War of the Pacific | South American history | Britannica.com War of the Pacific Bolivia War of the Pacific, Spanish Guerra del Pacífico, (1879–83), conflict involving Chile , Bolivia , and Peru , which resulted in Chilean annexation of valuable disputed territory on the Pacific coast. It grew out of a dispute between Chile and Bolivia over control of a part of the Atacama Desert that lies between the 23rd and 26th parallels on the Pacific coast of South America . The territory contained valuable mineral resources, particularly sodium nitrate . National borders in the region had never been definitively established; the two countries negotiated a treaty that recognized the 24th parallel as their boundary and that gave Chile the right to share the export taxes on the mineral resources of Bolivia’s territory between the 23rd and 24th parallels. But Bolivia subsequently became dissatisfied at having to share its taxes with Chile and feared Chilean seizure of its coastal region where Chilean interests already controlled the mining industry. Peru’s interest in the conflict stemmed from its traditional rivalry with Chile for hegemony on the Pacific coast. In 1873 Peru agreed secretly with Bolivia to a mutual guarantee of their territories and independence.

In 1874 Chilean-Bolivian relations were ameliorated by a revised treaty under which Chile relinquished its share of export taxes on minerals shipped from Bolivia, and Bolivia agreed not to raise taxes on Chilean enterprises in Bolivia for 25 years. Amity was broken in 1878 when Bolivia tried to increase the taxes of the Chilean Antofagasta Nitrate Company over the protests of the Chilean government. When Bolivia threatened to confiscate the company’s property, Chilean armed forces occupied the port city of Antofagasta on Feb. 14, 1879. Bolivia then declared war on Chile and called upon Peru for help. Chile declared war on both Peru and Bolivia (April 5, 1879). Chile easily occupied the Bolivian coastal region ( Antofagasta province) and then took the offensive against more powerful Peru. Naval victories at Iquique (May 21, 1879) and Angamos (Oct. 8, 1879) enabled Chile to control the sea approaches to Peru. A Chilean army then invaded Peru.

An attempt at mediation by the United States failed in October 1880, and Chilean forces occupied the Peruvian capital of Lima the following January. Peruvian resistance continued for three more years, with U.S. encouragement. Finally, on Oct. 20, 1883, Peru and Chile signed the Treaty of Ancón , by which Tarapacá province was ceded to the latter. Similar Topics South American Wars South American Wars These few notes aim to provide some historical background on the events that have shaped the people I have met in the countries I visited in South America. Wars of Independence (1806 - 1826) At the end of the 18th century, the South American pie was shared between Portugal that ruled its territory from Rio de Janeiro and Spain to whose possessions were partitioned between the three Viceroyalties of New Grenada (Bogotá), of Lima and of Rio de la Plata (Buenos Aires). Power was maintained in the hands of a small European born elite in spite of the complaints of a growing number of American born colonists who had acquired wealth as landowners and merchants and resented their inferior status as "criollos".

The colonies were allowed to trade only with their respective European powers who taxed all exports and imports. This was a time of change when science and reason challenged monarchies, the church and class distinctions. The American Revolution (1775 - 1783) and the French Revolution (1789 - 1799) provided examples to the frustrated Criollos. In Europe, the Napoleonic wars weakened Spain's control over its American colonies and forced the Portuguese Court to flee to Brazil. Independence in the East After the French were driven from Portugal, the royal family chose to stay in Brazil which became a kingdom equal to Portugal in 1815. King Joao VI ruled both countries from Rio de Janeiro until his return to Portugal in 1822 leaving his son Pedro to rule in Brazil. When the Portuguese tried to regain control, Pedro refused and declared Brazil independent in September 1822. Brazil remained a monarchy until 1889. Brazil had been lucky to have a King to champion its independence.

Not counting the Pernambuco Revolution which lasted 3 months in 1817 it become free without the ordeal of the vicious wars that Portugal's other colonies had to face a century and a half later. Independence in the South In 1806 a British naval squadron attacked Buenos Aires and took it with little resistance from the Spanish colonial forces. A few months later a volunteer militia of Porteños (people of Buenos Aires), forced the invaders out and resisted recapture by British reinforcements. When Spain fell to Napoleon in 1810, prominent Criollos in Buenos Aires backed by this militia forced the last Spanish viceroy to surrender power to a local junta. Spain attempted to retake the Viceroyalty by blockading the estuary and by sending an army from Peru but were soundly defeated by the Buenos Aires forces who then undertook to spread the cause of independence. Central control was however contested by other provinces who resisted dominance by the Buenos Aires merchants who hoped to maintain their monopoly on trade.

Across the river from Buenos Aires, Montevideo and its surroundings declared itself a separate "Eastern State" in 1815 (later Uruguay) under the leadership of José Gervasio Artigas backed by an army of gauchos. To the north-west, Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia , "El Supremo", took control of Asunción in 1814, resisted the Buenos Aires forces and undertook to develop Paraguay in complete isolation. Distinct interests and long-standing resentment of the viceregal capital led some regions to pursue separate destinies. The assembly that finally proclaimed independence in 1816 received no delegates from several provinces, even though it was held outside Buenos Aires, in the interior city of Tucumán. In Upper Peru, some Buenos Aires forces enjoyed initial victories but soon retreated leaving the battle in the hands of the local Criollo, Mestizo, and Indian guerrillas. Other southern independence forces had more success on the Pacific coast. In 1817 the Criollo General José de San Martín crossed the Andes with 5000 men and took Santiago with the assistance of Chilean patriots led by Bernardo 0'Higgins who became Chile's first president.

After establishing naval dominance with the help of British and North American finance, San Martin's forces gained control of the coast and captured Lima in 1821. The Clergy and many Criollos that had benefited from colonial monopolies were however not anxious to break with Spain and San Martín was unable to overcome loyalist resistance in the highlands. That had to wait for the intervention of liberation armies from the north. Independence in the North The struggle for independence was much more difficult in the north than in the south. Also, much more was at stake. It took 4 years after the first attempt by revolutionary Francisco de Miranda for the Criollos of the Viceroyalty of New Granada to organise revolutionary governments that proclaimed social and economic reforms in 1810 and openly declared a break with Spain the following year. Forces loyal to Spain fought the rebels from the start. Patriot rebels led by Simon Bolivar held the capital Caracas and its surroundings but could not dominate large sections of the countryside. The landed elite and the Clergy reacted with open distrust and opposition.

In 1812 loyalist forces crushed the rebels and drove Bolívar into exile but he soon returned with a new army in 1813 and the battle entered a violent phase of "war to the death". Loyalist José Tomás Boves and his llaneros (cowboys) pushed Bolívar out of his home country once more in 1815 and a large military expedition sent by Ferdinand VII reconquered Venezuela and most of New Granada. In 1816, another invasion led by Bolívar failed miserably but following year a larger and revitalised independence movement emerged, winning the struggle in the north. A mixed-race group of llaneros led by José Antonio Páez and the recruitment of British mercenaries proved crucial to the patriots' military victories. After leading his army up the face of the eastern Andes, Bolívar dealt a crushing defeat to his enemies in the Battle of Boyacá in August 1819. The "Libertador" entered Bogotá and proclaimed the independent Republic of Gran Colombia embracing Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador in December that year.

