The Bolivia-Chile-Peru Dispute

Contents Briefly about the main Causes of war The course of military action outcome war Bibliography

Briefly about the main The Atacama border dispute was a dispute between Chile and Bolivia in the 19th century that ended in the transfer to Chile of all of the Bolivian Coast and the southern tip of Bolivia's ally Peru through the Treaty of Ancon with Peru and the Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1904 between Chile and Bolivia after the War of the Pacific (1879–1883). The conflict takes its name from the Atacama Desert on which lies the disputed territory.

From the Chilean annexation of the Bolivian coast in 1879 the Puna de Atacama dispute arose due to Bolivian transfers of land to both Argentina and Chile, this spin-off dispute was settled in 1899.

Causes of war At the outset of the nineteenth century the Spanish colonial government still controlled the Pacific coast of South America. It divided the region into two administrative entities, the Viceroyalty of New Grenada and the Viceroyalty of Peru. Independence ended Spanish domination and shattered the boundaries of its former colonial territories. The Viceroyalty of New Grenada splintered into the independent states of Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador while Bolivia, Chile, and Peru emerged from the ashes of the former Viceroyalty of Peru.

Causes of war After the independence of Chile (1818) and Bolivia (1825) none of the following governments of both countries cared about defining its borders. National boundaries in the Atacama region had still not been definitely determined when nitrate, silver and copper deposits were discovered in the area. Both Bolivia and Chile established competing claims for the territory. Other countries' interest was drawn due to the importance of nitrates in the production of fertilizer and high explosives

Atacama desert Panoramic shot near the Paranal Observatory, the height of about 2,600 meters above sea level

The conflict began in the colonial times, when the territory of Charcas in the north of Chile, the current passed from the Viceroyalty of Peru Viceroyalty of La Plata. Confusion in the administrative borders of aggravated when in place of colonies emerged independent states. At the initiative of Simon Bolivar of the territory of La Plata, Bolivia has been transferred to ensure that the state access to the sea. And to the south there was the Republic of Chile. Both states for a long time could not agree on where it should pass between the border: at 23 or 25 degrees south latitude.

About the time the Treaty of Mutual Benefits was being negotiated, two Chilean prospectors discovered rich nitrate deposits in the Atacama Desert behind the future site of the port of Antofagasta. The economic and political repercussions of these deposits quickly proved much stronger than the earlier discovery of guano. The Treaty of Mutual Benefits, 1866

The value of the nitrate holdings and soon-to-be discovered silver deposits invigorated the incipient competition for hegemony on the west coast of South America. At the same time, these new developments inflamed the territorial disagreement between Bolivia and Chile over control of the Atacama Desert. Bolivia's claim to a Pacific port, in particular, became intertwined in the growing rivalry between Chile and Peru. In consequence, it soon became impossible to conceive of a solution amenable to Bolivia which did not also involve the direct interests of its neighbours

The course of military action The newspaper "El Comercio" on February 28, Reports of the outbreak of war

The War of the Pacific In February 1879 Chile troops attacked Bolivia. Peru, which had a contract with Bolivia on mutual assistance, entered the war in April of the same year.

Dominating the sea, to the end of the year the Chileans occupied the Bolivian coast and the Peruvian province of Tarapaca

In April 1880 the Chileans blocked Peru's main port - Callao Naval Battle of Iquique

In January 1881 captured the capital of Peru - Lima The United Kingdom, received the monopoly right to export nitrate, supported Chile. The US promised to support the other side.

As a result of the truce concluded between Chile and Bolivia, April 4, 1884 in Valparaiso, the latter was deprived of Antofagasta and, accordingly, access to the sea. In memory of that loss on the naval flag of Bolivia, is now used only in the river fleet, there was a big star.

Result war Based on the negotiations which have taken place over the last three decades, the most likelysolution to Bolivian ambitions for a port on the Pacific appears to be a transfer of territory onor near the current border between Chile and Peru. This could take the form of a sovereign

In consequence, all three disputants eventually abandoned as unsustainable their de jure claims and focused increasingly on the de facto arguments of possession, occupation, and development. In the aftermath of the War of the Pacific, the Chilean government sought to consolidate its hold on the region while Bolivia and Peru strived to regain both former territories and lost national honour. After Chile concluded peace treaties with Bolivia and Peru, trade and other economic concerns became decidedly secondary to geopolitical considerations in the region.

Peru President Mariano Prado

Bolivian President Hilarion Daza