Chincha Islands War
The Chincha Islands War (Spanish: Guerra Hispano-Peruana or Guerra Hispano-Chilena, which translates as Spanish-Peruvian War or Spanish-Chilean War, the name changing depending on the nationality of the author) was a series of coastal and naval battles between Spain and its former colonies of Peru and Chile from 1864 to 1866, that began with Spain's seizure of the guano-rich Chincha Islands, part of a series of attempts by Isabel II of Spain to reassert her country's lost influence in its former South American empire.
Background
Military expenditure had greatly increased during Isabel's reign, with Spain becoming as a consequence the world's fourth naval power. Isabel's reign saw Spain engaged in colonial adventures in the 1850s and 1860s in regions as disparate as Morocco, Indochina, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic (which it briefly reoccupied.)
At the end of 1862, Isabel sent a "scientific expedition" to South American waters, with a second, hidden purpose of backing the financial and legal claims of Spanish citizens living in the Americas. The expedition was under the command of Admiral Luis Hernández Pinzón – a direct descendant of the Pinzón brothers that accompanied Christopher Columbus in the discovery of America. His squadron was composed of 3 warships: the twin steam frigates Triunfo and Resolución and the schooner Virgen de Covadonga.
The Spaniards arrived to the port of Valparaiso, Chile, on April 18, 1863. Spain had recognized Chilean independence since the 1840s, and both countries had diplomatic relations, thus the expedition was very cordially received and the Admiral exchanged visits with the local authorities. They left Chile in July in the best of terms and moved on to Perú. Even though Spain had never recognized Peruvian independence (achieved in 1821), the squadron received a very friendly welcome at the port of Callao. They stayed in port for a few weeks and then moved on towards San Francisco, California. This was the moment when the problems started.
Talambó incident
On August 4, 1863 a confuse incident took place at the Talambó hacienda, in Lambayeque, Peru. For reasons not at all clarified, a fight broke out between two Spaniards living there and 40 local people. As a result, one Spaniard died and four were injured.
When news of the incident reached Admiral Pinzón, he returned with his fleet to Perú on November 13 and demanded a government apology and indemnizations to the affected Spanish citizens. The Peruvians responded that it was an internal police matter, better handled by the justice system, and no apology was due. At this juncture, the Spanish government in Madrid decided to demand also the payment of former Peruvian debts stemming from the War of Independence, and it sent deputy Eusebio de Salazar y Mazaredo to settle the issue directly with the Peruvian authorities.
Salazar arrived in March of 1864, with the title of Royal Comisary. This was a deliberate insult to the government of Perú, because a a Comisary is a colonial functionary and not an embassador, the proper title for a diplomatic functionary sent to negotiate with an independent state. From there on, the negotiations between him and the Peruvian minister of Foreign Affairs, Juan A. Ribeyro, were doomed to fail.
Chincha islands occupation
On April 14, 1864, the Spanish fleet seized the lightly defended Chincha Islands, the principal source of Peruvian guano, as a retaliation for the indemnization that Peru was refusing to pay. There, the Spaniards placed Governor Ramón Valle Riestra under arrest aboard the Resolución, occupied the islands with 400 Spanish marines, and raised their own flag. Spain considered these islands an important bargaining tool, because they were a major source of resources for Peru and produced almost 60% of all governmental revenue.
The Spanish squadron also blockaded the principal Peruvian ports, disrupting commerce and creating a high level of dislike in all of Latin America. They expected little resistance from Peru, believing its military prowess to be negligible. Even a proposal to exchange the islands with the British for Gibraltar was considered for a time. During this blockade the Spanish lost the Triunfo after an accidental fire destroyed it.
During this first phase of the war, the recently assumed Spanish Prime Minister, Ramón María Narváez, at first did not approve of the unilateral position of Admiral Pinzón, and replaced him with Vice Admiral Juan Manuel Pareja, ex Minister of the navy, who had been born in Perú and hated the “rebels” because his father had died in Chile on 1813, fighting during the Chilean War of Independence. Very soon though, Narváez opinion changed again, and he sent another four warships to strengthen the Pacific fleet.