Further military campaigns liberated New Granada and Venezuela and a constituent congress held in Cúcuta in 1821 chose Bolívar president of a centralised Gran Colombia. Leaving Santander to run the country, Bolivar marched to Ecuador to support their claim to independence which was achieved only two years later when Marshal Antonio José de Sucre defeated the royalists at the Battle of Pichincha near Quito in May 1822. Then, the two great heroes of South America's independence, San Martín and Bolívar came face-to-face on July 1822 in a private encounter in Guayaquil Ecuador. What was said remained a secret but after that, San Martin went to live in France leaving Bolivar and Sucre in charge of completing the liberation of Peru and Bolivia. When the Spanish threatened to recapture the lands that San Martín had liberated, Bolívar responded to the calls of Peruvian Criollos by leading his forces to victory in Lima and sending his lieutenants to win the highlands of Peru and Upper Peru which was named Bolivia in his honour.

The last major battle of the Wars of Independence was won in 1824 at Ayacucho in the Peruvian highlands by the Venezuelan Sucre. Within two years independence fighters mopped up the last of loyalist resistance, and South America was free of Spanish control. Paraguayan War (1864 - 1870) When Argentina proclaimed its independence of Spain in 1810, Paraguay refused to join it and instead proclaimed its own independence on May 14, 1811. Three years later José Gaspar Rodríguez Francia made himself dictator, called himself "El Supremo" and ruled absolutely until his death in 1840. The leading political figure at that time was his nephew Carlos Antonio López who became president and dictator from 1844 until his death in 1862. He was succeeded by his son, Francisco Solano López who, seeking to build an empire, led the country into a war against an alliance of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay.

The war devastated Paraguay, and when López's death ended the conflict in 1870, more than half of the population had been killed, the economy had been destroyed, agricultural activity was at a standstill and the country had lost more than 142,500 sq km (55,000 sq mi). The country was occupied by a Brazilian army until 1876, and had to pay heavy war indemnities. War of the Pacific (1879 - 1884) In 1874 Bolivia and Chile signed a treaty recognising Bolivia's sovereignty over the Atacama Desert but exempting Chile's nitrate companies from paying new taxes for 25 years. When Bolivia demanded a new tax in 1878, Chile occupied the port of Antofagasta and Bolivia declared war with the support of Peru. The Chilean navy won a decisive victory at Point Angamos in 1879, and its army followed with the capture of Tacna and Arica in 1880. Bolivia withdrew from the war but Chile went on to occupy Lima, forcing the Peruvian government into the highlands.

After two years of occupation, Peru accepted Chile's peace terms in the Treaty of Ancón in October 1883, ceding the province of Tarapacá to Chile along with the provinces of Tacna and Arica on condition that a referendum be held in 10 years. Under a treaty signed in 1884, Bolivia ceded its Atacama Province to Chile and became landlocked. The referendum was never held but a treaty was finally arranged and subsequently ratified in 1929 giving Tacna to Peru and Arica to Chile with the latter agreeing to pay Peru an indemnity of 6 million dollars. Chaco War (1932 - 1935) Beginning in 1906, Bolivia began constructing small forts in the Chaco plain, inching progressively farther into what Paraguay considered its territory. Paraguay countered with its own forts and encouraged the settlement of Mennonites in the area to support its claims in 1927. The discovery of oil in the Bolivian lowlands and the alleged involvement of American oil companies led to full-scale warfare in 1932.

The larger and better-trained Bolivian army initially held the advantage, but the Bolivians, used to a mountain climate, found it difficult to operate in the hot and dry conditions of the Chaco lowlands. Superior tactics and knowledge of the terrain, combined with fierce fighting, enabled the Paraguayans to gain control of most of the area by 1935. A truce was agreed upon and a final treaty was signed in 1938, giving Paraguay three-fourths of the region and Bolivia the rest. About 50,000 Bolivians and 35,000 Paraguayans died in the war. La Violencia (1948 - 1957) Bolivar's goal of uniting Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador into the centralised Republic of Gran Colombia he proclaimed in Cï¿½cuta in 1821 did not materialise as Venezuela broke away in 1829 and Ecuador followed suit in 1830. This breakdown reflected regional disparities much more importantly it was caused by the profound conflict between the political visions of the Conservatives and the Liberals in a Spanish colonies.

Following the Spanish Absolutist tradition , the pro-clerical Conservatives favoured an authoritarian central government that was abhorrent to the anticlerical liberals who, attracted by the new ideas on the "rights of man" and the separation of Church and State developed by the French and American revolutions, might have accepted a loose federation had it been offered. Strife between uncompromising Conservatives holding on to "God-given" privileges and Liberals wanting change is a cultural heritage common to all ex-Spanish colonies but it reached its most violent expression in Columbia at the turn-of-the-century and just after World War II. Colombia suffered 8 debilitating civil wars in the 19th century as power passed from one party to the other and centralist constitutions were replaced by federalist ones and vice versa. In 1899 a Liberal revolt against the centralist 1886 constitution turned into a devastating civil war (War of a Thousand Days) won by the Conservatives in 1902 after 100 000 had been killed.

(When the terms of a US proposal to build a canal were rejected in 1903 the United States sponsored the secession of the Province of Panama from war-weakened Colombia.) Conservatives held power for the next four decades but civil war broke out again in 1948 as Liberals took up arms following the assassination of one of their popular leaders. This time, grass roots guerrillas took to the hills and allied with communist guerrilla bands. Atrocities were carried out by both parties in the name of their respective ideologies earned this war the name of "La Violencia". The carnage cost 300 000 lives and lasted until a military dictator, Rojas, forced the two parties to accept an uneasy truce in 1957. The truce amongst members of the political class did not however eliminate the existence of a number of competing guerrillas such as the FARC, the ELN, the EPL, the CNG and the M-19. Since then several truces and amnesties have been decreed and broken and the situation has been further complicated by the emergence of the drug merchants as an armed force more or less allied with some of the politically motivated guerrillas.

In other words, it's an awful mess... Bolivia - List of South American Countries Bolivia Area in square kilometers 1,098,580 km2 Spanish: Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia, IPA: ), is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina to the south, Chile by the south west, and Peru by the west. [source] Bolivia shrank in size when it lost Atacama province to Chile in 1884 at the end of the War of the Pacific and again when it lost most of Gran Chaco to Paraguay in 1938 as a result of the Chaco War. [source] Read about the rich history of Bolivia's main cities. Learn about the places you should visit in your trip to Bolivia. Begin the Journey! The Art of Photography Read about Bolivian Photographers and take a look at some samples of their work.

