War of the Pacific

11.26.2003

I decided to link to some info on the War of the Pacific (1879-1884) between Chile and Bolivia & Peru. OnWar.com points out that the war was based on a never-fully-settled territorial dispute in which the Bolivian government of the time was somewhat aggressive towards Chile. It also points out that a 1904 treaty formally ended the war & made present boundaries permanent. An entry in Wikipedia gives a similar view.

For some Spanish perspectives: Icarito (a Chilean site) points out the boundary between Chile & Bolivia put Mejillones (one of the cities we list in the Himno al Litoral) south of this border, in Chile. Here's another, lengthy, entry on the subject (not sure of its origin).

A Bolivian site includes a map & gives the story I was taught through 4th grade: W/o warning, a fleet of "bloodthirsty" Chileans landed during Carnival and surprised the peaceful population. However, this site claims Chile's army was three times as large as its northern neighbors (it was actually outnumbered 2:1 by Bolivian army alone). It also incorrectly dates the final peace accords. And here's an editorial from earlier this year that argues that any Bolivian who claims the sea is lost is not a true patriot.

Posted by Miguel at 08:15 PM

Comments

O.k. I get your point but still... everybody knows that each country has got their own version of history, and usually something in between is the truth, so why just trust Chilenen sources, there are lots of Bolivian, Peruvian, American and European authors that worth a look too.

Posted by: Josephine at November 26, 2003 09:45 PM

Yes, and I don't trust "just Chilean" sources. If you notice, I did link to at least one Bolivian site (I found more Chilean ones online that Bolivian ones). Actually, the most objective sources give pretty much the OnWar.com version: The territory was disputed, though agreed on the 24th parallel, the Bolivian government started confiscating Chilean property north of that line, the Chilean army intervened, Bolivia called on Peru & Argentina to fulfill their secret treaties (á la WWI) and a major war broke out (although Argentina remained neutral).

Posted by: miguel at November 27, 2003 11:13 AM