South America

by W. H. Koebel

After this Chile underwent a period of that unrest from which no single one of the independent States of South America succeeded in escaping. In Chile, nevertheless, although civil war occurred, and much blood was spilled, the anarchy and chaos were of far shorter duration than elsewhere. Doubtless the barrier of the Andes, which had shut off the country to such a large extent from the rest of the world, had added not a little to the tranquillity and self-reliance of the Chilian character, determined as this has always shown itself.

In any case, such revolutions as occurred failed to exercise the same baneful influence on Chilian affairs as was the case with almost every other State at that period. The condition of the Republic, although far from tranquil, might be considered as peaceful when compared with that of its neighbours. In financial matters, moreover, the Republic made astonishing progress, paying the interest on the loans raised abroad with a praiseworthy regularity, and thus maintaining her financial credit unimpaired.

The short war which occurred between Spain and the allied forces of Peru and Chile has already been referred to. Officially, the four Republics of Peru, Chile, Ecuador, and Bolivia were leagued together into an alliance to resist this aggression on the part of Spain. Owing to their lack of warships, however, the two latter States were unable to take any active share in the operations. On the whole the part played by the Chilian navy was entirely satisfactory; nevertheless, the naval force of the young Republic was not sufficient to drive the aggressor's vessels from the coast, and Valparaiso was bombarded on March 31, 1866. This misfortune, like so many others, eventually proved itself something of a blessing in disguise, for from that time may be said to date the modern Chilian navy. Determined to allow no foreign nation the opportunity of bombarding any of its ports with impunity again, the Chilians energetically betook themselves to the forming of efficient national squadrons—a feat which was simple enough in the case of a nation of born sailors as are the Chilians.

From that day onwards the Chilian navy maintained its status, and continues to rank as one of the most efficient in the world. This was proved shortly after its reorganization in the war which broke out in 1879 between the Chilians and the allied Peruvians and Bolivians. Hostilities were brought about by the vexed question of the ownership of the valuable nitrate provinces. These, Chile claimed, constituted the northernmost of her territory, to which Peru retorted that they formed the southernmost portion of her land.

The naval engagements which ensued demonstrated to the utmost the high spirit of the Chilian sailor and the efficiency of the school in which he had been trained. The action in which the two small Chilian vessels, the Esmeralda and the Covadonga, fought so heroically against the Peruvian ironclads, Huascar and Independencia, was, of course, the most famous of the war, and the memory of this is jealously guarded by the Chilian navy of to-day. No question of victory on the part of Chile was ever involved in this particular action, since the miniature guns of the small Chilian vessels could, under no circumstances, take effect on the Peruvians, giants by comparison. It was merely a sublime demonstration of the extent to which Chilian resistance could be carried. Thus the Esmeralda, refusing to surrender to the very last, went down after a prolonged and desperate engagement with her colours flying; while the tiny Covadonga, having lured one of her opponents into shallow water, and thus caused the Independencia to run aground, blazed away her final volleys of small shot, and retired with all the honours of war.

Inspired by examples such as these, the Chilian navy maintained its traditions to the full, and although the Peruvian sailors fought gallantly enough, they could make no headway against their opponents. On shore the fortune of war was similar, and the highly disciplined Chilian army, advancing to the north, occupied Antofagásta, Cobija, and Tocopilla. But the tide of battle was not arrested at this point. It flowed to the north again, and the deserts in that neighbourhood witnessed a number of engagements, in all of which the Peruvians and Bolivians were worsted and forced to continue their retreat. The important town of Arica was captured on June 7 after a peculiarly sanguinary engagement. Port Pisco was the next to fall, and now Lima itself, the capital of Peru, was threatened. So resolute was the Chilian advance that no efforts of the defenders could succeed in preserving the city, and on January 7, 1881, Lima fell into the hands of the Chilians.

After this the war was continued in a desultory and discouraged fashion by the allies until at the end of 1883 peace was signed, and, as has been explained in a previous chapter, Bolivia lost her coast-line, while the Chilians took over the definite ownership of the provinces of Antofagásta and Tarapacá. This latter country gained, moreover, the right of dominion over the neighbouring provinces of Tacna and Arica for ten years, after which period the inhabitants of these two provinces were to decide by vote whether they should remain Chilian subjects or become Peruvians. This portion of the treaty has formed the basis of a series of disputes between Chile and Peru, but the provinces in question have continued Chilian.

In 1891 the internal peace of Chile was shattered for a while, since in that year occurred the only civil war in the modern history of the Republic. The struggle succeeded an era of some political confusion, and Balmaceda, who was President of the Republic at the time, went the length of proclaiming himself Dictator, a step which his opponents—and, indeed, the nation in general—refused to sanction. Balmaceda's party, however, was powerful, and the war which succeeded was hotly contested. After various fluctuations, Balmaceda's followers met with defeat, and the President, yielding to the inevitable, blew out his brains.

Following this last period of unrest, which the Chilians rightly maintain was both fleeting and exceptional, we come upon the quite modern history of the Republic, which shows that the Chilians, although admirably equipped for war, are now as anxious as any other country for peace and progress. This they have proved on more than one occasion, notably when the question of frontier delimitations brought about a dispute with Argentina, a dispute which both nations consented to refer to arbitration, and, an award having been given, both nations maintained it with equal loyalty.