Admiral Pareja arrived to Perú in December of 1864, and inmediately opened diplomatic negotiations with General Manuel Ignacio de Vivanco, the special representative of Peruvian Presidente Juan Antonio Pezet. The Vivanco-Pareja Treaty was signed on January 27, 1865, on board of the frigate Villa de Madrid. Nonetheless national opinion considered it derogatory to Peruvian national honor. Peruvian Congress refused to ratify it, a general uprising followed and the government of General Pezet fell on November 7, 1865.
War with Chile
In the Meantime, anti-Spanish sentiments in several South American countries such as Bolivia, Chile and Ecuador were increasing. It was obvious that the Spaniards had no intention, strength, or the resources to conquer their former colonies. But Peru and its neighbors were suspicious about the possibility of the re-establishment of the Spanish Empire. For this reason it was not surprising that when the Spanish gunboat Vencedora stopped at a Chilean port for coal, President José Joaquín Pérez declared that coal was a war supply that could not be sold to a belligerent nation.
However, from the Spanish point of view such embargo could not be taken as proof of Chilean neutrality since two Peruvian steamers had left the port of Valparaiso with weapons and Chilean volunteers to fight for Peru. In consequence, Admiral Juan Manuel Pareja took a hard line and demanded sanctions against Chile, even heavier than those imposed upon Peru. He then headed with part of his squadron composed of four wooden ships to Chile, while the Numancia and the Covadonga remained to guard Callao.
On September 17, 1865, Admiral Pareja arrived to Valparaiso on his flagship, the Villa de Madrid, and demanded that the Spanish flag be given a 21-shot gun salute. He purposefully chose the day before the anniversary of Chilean Independence (September 18) to present his demand. Under the circumstances, the Chileans refused and war was declared a week later, on September 24.
The just named Spanish Prime Minister Leopoldo O'Donnell, who replaced Narvaéz, ordered Admiral Pareja to withdraw. The Spanish Admiral chose to ignore and disobey his direct orders. Since he had no troops with which to attempt a landing he decided instead to impose a blockade of the main Chilean ports. Even so, his plan was ridiculous, for in order to blockade Chile's 1,800 miles of coastline, Pareja would have needed a fleet several times larger than what he had at his disposal. The blockade of the port of Valparaiso, however, caused such great economic damage to Chilean and foreign interests, that the neutral naval warships of the United States and the United Kingdom lodged a formal protest.
Naval Battle of Papudo
Before Chile and Peru were even formally aligned, Spain suffered a humiliating naval defeat at the Naval Battle of Papudo on November 26, 1865. There, the Chilean corvette Esmeralda captured the Spanish schooner Covadonga, taking the crew prisoner and capturing the Admiral's war correspondence. This loss was too much for Admiral Pareja's pride, and two days later he committed suicide on his flagship. After the Spanish Admiral's death, the general command of the Spanish fleet in the Pacific was assumed by commodore Casto Méndez Núñez, who was promoted to Rear Admiral.
War with Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia
On November 7, 1865, because of his unwillingness to declare war against Spain and his discredit for having signed the Vivanco-Pareja Treaty, Peruvian President Juan Antonio Pezet was forced out of office and replaced by his vice president, General Pedro Diez Canseco.
General Diez Canseco also tried to avoid war with Spain, and that in turn also caused his downfall. Only 20 days later, on November 26 General Mariano Ignacio Prado, leader of the nationalist movement, deposed him. The new government inmediately declared its solidarity with Chile and their intention to declare war against Spain to clean their national honor.
On December 5, 1865, Chile and Peru formally signed an alliance against Spain. The Peruvian Congress ratified this alliance on January 12, and two days later, on January 14, 1866, Peru finally declared war on Spain. Inmediately after, a Peruvian squadron under the command of Captain Lizardo Montero, composed of the steamers Amazonas and Apurimac set out to join the Chilean fleet.