[source] Sometimes referred to as the Tibet of the Americas, Bolivia is one of the most "remote" countries in the western hemisphere; except for the navigable Paraguay River stretching to the distant Atlantic, Bolivia and Paraguay are the only two landlocked nations in the Americas. [source] Bolivian Workers Central or COR; Federation of Neighborhood Councils of El Alto or FEJUVE; Landless Movement or MST; National Coordinator for Change or CONALCAM; Sole Confederation of Campesino Workers of Bolivia or CSUTCB other: Cocalero groups; indigenous organizations (including Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of [source] constitutional capital of Bolivia and capital of Chuquisaca dept. Since 1898, La Paz has been the administrative capital of Bolivia. ..... Click the link for more information. is the constitutional capital and seat of the judiciary, but La Paz La Paz , city (1992 pop. [source] Bolivia telephone code 591 is dialed after the IDD. Bolivia international dialing 591 is followed by an area code. The Bolivia area code table below shows the various city codes for Bolivia. Bolivia country codes are followed by these area codes.

[source] The Republic of Bolivia (or Bulibiya in the Quechua language; Wuliwya in Aymara) is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil on the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina on the south, and Chile and Peru on the west. [source] km) north-south and 800 miles (1,300 km) east-west, Bolivia is bordered to the north and east by Brazil, to the southeast by Paraguay, to the south by Argentina, to the southwest and west by Chile, and to the northwest by Peru. [source] The cultural development of what is present-day Bolivia is divided into three distinct periods: pre-Columbian, colonial, and republican. Important archaeological ruins, gold and silver ornaments, stone monuments, ceramics, and weavings remain from several important pre-Columbian cultures. Major ruins include Tiwanaku, Samaipata, Incallajta, and Iskanwaya. [source] Bolivia Click here for Bolivia virtual tour Bolivia is a treasure trove of ancient knowledge if you've ever been fascinated with myth, legends, and the mysteries of native South American cultural treasures. This country resembles the Tibetan Plateau in many ways.

[source] And the capitol city of La Paz, Bolivia is the capitol of the highest altitude in the world. With a picturesque skyline dominated by the Illimani, a forbidding peak soaring impossibly into the sapphire azimuth, La Paz's ruins and the ancient foundations of the church of St. Bolivia: Maps, History, Geography, Government, Culture, Facts, Guide & Travel/Holidays/Cities Morales Wins Third Consecutive Term Geography Landlocked Bolivia is equal in size to California and Texas combined. Brazil forms its eastern border; its other neighbors are Peru and Chile on the west and Argentina and Paraguay on the south. The western part, enclosed by two chains of the Andes, is a great plateau—the Altiplano, with an average altitude of 12,000 ft (3,658 m). Almost half the population lives on the plateau, which contains Oruro, Potosí, and La Paz. At an altitude of 11,910 ft (3,630 m), La Paz is the highest administrative capital city in the world. The Oriente, a lowland region ranging from rain forests to grasslands, comprises the northern and eastern two-thirds of the country.

Lake Titicaca, at an altitude of 12,507 ft (3,812 m), is the highest commercially navigable body of water in the world. Government Republic. History Famous since Spanish colonial days for its mineral wealth, modern Bolivia was once a part of the ancient Inca empire. After the Spaniards defeated the Incas in the 16th century, Bolivia's predominantly Indian population was reduced to slavery. The remoteness of the Andes helped protect the Bolivian Indians from the European diseases that decimated other South American Indians. But the existence of a large indigenous group forced to live under the thumb of their colonizers created a stratified society of haves and have-nots that continues to this day. Income inequality between the largely impoverished Indians who make up two-thirds of the country and the light-skinned European elite remains vast. By the end of the 17th century, the mineral wealth had begun to dry up. The country won its independence in 1825 and was named after Simón Bolívar, the famous liberator. Hampered by internal strife, Bolivia lost great slices of territory to three neighboring nations.

Several thousand square miles and its outlet to the Pacific were taken by Chile after the War of the Pacific (1879–1884). In 1903, a piece of Bolivia's Acre Province, rich in rubber, was ceded to Brazil. And in 1938, after losing the Chaco War of 1932–1935 to Paraguay, Bolivia gave up its claim to nearly 100,000 sq mi of the Gran Chaco. Political instability ensued. In 1965, a guerrilla movement mounted from Cuba and headed by Maj. Ernesto (Ché) Guevara began a revolutionary war. With the aid of U.S. military advisers, the Bolivian army smashed the guerrilla movement, capturing and killing Guevara on Oct. 8, 1967. A string of military coups followed before the military returned the government to civilian rule in 1982, when Hernán Siles Zuazo became president. At that point, Bolivia was regularly shut down by work stoppages and had the lowest per capita income in South America.

In June 1993, free-market advocate Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada was elected president. He was succeeded by former general Hugo Bánzer, an ex-dictator turned democrat who became president for the second time in Aug. 1997. Bánzer made significant progress in wiping out illicit coca production and drug trafficking, which pleased the United States. However, the eradication of coca, a major crop in Bolivia since Incan times, plunged many Bolivian farmers into abject poverty. Although Bolivia sits on South America's second-largest natural gas reserves as well as considerable oil, the country has remained one of the poorest on the continent. In Aug. 2002, Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada again became president, pledging to continue economic reforms and to create jobs. In Oct. 2003, Sánchez resigned after months of rioting and strikes over a gas-exporting project that protesters believed would benefit foreign companies more than Bolivians. His vice president, Carlos Mesa, replaced him. Despite continued unrest, Mesa remained popular during his first two years as president.

In a July 2004 referendum on the future of the country's significant natural gas reserves (the second largest in South America), Bolivians overwhelmingly supported Mesa's plan to exert more control over foreign gas companies. Mesa managed to satisfy the strong antiprivatization sentiment among Bolivians without shutting the door on some limited form of privatization in the future. But rising fuel prices in 2005 led to massive protests by tens of thousands of impoverished farmers and miners, and on June 6 Mesa resigned. Supreme court justice Eduardo Rodriguez took over as interim president. Inventory of Conflict and Environment (ICE): Chile Bolivia War I. CASE BACKGROUND 1. Abstract Throughout the 1800's Bolivia and Chile disagreed over which nation rightfully controlled the northernmost portion of the Atacama dessert. In 1879 the War of the Pacific (1879-1884) was brought about by a dispute between Bolivia and Chile over control of a portion of the Atacama Desert containing highly valuable mineral resources. The resources were exploited by Chilean and British companies who made great profits off of their export.

