Pacific, War of the

Pacific, War of the, 1879–84, war between Chile and the allied nations, Peru and Bolivia; also called the Chile–Peruvian War. The trouble began when President Hilarión Daza of Bolivia rescinded (Feb., 1879) the contract that had given a Chilean company the right to exploit nitrate deposits in Atacama, a province of Bolivia. In reprisal Chile took the port of Antofagasta, and two weeks later war was formally acknowledged. Peru, bound since 1873 by a defensive alliance to Bolivia, refused to promise to remain neutral, and Chile declared war on Peru. At the end of 1879, Chile had not only won Atacama and the Peruvian province of Tarapacá, but by the capture of Huáscar, a Peruvian ironclad warship, had gained control of the sea. Although the presidents of Peru and Bolivia, Mariano Ignacio Prado and Hilarión Daza, respectively, were replaced by other leaders, no change occurred in the war; by coordinated sea and land attacks the Chilean conquest continued. During 1880, Chilean forces took Tacna and Arica and, after an invasion by sea and the victories of Chorillos and Miraflores (Jan., 1881), made a triumphal entry into Lima. Although the Peruvian leader Andrés Avelino Cáceres, aided by Miguel Iglesias, gallantly fought a guerrilla campaign, Peru and Bolivia were thoroughly vanquished. The Treaty of Ancón (Oct., 1883) restored peace between Peru and Chile; a truce at Valparaíso (Apr., 1884) was signed between Bolivia and Chile, but a definitive treaty was not agreed upon until 1904. Chile acquired Atacama, Bolivia's only coastal territory, now called Antofagasta. Peru also had to cede Tarapacá to Chile and surrendered control of the provinces of Tacna and Arica, their disposition to be decided by plebiscite after 10 years. This provision led to the Tacna-Arica Controversy.

---

Pacific, War of the

(1879–83) Conflict involving Chile, Bolivia, and Peru over disputed territory on the mineral-rich Pacific coast. National boundaries in the region were not definitively established prior to the conflict, and in the 1870s Chile controlled nitrate fields claimed by Peru and Bolivia. When demand for nitrates rose, war broke out over the territory. Chile defeated both countries and took control of valuable mining areas in each; Bolivia lost its entire Pacific coast. A 1904 treaty gave Bolivian commerce freedom of transit through Chilean territory, but Bolivia continued to try to escape its landlocked status (see Chaco War). Peru foundered economically for decades after the war. A final accord between Peru and Chile was only reached in 1929 through U.S. mediation.