The War on the Pacific Coast of South America Between Chile and the Allied Republics of Peru and Bolivia: 1879-81 (Classic Reprint)

The war in which the three leading republics of the Pacific coast of South America have been engaged commenced on the 2d of A pril, 1879, and has extended to the present period. Like most of the countries of Central and South A merica, Chile, Peru, and Bolivia were settled by the Spaniards, who deserve credit for their energy as pioneers of civilization. Of the three countries, that known as Peru seems by far the most at tractive. I ts climate was the mildest its land, at a short distance from the coast, the most fertile; its mineral wealth the most evident and obtainable. It was thickly populated by a mild and industrious race of I ndians, if we can believe the historians and the proof furnished on every side by ruins, aqueducts, roads, and terraced mountain sides. Chile, on the contrary, was apparently less inviting, and was inhabited by a hardy, warlike race. Bolivia, lying inland, detached by a range of high mountains and inhabited by warlike tribes, presented few attractions to the Spaniards, and to this day her race has preserved many of its original characteristics. During the rebellion against the mother country, in the early part of this century, Chile was the first of the Pacific colonies to gain her independence. This accomplished, her people, aided by that indomitable Scotchman, Lord Cochrane, and a small but well-trained band of his countrymen and of our own, went to the assistance of their Peruvian neighbors. The freedom of Peru was due mainly to this timely aid. The Spaniards who remained in Peru after the first conquest were principally military men, who made themselves the proprietors of all of its wealth. As the first settlers were accompanied by few Women, they were forced to marry Indian women, thus founding a mixed race.
(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)

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