The Ten Cents War: Chile, Peru, and Bolivia in the War of the Pacific, 1879-1884

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Description

The Atacama Desert, a coastal area where the borders of Chile, Peru, and Bolivia meet, was once a region of no real interest in the late nineteenth century until European research on the usage of nitrates in fertilizers and explosives rendered the droppings of millions of sea birds a valuable commodity. In a move that echoed the California Gold Rush, the three neighboring countries soon battled for regulate of the region. In 1879, a comparatively up to date and powerful Chile seized Bolivia’s coastal province, and a secret alliance between Peru and Bolivia soon led to a full-scale war, one which saw the employment of much new military technology.

Using such new weapons as the breech-loading rifle, rapid-fire cannon, ironclad warships, torpedoes, and electronic mines, Chile quickly crushed the allied armies, but a guerrilla war would drag on for years. Whilst the three armies fought over one of the crucial most inhospitable terrain conceivable, from burning, waterless deserts to snow-clogged mountain passes at 15,000 feet, their governments bumbled and wrangled. Finally, the lure of easy wealth undermined the economies of all three nations and served no good purpose when the marketplace for nitrates soon evaporated, leaving all three much poorer for the experience.

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