The War of the Pacific and the Role of the British Empire in Chile's Invasion of Bolivia
By: Marco A. Ayllon Bueno
Chile invaded Bolivia by force
The origins of the War of the Pacific date back long before 1860. Two Chilean businessmen, José Santos Ossa and Francisco Puelma, founded a nitrate mining company. It was a medium-sized business until, a decade later, nitrate increased in popularity thanks to its fertilizing properties, which generated high global demand. It was then that Ossa and Puelma traveled to Valparaíso to partner with the British financial firms Melbourne Clark and Company and William Gibbs . This alliance would eventually transform into an influential network of British magnates who coveted the nitrate territories of Bolivia and Peru.
Interestingly, the demand for this resource sparked the Chilean arms race. From 1870 onward, Chile acquired numerous warships and modern artillery. In this regard, the then US Secretary of State, James Blaine, stated emphatically:
"English bankers were responsible for the war against Bolivia. They were involved in everything. The Chilean army, along with English mercenaries who invaded Bolivian ports, raided and seized its important businesses, its copper mines, other valuable metals, saltpeter, and Bolivian guano. Those sinister ships also destroyed the Peruvian navy; they were financed by England. The Peruvians had larger guano deposits than Bolivia. This was a war waged by England against Bolivia, using Chile as a pawn. Chile would not have started this conflict alone if it hadn't been for the backing of English capital."
The surprise assault of the “Rotos” on Bolivian ports
After prolonged conflicts over late payments from Chile to Bolivia, both countries signed an agreement in 1874. In this treaty, Bolivia forgave some Chilean debts and Bolivia pledged not to increase taxes on Chilean nitrate corporations operating in the Bolivian region of Antofagasta.
However, shortly thereafter, the Bolivian government decided to increase the tax on all companies working with Bolivian nitrate, including retailers. This measure was based on a valid reason: the price of Bolivian nitrate had risen on the international market, and, moreover, these Chilean nitrate corporations were actually British-owned.
Chile immediately rejected the tax increases. When Bolivia, faced with accumulated Chilean debts to the state, threatened to confiscate British mining companies, Chile, along with England, responded with war.
In the years leading up to the conflict, Bolivia's economy was based on mining and the nascent oil extraction in the eastern regions. External debt grew as guano reserves dwindled, while Chilean and British companies increased their sales and corporate expansion intensified.
Despite the difficulties, Bolivia had begun the construction of railway lines to western port cities such as Antofagasta, with the aim of interconnecting the mining and agricultural regions with the sea.
The increase in tariffs for the exploitation of saltpeter and guano was a fair and sovereign measure, aligned with international prices and aimed at modernizing the national economy. However, in February 1879, Chilean troops, supported financially and logistically by Great Britain, launched a surprise invasion of the Bolivian territory of Antofagasta.
The verdict of British greed
Bolivia's coastline was invaded by a country that, until then, was mired in profound economic hardship. At the time, they were popularly called "Chilean ragpickers" because their troops and civilians wore tattered and patched clothing. Before the invasion, Chile was experiencing a famine that lasted for more than 20 years, compounded by rampant inflation and a scarcity of well-paying jobs.
In the midst of this extreme crisis, Chile decided to advance militarily with the financial support of British companies, which transported and resold Bolivian nitrates, guano, and copper in Europe. Chilean workers had migrated en masse from the south to Bolivian ports in search of employment in the nitrate mining industry.
It took Chile and its army—reinforced by hired mercenaries—more than eight years to prepare and consolidate its invasion. Today, the Bolivian city of Calama and other northern coastal cities, although under Chilean sovereignty and distanced from their Bolivian institutional roots, maintain intact cultural, folkloric, and artistic ties with Bolivia, since many of the region's services and products still have that origin.
Likewise, the minerals extracted from the old Bolivian mines continue to support the Chilean central government, while other Bolivian coastal cities such as Calama, Tocopilla, Taltal and Antofagasta suffer from neglect and oblivion.
To carry out the Pacific campaign, the Chilean navy recruited thousands of foreigners, primarily European and British mercenaries, to train troops and crew ships. British businessmen facilitated the necessary investments to import the modern war materiel used against Bolivian cities, which had few military personnel. In fact, the foreign influence of mercenaries was notable on the Chilean side: a considerable portion of the crews of key ships in the conflict were British and of other European nationalities.
As a counterstrategy, the Bolivian government proposed issuing Letters of Marque against Chilean-British ships and merchandise. Since Bolivia had not signed the Treaty of Paris of 1856, it legally possessed the full international right to issue these letters of marque, as President Hilarión Daza offered on March 26, 1879. However, Chile disregarded Bolivia's legal rights and preferred to consolidate its dispossession by force of arms.
Attempts at international mediation
During the conflict, the United States proposed a peaceful solution. President James Garfield assigned his Secretary of State, James Blaine, to negotiate a fair peace agreement. However, the British Empire actively obstructed diplomatic talks to protect its financial interests, as evidenced by the subsequent distribution of wealth and war booty. #MAAB © 2026
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