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Battle of Angamos
Every year on 8th October Peru remembers the Battle of Angamos, an important battle in the War of the Pacific (1879–1884) between Chile and the combined forces of Peru and Bolivia. Peru's defeat in this battle eventually led to a gain in territory for Chile.
After the Battle of Angamos in 1879 the Peruvian Navy was unable to prevent the invasion of its territory, and the seas were cleared for the invasion of Peru and Bolivia.
After the Battle of Iquique (21st May 1879), the Peruvian ironclad Huáscar made several incursions to challenge the Chilean naval dominion, attacking ports along its entire coast and capturing transports.
This one ship was preventing Chile from invading Bolivian and Peruvian territory and did so, very successfully, for nearly five months. No attempt to land troops could be made, because the Huáscar prevented the entire Chilean Navy from taking control of the sea.
Because Chile's plan was to achieve naval supremacy, prior to invading Bolivian and/or Peruvian territory, the Huáscar had to be eliminated along with its captain Admiral Miguel Grau. Several efforts were made in order to capture or sink Huáscar, but none succeeded. Finally, nearly six months after the naval combat of Iquique, the opportunity came for the Chilean Navy.
Six Chilean ships - the Blanco Encalada and Cochrane battleships among them - were sent out with the sole purpose of sinking or capturing the Peruvian vessel. A carefully planned ambush had been set up, dividing the Fleet in two: one near the Bolivian coast and the other part waiting for instructions.
Near Punta de Angamos the trap was set and, nearly two hours after the beginning of combat, the crew of the Huáscar made the decision to scuttle it rather than surrender it (Admiral Grau had already been killed in the initial volleys from the Chilean ships). However, their plan failed, and the Huáscar was eventually captured and prevented from sinking. It was the end of the War of the Pacific sea campaign. The Chilean navy used the Huáscar as one of its own ships from that time on.
The War of the Pacific resulted in the Chilean annexation of valuable disputed territory on the Pacific coast. It grew out of a dispute between Chile and Bolivia over control of a part of the Atacama Desert containing valuable mineral resources, particularly sodium nitrate. This desert lies between the 23rd and 26th parallels on the Pacific coast of South America.
National borders in the region had never been definitively established. There was a treaty between Bolivia and Chile that recognised the 24th parallel as their boundary and gave Chile the right to share the export taxes on the mineral resources of Bolivia's territory between the 23rd and 24th parallels. Bolivia became dissatisfied at having to share its taxes with Chile, and feared Chilean seizure of its coastal region, where Chilean interests already controlled the mining industry.
Peru's interest in the conflict stemmed from its traditional rivalry with Chile for superiority on the Pacific coast. The prosperity of the Peruvian government's guano (fertiliser) monopoly, and the thriving nitrate industry in Peru's Tarapacá province were also related to the mining activities on the Bolivian coast.
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