The War of the Pacific, also known as the Saltpeter War and by multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought over Chilean claims on coastal Bolivian territory in the Atacama Desert, the war ended with a Chilean victory, which gained for the country a significant amount of resource-rich territory from Peru and Bolivia. The Chilean Army took Bolivia's nitrate-rich coastal region, and Peru was defeated by the Chilean Navy.
The Peruvian Navy is an executive body of the Ministry of Defense, a branch of the Armed Forces and, as such, it takes part of the Joint Command of the Peruvian Armed Forces.
Arica is a commune and a port city with a population of 222,619 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica y Parinacota Region. It is Chile's northernmost city, being located only 18 km (11 mi) south of the border with Peru. The city is the capital of both the Arica Province and the Arica and Parinacota Region. Arica has a mild, temperate climate with some of the lowest annual rainfall rates anywhere in the world. Arica is located at the bend of South America's western coast known as the Arica Bend or Arica Elbow. At the location of the city are two lush valleys that dissect the Atacama Desert converge: Azapa and Lluta. These valleys provide fruit for export.
The Battle of Angamos was a naval encounter of the War of the Pacific fought between the navies of Chile and Perú at Punta Angamos, on 8 October 1879. The battle was the culminating point of a naval campaign that lasted about five months in which the Chilean Navy had the sole mission of eliminating its Peruvian counterpart. In the struggle, two armored frigates, led by Commodore Galvarino Riveros Cárdenas and Navy Captain Juan José Latorre battered and later captured the Peruvian monitor Huáscar, under Rear Admiral Miguel Grau Seminario.
The Arica y Parinacota Region is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. It comprises two provinces, Arica and Parinacota. It borders Peru's Department of Tacna to the north, Bolivia's La Paz and Oruro departments to the east and Chile's Tarapacá Region to the south. Arica y Parinacota is the 5th smallest, the 3rd least populous and the 6th least densely populated of the regions of Chile. Arica is the region's capital and largest city.
USS Oneota was a single-turreted Canonicus-class monitor built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War. Completed shortly after the end of the war, Oneota was laid up until sold to her builders in 1868, and then resold to Peru. Renamed Manco Cápac, the ship participated in the defense of Arica during the War of the Pacific. When the town was taken by Chilean troops in 1880, she was scuttled to prevent her capture. Her wreck was rediscovered in 1960 and it has been heavily looted.
The Battle of Arica, also known as Assault and Capture of Cape Arica, was a battle in the War of the Pacific. It was fought on 7 June 1880, between the forces of Chile and Peru.
The first USS Wateree was a sidewheel gunboat in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.
BAPIslay(SS-35) is one of two Type 209/1100 submarines ordered by the Peruvian Navy on 24 June 1970. She was built by the German shipbuilder Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft AG at its shipyard in Kiel. She is named after the Battle of Islay which took place between naval forces of Peru and Chile on 12 January 1838. Following sea trials in the North Sea, she arrived to its homeport of Callao in 1974. After almost a decade in service she was overhauled in Kiel in 1983 for further use.
BAP Angamos (SS-31) is one of two Type 209/1200 submarines ordered by the Peruvian Navy on August 12, 1976. She was built by the German shipbuilder Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft AG at its shipyard in Kiel. She was originally named Casma after a battle which took place between naval forces of Peru and Chile on January 12, 1839. Following sea trials in the North Sea, she arrived to its homeport of Callao in 1981. After a major overhaul by Servicio Industrial de la Marina at Callao in 1998, she was renamed Angamos after the battle of the same name which took place on October 8, 1879.
BAP Antofagasta is one of two Type 209/1200 submarines ordered by the Peruvian Navy on 12 August 1976. She was built by the German shipbuilder Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft AG at its shipyard in Kiel. She is named after the Naval Battle of Antofagasta during the War of the Pacific. Following sea trials in the North Sea, she arrived at its homeport of Callao in 1981. After several years in service she was overhauled by Servicio Industrial de la Marina (SIMA) at Callao in 1996.
BAPPisagua(SS-33) is one of two Type 209/1200 submarines ordered by the Peruvian Navy on 21 March 1977. It was built by the German shipbuilder Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft AG at its shipyard in Kiel. It is named after the battle of Pisagua which took place between Chilean warships and Peruvian coastal artillery on 2 November 1879. While undergoing sea trials in the North Sea, it collided with a Soviet ship on 8 April 1982 and suffered damage which delayed its commissioning. It eventually arrived to its homeport of Callao in 1983.
BAPChipana(SS-34) is one of two Type 209/1200 submarines ordered by the Peruvian Navy on March 21, 1977. She was built by the German shipbuilder Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft AG at its shipyard in Kiel.
SMS Moltke was a Bismarck-class corvette built for the German Imperial Navy in the late 1870s. The ship was named after the Prussian Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke the Elder. She was the fourth member of the class, which included five other vessels. The Bismarck-class corvettes were ordered as part of a major naval construction program in the early 1870s, and she was designed to serve as a fleet scout and on extended tours in Germany's colonial empire. Moltke was laid down in July 1875, launched in October 1877, and was commissioned into the fleet in April 1878. She was armed with a battery of ten 15 cm (5.9 in) guns and had a full ship rig to supplement her steam engine on long cruises abroad.
SMS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was a German pre-dreadnought battleship of the Kaiser Friedrich III class, built around the turn of the 20th century. The ship was one of the first battleships built by the German Imperial Navy as part of a program of naval expansion under Kaiser Wilhelm II. Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was built in Kiel at the Germaniawerft shipyard. She was laid down in January 1898, launched in June 1899, and completed in May 1901. The ship was armed with a main battery of four 24-centimeter (9.4 in) guns in two twin turrets.
The Tacna and Arica campaign is known as the stage of the War of the Pacific after the Chilean conquest of the Peruvian department of Tarapacá, ending with Chilean domination of the Moquegua department in southern Peru. During this campaign Bolivia retired from the war after the Battle of Tacna, and Peru lost the port of Arica. Also, Manuel Baquedano assumed command as the new Commander in Chief of the Chilean Army, and the Allied Presidents were thrown out of office and replaced by Nicolas de Pierola in Peru and General Narciso Campero in Bolivia.
The Naval campaign of the War of the Pacific or Saltpeter war was a naval campaign that took place from 1879 to 1884 involving Peru, and Chile undertaken in order to support land forces in the Atacama Desert. Due to the rough terrain and few transport methods it was imperitive to have control of the ports in order to have a good supply source in the region. It resulted in a successful campaign by Chile, and the success of their land campaigns leading to the loss of Bolivia's access to the ocean.
SMS Hansa was a German ironclad warship built in 1868–1875. She was the first ironclad built in Germany; all previous German ironclads had been built in foreign shipyards. She was named after the Hanseatic League, known in Germany simply as Hanse, Latinized Hansa. The ship was launched in October 1872 and commissioned into the German Imperial Navy in May 1875. Designed for overseas service, Hansa was classed as an armored corvette and armed with eight 21 cm (8.3 in) guns in a central battery.
The consequences of the War of the Pacific were profound and numerous in the countries involved.
SMS Freya was a steam corvette of the German Kaiserliche Marine. She was the third member of the Ariadne class, which included two other ships, Ariadne and Luise. Ordered as part of a large naval expansion program after the Austro-Prussian War, she was laid down in 1872 after the Franco-Prussian War. She was launched in December 1874 and completed in October 1876. Freya was built to a different design than her sisters, being longer and carrying a heavier battery of twelve guns.
Peru