When Bolivia decided to impose a tax on the export of these resources the conflict quickly escalated into war (once money became involved), despite the fact that the tax was enacted to fund the reconstruction of the port of Antofogasta which was highly used by Chile. Chile alleged that because of certain border treaties between Bolivia and Chile, Bolivia did not have the right to impose this export tax. Well-established in the extraction of nitrate resources from the region, in addition to its relative stability in comparison to Peru and Bolivia, Chile had a clear advantage going into the War of the Pacific. Additionally, Chile claimed that its territory had had always included the region being disputed, encompassing the entirety of the Atacama dessert. Ultimately, Chile emerged as the victor in the war, depriving Peru of much-desired resources and territory and Bolivia of its own access to the Pacific Ocean. The outcome of the war had a lasting impact, economically and even politically, in all three nations. In particular, Bolivia has suffered seemingly without end due to its lack of access to an ocean from which it can export its abundance of natural resources. 2.

Description The Region: The Atacama desert is one of the driest locations on the planet, averaging less than half an inch of rain each year, often with numerous years passing without the area seeing a mere drop of rain. Just off the coast, the immensely cold waters of the Pacific Ocean house numerous schools of fish that have for centuries attracted "hundreds of thousands of sea birds, pelicans, cormorants, gulls, and others, who have hunted these waters for thousands and tens of thousands of years"( Farcau, 7 ). The birds feed on the residents of the ocean but reside themselves over the neighboring land. Due to the fact that the area was a desert, it naturally discouraged settlement by humans, allowing the birds and their byproducts (known as guano) were able to amass in this region of the South American continent. Over the years, deposits of guano many meters thick formed on the surface of the Atacama in the region. In addition to the guano, the Atacama region received deposits of minerals coming from water resulting from snow melting off of the western face of the Andes at the end of each winter.

Due to the immense strength of the sun, this water, which formed into shallow pools, eventually dried up. As the waters dried they would leave behind deposits of minerals, called caliche. Development of the Nitrate Export Industry: In 1840, French scientist Alexander Cochet discovered that valuable quantities of sodium nitrate could be derived from both the guano and caliche found in the region. This discovery of their use as fertilizer and as a key ingredient in explosives, due to the high concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorous) made the area strategically valuable. Bolivia, Chile and Peru had suddenly found themselves sitting on the largest reserves of a resource that the world needed for economic and military expansion and Chile found itself in the position to be the one to extract that resource from its territory. After the discovery of the nitrate reserves, world powers were directly or indirectly vying for control of the area's resources. Nitrates were used as a form of fertilizer by many countries and were soon in high demand from the region due to a need in Europe to obtain greater productivity from a fixed amount of land available for agriculture.

This lead to the rapid development of mining in the region, first of guano, merely because it was more readily accessible, and then of caliche. To capitalize on the profits to be made from guano and caliche, "foreign traders, especially the British, set up trading houses to ship guano back to England and Europe for trade and distribution, high in demand due to the European need to compete with larger-sized and more productive farms in the United States. "Americans, who also found guano to be valuable in increasing crop yields endeavored to help the U.S. government acquire islands in the Pacific and the Caribbean to ensure American reserves of these valuable resourcs (under the U.S. Guano Island Act of 1856) (Guano ). The physical extraction of both the guano and caliche led to an additional layer of environmental conflict. The conditions under which the workers were forced to live and work were deplorable. Needing to be close to the resources, the workers lived directly on top of the guano deposits.

While working, "the digging and hauling activities raised permanent clouds of acrid dust that penetrated the eyes, the nose, the mouth, contaminated the water, and liberally garnished the poor food the men ate...and everything was overlaid with an appalling stench that could be detected for miles out to sea, an odor not just of hundreds of sweating bodies that would not be washed for weeks on end, but of rotting fish, salt, and excrement from which there was no escape" (Farcau, 9) . There workers were paid appallingly low wages, which, when added to the horrid working conditions, left the extraction companies with great difficulty in finding labor, despite the relative ease of the job itself. All of a Sudden Everyone Wants Bird Droppings... (and caliche) Bolivia, Chile and Peru were all conducting some nitrate extraction the territory. Due to Peru's focus on other interests within its borders and a lack of Bolivian interest in doing the extraction, most economic exploitation of the coastal region done by Chilean and British companies, largely with the justification that Chile was more capable of handling the job because of its more robust economy and stable institutions.

As the economic situation of all three countries continued to worsen, conflict erupted over control of the territory and over the financial benefits to be seen from having that control. After an initial attack levied by Chile, the war continued for five years. The War of the Pacific was ended by the signing of the Treaty of Anacin as well as truce between Bolivia and Chile, however, true peace and agreement between the three nations was not reached until many years later (Farcau, 191) . In winning the War of the Pacific, Chile inherited "the worldï¿½s only commercially viable deposits of sodium nitrate, a natural source of nitrogen that was the world's leading fertilizer in the decades before World War I" ( Sicotte ). The export tax levied on firms exporting those nitrates accounted for approximately fifty percent of the Chilean government's total revenue. 3. Duration: 1879-1884 Country: Chile (Atacama Desert region, specifically between the 23rd and 26th parallels). 5. Actors: Chile, Bolivia and Peru Chile Although Chile declared its independence in 1810, decisive victory over the Spanish was not achieved until 1818.

In the War of the Pacific (1879-84), Chile defeated Peru and Bolivia and won its present northern lands, thereby extending its territory, which contributed significantly to Chile's prominent position (in comparison to its neighbors) seen today ( CIA ). Unlike Peru and Bolivia , the Chilean population has a small indigenous portion, which accounts for a mere three precent of the total population, where as the percentages of the population are at least part indigenous in Bolivia and Peru are eighty-five and eighty-two, respectively( CIA ). Additionally, though it was very much isolated from its neighbors, Chile was a geographically cohesive nation. No segment of the country was ever more than a weeks travel from the ocean, even in the nineteenth century, where as both Bolivia and Peru were plagued by the size of their lands and the distance that had to be traveled from many parts of their land to the ocean. In the late nineteenth century Chile entered a period of economic downturn. Other nations, such as the United States and Australia began to be stronger competitors for Chilean exporters, mainly of wheat and beef (Farcau, 27 ).

As Chilean exports declined, the country's foreign debt steadily increased, most notably doubling between 1860 and 1870 (Farcau, 27) . As a consequence of these challenges, the Chilean government was eager to acquire the nitrates in the Atacama region. With its nitrate-export firms already working in the territory in question, Chile felt entitled to claim the territory. When Bolivia imposed a ten cent tax on each quintile (100lbs) of nitrates exported from the territory, Chile vehemently protested but Bolivia refused to retract the tax. Consequently, Chile decided to assert its position (by assembling an army and initiating the War of the Pacific). The War itself was not fought just over this miniscule tax. According to the government of Chile, "Bolivian provocation threatened the Chilean communities who had created 'cities in the desert' and that the combination of Bolivia and Peru in a hostile alliance threatened Chile's sovereignty and territorial integrity, with the decision to war being taken in Santiago only after 'much agonizing'" (Farcau, 44).

