300px|right|thumb|two sailors from the uss baltimore were killed and eighteen others were wounded outside of a bar in the chilean port of valparaÃ­so.http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq56-1.htm the baltimore crisis was a diplomatic incident that took place between chile and the united states, after the 1891 chilean civil war, as result of the growing american influence in pacific coast region of latin america in the 1890s. it remains a nodal event because it marked a dramatic shift in united statesâchile relations. it was triggered by the stabbing of two united states navy sailors from the uss baltimore in front of the "true blue saloon" in valparaÃ­so on october 16, 1891. ==background== in 1884 chile emerged from the war of the pacific as a potential threat to the hegemony of the united states.william sater, chile and the united states: empires in conflict, athens, ga; university of georgia press, isbn 0-8203-1249-5 p.51 the chilean navy, then the strongest fleet in the pacific, was able to confront american policy. in 1882 chile refused us mediation in the war of the pacific. during the panama crisis of 1885, as the united states navy occupied colÃ³n, then part of colombia, the chilean government ordered its navy to occupy panama city and not to leave until after the american forces evacuated colon. finally in 1888 chile annexed easter island, located some 2,000 miles west of valparaÃ­so, and by occupying easter island, chile joined the imperial nations. but by 1891 the equation of power had changed. the united states possessed more naval power and, more significantly,william sater, chile and the united states: empires in conflict, 1990 by the university of georgia press, isbn 0-8203-1249-5, page 66: :'particularly alfred thayer mahan's blue water boys- bristled with joy at the prospect of unleashing their recently acquired naval weapons against santiago alfred thayer mahan's theories were needed to secure the growing influence of the united states in latin america.william sater, chile and the united states: empires in conflict, 1990 by the university of georgia press, isbn 0-8203-1249-5, page 64: :it became clear that harrison saw the issue as a matter of american prestige:"we must protect those who, in foreign ports, display the flag or wear the colors of this government against insult, brutality, and death, inflicted in resentement of the acts of their government ..." during the chilean civil war the american government supported the forces of president jose manuel balmaceda and enforced a ban on exp
1891_in_Chile ChileaUnited_States_relations Combat_incidents Conflicts_in_1891 History_of_the_foreign_relations_of_Chile History_of_the_foreign_relations_of_the_United_States Maritime_incidents_in_1891