direction. Several Chilean boats were sunk in the harbour of Callao through ingenious schemes of the Peruvians. On one occasion the Chileans saw a boat loaded with fresh provisions. They began to transfer these supplies to the Loa. As the last of the cargo was being hoisted aboard, a terrific explosion occurred that sank the Loa. It was no doubt due to an infernal machine that had been placed in the bottom. The Covadonga was destroyed by a similar explosion on a small boat captured in the harbour by the Chileans.