This argument, similar to that which was espoused by Peru regarding its involvement in the war, did not hold much merit since the country had arduously been trying to inch is border farther north for some time. During the war Chile had taken to printing money in order to finance government operations. This left the government with more problems to deal with once the war had ended. After winning the war, Chile hoped that the income it would receive from the export of the nitrates would solve many of its economic woes. By increasing the tax levied on the export of nitrates, the government increased its income. By the time new Chilean elections came around, in 1885 half of the governmentï¿½s revenue from the nitrate exports had been used to pay off European bondholders. The remaining half of the income was able to be spent on other programs the government wished to invest in. However, this economic windfall did not encourage the Chilean government to spend its money wisely. By 1900, Chile had earned close to three billion pesos from the export of nitrates.

The triggered lavish spending on the part of the government for many years, though little investment was made into modernizing the state or looking for different sources of revenue (i.e. income taxes) in the event that the nitrate exports stopped being profitable. Not surprisingly, a century after the dependence of the government of nitrate exports for half of its income began, scientific discovery found a way to produce the ammonia needed for fertilizer and caused the demand for Chilean nitrate exports to dramatically dive. This left Chile to find different sources of income - a process that would take many years and cause the government great hardship in the meantime (Farcau, 197). This scenario, know in economics as the "Dutch Disease" is not uncommon. Often times, when countries seen an increase in demand for a natural resource they will not invest in the development of other industries, leaving the country with a weakened economy when demand for the natural resource declines. In the case of the nitrates, that is exactly what Chile's government did. When nitrates could be replaced with a synthetic substitute, demand for nitrate resources from Chile dramatically declined.

While there is still some nitrate mining taking place in Chile today, the country is more dependent on its copper mining industry and devotes substantial time and energy to the development of that industry. If global deman for copper falls, Chile risks putting itself in a similar predicament, whereby it will have to scramble for ways to increase its trade to make up for losses in the mining industry. Bolivia Bolivia became an independent nation in 1825. By 1875 Bolivia found itself in a dire economic situation, said to neither produce nor consume, despite its abundance of resources and relatively large population (relatively) at the time. The vast majority of the Bolivian population at the time was composed of indigenous peoples, with eighty percent of the population unable to speak Spanish (Farcau, 21 ). Most income that Bolivia did generate came from mining. However, when the guano and caliche deposits were discovered, despite its functional expertise in mining, Bolivia was unable to reap the benefits of the newly-discovered resources because the attention of the current mining infrastructure was wholly consumed by existing mining projects ( not unlike today ), with no ability to divert attention to the nitrate deposits (Farcau).

Consequently, Chilean companies were able to move into the territory and extract the nitrate resources. Bolivia 's long history of political instability, with over 200 coups on its record, has left the country plagued by weak political institutions (not unlike many other developing nations). The country's diverse ethnic populations and highly active indigenous groups serve to bring about even greater polarization of politics and government. In 2003, violent political protests (led by left-wing leader Evo Morales) broke out in the country's capital over the prospect of increasing taxes, budget cuts and further marginalization of the most downtrodden people in Bolivian society, forcing then-President Gonzalo Sanchez de Losada to resign, despite the best political manipulations of James Carville and his top political consultants (Our Brand is Crisis) . In December 2005, Bolivians elected Movement Toward Socialism party leader Evo Morales to the presidency by the widest margin of any presidential candidate since 1982 (when civilian rule was restored to the nation).

Morales' promise to change the country's traditional political class and empower the nation's poor majority appealed to marginalized persons in Bolivian society as well as working class citizens hoping for a better economic situation. Peru The territory now known as Peru was first inhabited by Spain in 1533. Peruvian independence was declared in 1821 and any Spanish forces that remained in the territory were defeated in 1824. While Peru emerged from the wars of independence as the most powerful nation in South America, in no small part due to its abundance of natural resources such as silver, copper, sugar, guano and other nitrates, by the final quarter of the 19th century the country was facing a steady decline. The vast territory of Peru is broken up by mountains, leaving various disconnected parcels of land, some rich with nutrients and arable while others were nearly inaccessible at the time due to mountains or heavy rainforest. The discovery of the guano deposits at first gave the Peruvian government hope that its financial problems and debt would be alleviated. However the actions of multiple governments, in regard to the nitrate deposits, resulted in worsening the country's economic situation.

Instead of taking advantage of the resources to benefit the country by opening the industry to new domestic companies, the government instead gave contracts to foreign firms which resulted in the firms garnering significant profits while the Peruvian government gained little in financial means, receiving only 1/3 of the sale price of the guano (Farcau, 14). Peru had many motives for participating in the War of the Pacific. In the first place, the prospect of losing territory that contained guano, in the eyes of the government, would have served to worsen the country's already grim situation. Additionally, the outcome of a brief war with Spain convinced Peru that there was great need to have control of the coastline along the area of the Atacama containing the guano deposits. Those factors, combined with an obligation to honor the mutual defense treaty it had with Bolivia, provided the country with a great impetus for fighting in the War of the Pacific. Additionally, and for rational reasons, Peru became involved with the war for fear that a victorious Chile would come after additional Peruvian territory and out of fear of the possibility that Peru and Bolivia could become allies and combine forces against Peru. II. Environment Aspects 6.

Type of Environmental Problem: Resource, Rights, Access to Minerals, Access to Water The environmental problem at issue in this case was a conflict over control of the Atacama Desert, the region of land lying in the northeastern-most corner of Chile, abutting Bolivia and Peru. Resource issues were the primary reason for the dispute, since both countries sought the territory for control over its natural resources (nitrates) and its use as a route to the Pacific Ocean, in the case of Bolivia. Sodium nitrate was a key fertilizer until the First World War. The dry climate of the Atacama region served as an excellent catalyst for the breeding of sodium nitrate. In fact, this region was the only location where sodium nitrate was produced and exported, primarily to Europe and the United States. An additional environmental problem was the human health issues created by the nature of the work involved with extracting the nitrates in their original form (guano and caliche) in order to obtain the sodium nitrate. Workers had no choice but to live atop the guano and breathe the substance into the lungs and ingest its dusk on their food on a continual basis. 7. Type of Habitat: Dry The land in this region is flat.

The Atacama is the driest desert in the world. 8. Act and Harm Sites: Act Sites: Bolivian and Peruvian territory and Pacific Ocean along coastline. Harm Sites: Bolivian and Peruvian territory. 9. Type of Conflict: War The War of the Pacific was an interstate war. 10. Level of Conflict: Interstate Violent conflict between Chile and Bolivia began on March 1, 1879, with Chile initiating the War against Bolivia, and Peru who was obligated to support Bolivia in any conflict because of military agreements between the two countries. Chile initiated the violence in response to Bolivia's insistence on levying a tax on nitrate exports which Chile felt to be a violation of border agreements between the two nations. The conflict lasted until 1884. 11. Fatality Level of Dispute (military and civilian fatalities): 1 - Low The five-year conflict resulted in 14,000 deaths Correlates of War . IV. Environment and Conflict Overlap 12.