Ecuador joined the alliance on January 30, 1866 declaring war on Spain that same day. Bolivia, under the command of General Mariano Melgarejo, was to do something similar on March 22, 1866. In this way, all the ports of the Pacific coast of South America became closed and hostile to the Spanish fleet. On the other hand, Argentina and Brazil refused to join the alliance, involved as they were in the War of the Triple Alliance.
Naval Battle of Abtao
There the combined fleet was put under the command of Rear Admiral Manuel Blanco Encalada.The encounter was an inconclusive affair because the Spanish Commander decided not to risk his ships into unchartered shallow waters.He contented himself by bombarding rather ineffectively the enemy fleet.
Valparaiso bombardment
The Spanish fleet bombarded and burned the town and port of Valparaiso, and destroyed the Chilean merchant fleet on January 31, 1866.
Spanish warships had previously shelled Valparaiso.Mendez Núñez not very happy for having bombarded a practically defenceless target as Valparaiso was,decided an attack on a heavily defended port.Thus the Battle of Callao took place, in which Peruvian defenders of the port of El Callao claimed to have forced the Spaniards to withdraw their ships. The Peruvian President, Mariano Ignacio Prado, had rallied his country against the Spanish.
Order of battle
Spain
Iron-protected frigates
- Numancia - Built in France 1863; Weight 7,500-tons; Speed 12 knots; weapons thirty-four 200-mm guns; Armor five and a half iron belt; Crew 620 men. At the time among the most powerful ships of the world.
Steam frigates
- Villa de Madrid - Built 1862; Weight 4,478-tons; Speed 15 knots; Weapons thirty 200-mm guns, fourteen 160 mm-guns, two 120-mm guns, plus two 150-mm howitzers and two 80-mm guns for landing.
- Resolucion - Built 1861; Weight 3,100-tons; Speed 11 knots; weapons twenty 200-mm guns, fourteen 160-mm guns, one revolving 220-mm gun and two 150 mm-howitzers, two 120-mm guns and two 80-mm guns for landing.
- Triunfo - Built 1861; Weight 3,100-tons; Speed 11 knots; weapons twenty 200-mm guns, fourteen 160-mm guns, one revolving 220-mm gun and two 150 mm-howitzers, two 120-mm guns and two 80-mm guns for landing. This ship was lost in a fire during the early stages of the war.
- Almansa - Built 1864; Weight 3,980-tons; Speed 12 knots; armament thirty 200-mm guns; fourteen 160-mm guns and two 120-mm guns. She also had two 150 mm-howitzers and two 80-mm guns for landing. This ship would arrive to the Pacific on April 1866, days before the Callao Combat.
- Reina Blanca - Weight 3,800-tons; armament 68 guns.
- Berenguela - Weight 3,800-tons; armament 36 guns.
Schooners
- Virgen de Covadonga, Built 1864; Weight 445-tons; Speed 8 knots; Weapons two revolving 200-mm guns at the sides and one revolving 160-mm guns at the prow. Spain however lost the ship to the Chileans.
Gunboats
- Vencedora, Built 1861; Weight 778-tons; Speed 8 knots; weapons two 200-mm revolving guns and two 160-mm guns.
Transports
- Marques de la Victoria - 3 guns
- Paquete del Maule - captured to Chile
- Consuelo
- Mataure
The war saw the use of ironclads, including the Spanish ship Numancia, the first ironclad to circumnavigate the world.
With Chilean power subsequently in the ascendancy, the South American powers subsequently turned against one another in the War of the Pacific.
Battles of the Chincha Islands War
- Battle of Papudo (February 26, 1865)
- Battle of Abtao (February 7, 1866)
- Battle of Callao (May 2, 1866)
External links
- The War With Spain (extensive background)
- Good Information on the fleets Template:Es icon
- Liberation of the Chinchas Template:Es icon