War of the Pacific

In progress The War of the Pacific (Spanish: Guerra del Pacífico), occurring from 1879-1884, was a conflict between Chile and the alliance of Bolivia and Peru. Also known as the "Saltpeter War," the war arose from disputes over the control of territory that contained substantial mineral-rich deposits. About the causes of the war, there is debate among historians on: if the tax of 10 cents of 14th February 1878 was legal or illegal, if Daza's decr... more

In progress The War of the Pacific (Spanish: Guerra del Pacífico), occurring from 1879-1884, was a conflict between Chile and the alliance of Bolivia and Peru. Also known as the "Saltpeter War," the war arose from disputes over the control of territory that contained substantial mineral-rich deposits. About the causes of the war, there is debate among historians on: if the tax of 10 cents of 14th February 1878 was legal or illegal, if Daza's decree of 1st March 1879 was a declaration of war or not, and, if the treaty of alliance of 1873 was defensive or offensive to Chile. The conclusion of the conflict ultimately led to the Chilean acquisition of the Peruvian territories of department of Tarapaca and province of Arica, as well as the disputed Bolivian department of Litoral, leaving Bolivia as a landlocked country. The dry climate of the Peruvian and Bolivian coasts had permitted the accumulation and preservation of vast amounts of high-quality nitrate deposits such as guano and... less