Environment-Conflict Link and Dynamics: Direct Although Peru, Chile and Bolivia all contained nitrates, the abundance of available nitrate resources in the Atacama region and the potential income to be earned from their export made conflict over the territory inevitable. With all three countries involved facing significant financial struggles, the incentive to control the territory and its resources was great. Causal Diagram: 13. Level of Strategic Interest: Bi-lateral The level of strategic interest was interstate and international. The governments of all three countries involved had a strategic interest in the outcome of the conflict, as did the multinational corporations that would be exporting nitrates from the region. 14. Outcome of Dispute: Victory In the War of the Pacific, control of the waters was essential. In 1879 Chile obtained control of the port of Antofogasta, which allowed the superor Chilen navy to win multiple sea battles against Peru and Bolivia. After numerous land battles, Chile occupied Peru. The Chilean occupation lasted until 1884 when the Treaty of Ancn was signed, ending the war.

As a result of this treaty, Chile became the victor of the war and was able to control the territory and resources in question, as well as access to the Pacific Ocean on the part of Bolivia. Chile's victory in this specific war laid the foundation for the economic success Chile experienced for the decade to follow, in comparison to Peru and Bolivia. Peru came out of the War of the Pacific with a weakened government and resentful of the Chilean victory the resultant Chilean occupation of Peruvian territory. As a result of the war, Bolivia ended up a landlocked state, forced to rely upon its neighbors for access to the ocean. The issue of access to the see has remains a part of Bolivian current events and politics through the present day. For instance, from 1932 until 1935 Bolivia fought against Paraguay in the Chaco War , partially with hopes of gaining better access to the Paraguay and Pilcomayo rivers, which would provide a route to the Atlantic Ocean. In the 1970's and the post-1990's Bolivia made repeated attempts at negotiating with Chile to reclaim some of the land stretching through Chile's northernmost province in order to obtain its own access to the sea.

However, these attempts proved to be futile and the feud between Chile and Bolivia continues to be strong. Today, Bolivia's landlocked status has dire effects on its prospects for development and its export of natural gas. A proposal to export Bolivian gas through Chile rather than Peru was met with strong disproval in Bolivia, regardless of a potential cost savings of $600 million, even leading to extreme rioting and ultimately the resignation of Bolivia's president. Former Bolivian President Carlos Mesa made the decision "to push the maritime issue to the top of his diplomatic agenda" during his presidency, though to no avail (Sicotte) . The lack of Chilean support for Bolivia's pleas served to heighten the animosity felt between many in Bolivia towards Chile, Bolivia's long-time rival. In recent Bolivian elections, including the 2006 election, Bolivian presidential candidates have undertaken strong campaigns to mobilize the anti-Chilean sentiment felt by the Bolivian people.

Often labeled a "narco-terrorist" for his support of Bolivian coca growers, Bolivian President Evo Morales won his seat by winning over the contingent of Bolivian society that feels exploited by the developed nations, with his anti-business, anti-American attitude and refusal to work with the United States. He played of off the feeling of exploitation held by the Bolivian people, who are extremely hesitant to let control of their natural gas exports fall into foreign hands. On May 1, 2006 President Morales announced his intention to nationalize Bolivia 's natural gas resources (Bolivia's principal export), is spite of vehement objections from the international community and energy companies (Associated Press). The actions of Morales may serve to worsen Bolivia socio-economic situation. What is the significance of this? It is not unrealistic to assume that Bolivia's current situation, as the poorest nation in all of Latin America, would be a lot less dire had Bolivia not lost its coastline to Chile. It is evident that the approaches to development that Bolivia has are not improving the welfare of the nation.

The provisions made to landlocked states in the Law of the Sea, mainly a supposed guaranteed right to free transit to and from the sea, seem to have little effect on Bolivia's welfare. Additionally, Bolivia's repeated attempts to obtain direct access to the sea for itself are unquestionably made in vain. Chile is not willing to give Bolivia any portion or its territory, which Chile believes it won fairly and should not longer be in dispute. In light of these facts, it would seem that in order for Bolivia to change its current state, the intervention of an outside party will be necessary. An international lawmaking organization, such as the United Nations (UN) will have to determine what should be done and intervene in the discussions held between Bolivia and its neighbors and ensure that Bolivia has a sufficient "dog in the fight." If the issue of Bolivia's access to the sea is to be resolved, an intervening party, like the U.N., must clearly identify the benefits for Bolivia and which ever country, be it Peru of Chile, will give Bolivia access to the sea. The settlement of this issue remains to be seen, but, if accomplished, could revolutionize the spirit of Bolivia.

The successful resolution of this issue could bring great benefits, economic and political, to Bolivia and the nation that chooses to aid her. Guano The historical case about guano and its impact on the trade and the environment is an interesting one. Guano, a natural fertilizer made from bird droppings, was a prized commodity during the 19th century and heavily traded by European and American traders. It helped build countries like Peru, expanded empires such as the United States, made companies and individuals involved rich, and exploited the local populations and the environment. Peru will be examined in detail because it was it's guano that was most valuable to foreign traders. Guano and the environment will also be reviewed at some length, as well as what other problems lay ahead for the guano-producing birds and their environment. Chaco War The Chaco War (1932-1935) was the result of a territory dispute between Bolivia and Paraguay. Both landlocked countries sought an expansion of territory in an effort to gain better access to the River Paraguay. This river runs through a stretch of territory between Bolivia and Paraguay known as the Chaco Boreal.

In 1932, Bolivia attempted to break out of its landlocked situation and gain access to the Atlantic Ocean through capture of the River Paraguay; athwart that route lay the Chaco Boreal, which the Bolivians thought had large oil preserves. Paraguay, in a move instigated by national unity, heavily armed their borders and fought viciously to defend itself against Bolivia's advances. The resultant war was disastrous for both sides: Bolivia and Paraguay lost more than 100,000 soldiers. In 1935, Paraguay would eventually claim victory over Bolivia, thus firmly establishing the Chaco Boreal as a part of Paraguay. Bolivia Gas As South America's poorest country, Bolivia is dependent upon exporting its natural resources abroad. The controversy over control of Bolivia's natural gas has been a key issue in Bolivia for many years. Indigenous portions of the population believe that the privitazation of Bolivia's natural gas only benefits the rich and the developed world. This case explores the cultural and political divide in Bolivia over this issue. Aozou The Aozou Strip is a long stretch of desolate land located in the middle of the Sahara Desert.

The area had been a zone of contention among the colonial powers of Africa, and remains so today between the now independent and sovereign countries of Chad and Libya. Rumors of rich uranium deposits compelled Libya to invade and capture the Aozou region from Chad in 1973. It remained in Libyan hands until a Chadian offensive in the late 1980s. In 1990, the two countries finally agreed to take their dispute to the International Court of Justice, which ruled in early 1994 that the Aozou Strip belonged to Chad. Iran/Iraq In 1980 war erupted between Iran and Iraq. This war resulted in hundreds of thousands of casualties and a tremendous loss of oil revenues for both countries. The war eventually ended in 1988 but animosities have persisted. While the causes of the conflict were numerous and varied, one of the principals was access to, and control of, the Shatt-al-Arab waterway. Control of the waterway and its use as a border has been a source of contention between various states since The Peace Treaty of 1639.

Ambiguities in this agreement (between the Persians and the Ottoman Empire) led to continual disputes that have not been resolved to this day. See maps of Iraq and Iran respectively below. Peru/Ecuador Conflict The Cordillera del Condor has been the site of armed disputes between the Peru and Ecuador for over one hundred and fifty years. Despite claims that the land is part of Ecuador, the area of confrontation is "recognized as Peruvian by the 1942 Rio Protocol, the 1945 arbitration decision, the 1947 U.S. Air Force aerial survey, and the documents issued after the 1981 border conflict." Belize Conflict How much is the Belizean rainforest worth? The Government of Belize values the rainforest at US $0.60 per acre, since it began selling logging rights at that price to foreign companies in 1993. The Mayan people of the Toledo district value the rainforest in a different way. Since 2,000 B.C., they have relied on the rainforest for their basic needs as well as spiritual value.

This case study explores the clash between the Belizean government's need to attract foreign currency through meeting commercial interests of a Malaysian logging firm and the Mayan people's material and spiritual need to preserve the rainforest. These interests brought the parties into conflict. Falklands War There is more to the Falklands/Malvinas War of 1982 than meets the eye. It is abundantly clear that Argentina occupied the Islands, a British colony, to refocus attention from economical and social problems at the time. In short, it was a political maneuver by the Argentine government to escape its own state of social chaos. This case examines the history, motives, and consequences of oil exploration in this area from both the Argentine and British perspectives. By consequences I simply mean the environmental damages that oil exploration can have on any region. El Salvador-Honduras The border between El Salvador and Honduras has been in dispute since the Spanish arrived in Central America. The Spanish divided the Central American territory into several viceroyalties whose borders have more or less remained since the sixteenth century. The border between Honduras and El Salvador, however, soon became disputed as El Salvador was one half the size of Honduras with almost double the population.

Attempts to demarcate the border throughout the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries failed. On June 15, 1969, after a large influx of Salvadoran refugees in Honduras, the border dispute flared into a full-fledged battle between the two countries. After El Salvador defeated Honduras in a World Cup soccer match in San Salvador, national pride became the issue. After Honduran fans were chased from the stadium and watched the Salvadorans burn their flag, tempers peaked. Honduras protested the Salvadorans' actions; El Salvador accused Honduras of mistreating Salvadoran immigrants and refugees who had taken up residence in El Salvador. El Salvador broke off relations and moved into Honduras on July 15. The final demarcation of the border did not occur until 1992 when the World Court settled the issue. Bolivian Access to the Sea The discovery of mineral deposits "at the sea-bed, or resting on it, as well as those in the subsoil beneath it" has flared intense debate concerning the equity, or inequity, of the distribution of the treasures of the earth. In retrieving deep sea-bed nodules, developed states have a distinct advantage over developing states in terms of technology and finance.

Moreover, developing landlocked states, such as Bolivia, are placed in an even more precarious position due to the geographic disadvantage of having no outlet to the oceans directly under their jurisdiction. Consequently, these states, including Bolivia, have striven to ensure that they will not be prevented from sharing the bounties recovered from the earth. This goal has been sought primarily through a multilateral treaty under the auspices of the United Nations - the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS. 16. Relevant Websites and Literature Barragan, Hugh Roberts. Gran Tracion en la Guerra del Pacifico. La Paz: 1979 Calvo, Roberto Querejazu. Alclaraciones Historicas sobre la Guerra del Pacifico. La Paz: 1995 Calvo, Roberto Querejazu. Guano, Salitre, y Sangre: Historia de la Guerra del Pacifico. Farcau, Bruce W. The Ten Cents War. Praeger, London:1996. "Lingering Feud with Chile Threatens Bolivia's Pipeline Plan," New York Times, July 8, 2002.

Sicotte, Richard, Catalina Vizcarra and Kristen Wandschneider. "Fertilizer, FIscal Crises and the War of the Pacific," April 2005. Taylor, Robert. "Chile and Bolivia: 1879 War of the Pacific Redux?" World Press Review, March 2004, (VOL. 51, No. 3) Our Brand is Crisis Directed by Rachel Boynton, 2005. How to remake the image of a once unpopular president, who is now a candidate and how to market him and sell him to voters, is the basis of this excellent documentary. The idea of importing a team of American image consultants that have been notorious in the United States for their work in helping elect president Bill Clinton, not once, but twice, seems to be a novel idea for politics in South America. How will this team, headed by James Carville fare in helping to elect Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, a man who was an unpopular president in that country, seems to have made some sense to this candidate for his successful bid for a second term. After all, Mr.

Sanchez de Lozada governed the country from 1993 to 1997, so why try to have the campaign run by Mr. Carville and his gang of experts? Bolivia Bolivian history examined in detail. Bolivia y su historia Information about the history of Bolivia and its people (in Spanish). The Ten Cents War: Chile, Peru, and Bolivia in the War of the Pacific, 1879-1884: Amazon.es: Bruce Farcau: Libros en idiomas extranjeros 5.0 de un mÃ¡ximo de 5 estrellas The best book to date on the War of the Pacific 15 de mayo de 2001 Por El Lector - Publicado en Amazon.com Formato: Tapa dura Compra verificada Finally, a book about this conflict by an American author who combines modern scholarly methods with readable style! Bruce Farcau writes with knowledge, flair and compassion about his subject, sustaining remarkable objectivity throughout the book.

Money, deceit, gallantry, violence, tactical and strategic brilliance and folly --- The War of the Pacific is a splendid microcosm of all the elements of military, economic, and political strategy, and Farcau does it justice. His analysis of the causes of the war is impeccable, without the cant found in many South American and European authors, or the dry didactic tone of academic dissertations. His humane and balanced treatment of the conduct of a war that includes the first combat on the high seas between ironclads, a major amphibious invasion, set-piece battles using modern weapons, and a protracted guerrilla war, is admirable. I recommend it most highly to any library, whether personal, academic or professional, that deals with South American issues. Farcau also discusses in some detail the relationship of U.S. and European internal politics and finance to this war, which may make it of interest to readers in other fields. Students of political science in a fractured world should read his discussion of the advantages --- and hindrances --- in war of an ordered democracy fighting against dictatorships and failing states. This is the only book (of several dozen) on the War of the Pacific over whose conclusions our Chilean and Peruvian officers have not quarreled.

The price is somewhat daunting, but it is worth it. 2 de 3 personas piensan que la opiniÃ³n es Ãºtil 4.0 de un mÃ¡ximo de 5 estrellas Good reading, very engaging and with the right size 27 de marzo de 2008 Por Luis Mansilla - Publicado en Amazon.com Formato: Tapa dura Compra verificada I think this was a fairly good book from an impartial author. I can have some objections about certains comments or the brief mention of some important aspects or the lack of a map but yet, I think this book makes a very engaging narrative of the history of this war. The motives of this war are controversial, but in order to really understand it, it is important to have a good background of the circumstances that triggered the war, so in this way we can see that it was not an aggresion from Chile but a defensive position againts treaties violations.

The scenario was of mostly three recently independent countries, with their economies in bad shape but with Chile having the most robust economy, with Chile having the more stable political situation and with its neighbours sunk in corruption or in the case of Bolivia, with a situation near to disastrous, but more importantly, a territory in the boundaries of Bolivia and Chile that suddenly became very important, not only for the Guano but for its minerals. Added to this panorama, we must not forget the bombshell that was the secret treaty between Peru and Bolivia, which dragged Peru into the War, an utterly bad choise for Peru. There were notorius differences in military aspect as well, with the Allies having more troops but with Chile having the more prepared and skilful army. You can grasp how this war would develope just by reading the first naval engagements, when the Huascar (Peru's Ironclad) was attacking the elderly Esmeralda (Wooden Frigate) in the city of Iquique and with Arturo Prat as Captain. The Huascar shots, dozen of them, didn't hit the target forcing the Huascar to ram the Esmeralda.

It was here, one of the dramatic moments of this war, that Captain Arturo Prat and Sergeant Juan de Dios Aldea leap aboard the Huascar, a heroic action that cost him his life. Prat is one of the greatest heros we have, a young man who in an adversely situation like this never had the intention to surrender, and it was here by reading the book that you can truly appreciate this Captain courage, totally inspiring and also emotional. Grau, the captain of the Huascar, took the time to send a letter to the Prat's Widows, a lofty gesture. To finish this war was another story. Despite Chile's advance, despite of having taken Arica, Tacna and even Lima, the Peruvians never accepted the terms of surrender, worsening their position of negotiation everytime Chile had to advance North to shut down the resistance. The problem with going to war, besides the pity of it, is that you can lose more than your proud in the process. Thousands of soldiers gave their life for the cause, and we only have gratitude for their effort.

Chile is a peaceful country, with all its limits (including maritimes boundaries) properly defined by treaties, whose only mission is to progress and grow, away from utopian dreams that have ravaged Latin American countries. This book is highly recommended, It would be ideal to have an spanish edition as well. There is an excellent book about this war, included in the bibliography, from Gonzalo Bulnes, which is a three volumes book. I really hope to have time to read it but I also want to say that here in Latin America, we badly need something like Penguin Classics, which reprint old books and sometimes in an abridge version --- that would be ideal for Bulnes book, so more people feel attracted to read about this important part of my country's History. 4 de 6 personas piensan que la opiniÃ³n es Ãºtil 4.0 de un mÃ¡ximo de 5 estrellas Chilean aggression against Peru and Bolivia. 24 de mayo de 2003 Por Kevin M Quigg - Publicado en Amazon.com Formato: Tapa dura One of the little heralded wars of South America is the War of the Pacific.

This war pitted Chile against the combined Armies of Bolivia and Peru. Chile (the Prussia of South America) defeated both nations in the first year of war and took the nitrate lands of both Peru and Bolivia. Then Chile invaded Peru and captured the capital. Why is Bolivia land locked? She lost her coastland to Chile in this war. Farcau does a good job detailing how Chile was organized better in finance and the military to defeat her neighbors who had a larger population. Control of the seas by the modern Chile Navy also had a drastic effect on the Allies (Bolivia and Peru). As detailed in a previous review, the author does a great job of relating the history of this war in a scholarly and readable format. One thing missing in this book is maps, which would have lent the reader an understanding of the geography of the war. I cannot understand why maps were left out. The book is a good read about a long forgotten war. 10 de 13 personas piensan que la opiniÃ³n es Ãºtil 4.0 de un mÃ¡ximo de 5 estrellas Chilean aggression against Peru and Bolivia.

24 de mayo de 2003 Por Kevin M Quigg - Publicado en Amazon.com Formato: Tapa dura One of the little heralded wars of South America is the War of the Pacific. This war pitted Chile against the combined Armies of Bolivia and Peru. Chile (the Prussia of South America) defeated both nations in the first year of war and took the nitrate lands of both Peru and Bolivia. Then Chile invaded Peru and captured the capital. Why is Bolivia landlocked? She lost her coastland to Chile in this war. Farcau does a good job detailing how Chile was better organized in finance and the military to defeat her neighbors who had a larger population. Control of the seas by the modern Chile Navy also had a drastic effect on the Allies (Bolivia and Peru). As detailed in a previous review, the author does a great job of relating the history of this war in a scholarly and readable format. One thing missing in this book is maps, which would have lent the reader an understanding of the geography of the war. I cannot understand why maps were left out. The book is a good read about a long forgotten war.

4 de 6 personas piensan que la opiniÃ³n es Ãºtil The Earliest inhabitants were the Aymaras around Lake Titicaca - GGY - 180 View Full Document 9 As in other South American countries, Bolivia’s explosive politics have damaged the economic and social development of the country. One wealthy family, the Patinos, dominated Bolivia from “independence” into the 20 th century. There have been a dozen constitutions, 30 revolutions, and 6 Presidential assassinations. PARAGUAY (Asuncion) is a land-locked, non-Andean country, included in the region because of its large Guarani Indian population, which is one of two official languages in the country. It is one of the most sparsely populated. It was originally settled by the Guarani, who absorbed the Spanish Jesuits and associated settlers who came up the Paraguay River from Buenos Aires, searching for exploitable land, minerals, and labor in the 16 th century. Paraguay was selected by militant Jesuits for a grand experiment. They converted, educated, and urbanized the subsistence-level Indians into about 30 semi- urban communities.

The movie The Mission gives a sense of what it must have been like. It was part socialism, part paternalism and Paraguay’s most hopeful period, as it was all downhill after that until the late 20 th century. The Jesuits were expelled in 1767, the settlements were destroyed, and the Christianized Indians became servants to Spanish colonial masters. Independence from Spain came in 1811 followed by the rule of Jose Gaspar Rodriguez Francia ( El Supremo ) until 1840. He locked the doors to the outside world--no trade, no visitors, no escape, and no education within—and operated as head of state, head of church, chief butcher and terrorizer. He was succeeded by his nephew, 10 Carlos Antonio Lopez, who was only a little less harsh and isolationist and only a lull before the storm. His son and successor, Francisco Solano Lopez, assailed by Napoleonic delusions challenged Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil to a hopeless war in 1865 , the Triple Alliance War , which was possibly the stupidest war in history. He was killed and the war was over by 1870.

Half of Paraguay's population was wiped out, with only 30,000 males out of 220,000 left. This preview has intentionally blurred sections. Sign up to view the full version.

Question: Which South American country became landlocked after 'The War of the Pacific' in 1884?
Answer: BOLIVIA