by Ana O'Reilly

Created on: October 22, 2009

An overview of major wars in the history of South America

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the major wars that shaped the continent and had the most impact on both sides of the Atlantic were the Independence Wars between 1806 and 1826.

The history of the wars of independence in South America is long and convoluted and one short article cannot possible do it justice. Briefly, two major events made the Creoles realize it was time to establish their own autonomous governments. One was the invasion of Spain by Napoleon, who took King Ferdinand VII hostage, which resulted in juntas emerging in Spain and the colonies to rule in his name. The second event was the failed invasion of Buenos Aires by the English Navy. With little or no help from the central government, the local population defended their territory and prevailed over the invaders. Effectively, the colonies were left on their own.

There were two main liberation movements: Simon Bolivar led the rebel armies from the north and Jose de San Martin, from the south in a pincer movement of sorts. After liberating their home regions, modern-day Venezuela and Argentina, respectively, these two heroes spread their cause throughout the rest of the territory with varying degrees of success. Peru and Bolivia were the last centers of loyalist resistance and were the last to be liberated in 1826. Thus, South America was free of Spanish control.

The War of the Pacific between Chile, Bolivia and Peru took place between 1879 and 1883 and its consequences are still felt today. Basically, it was brought about by a dispute between Chile and Bolivia about who controlled the desert of Atacama, rich in minerals and guano. There were previous commercial treaties between the two countries, but each accused the other of violating them. Chile also wanted to strengthen its position in the Pacific, which would be achieved by weakening both Peru and Bolivia.

Peru entered this war to honor a defense pact with Bolivia signed in 1873. The Chilean armed forces overwhelmed their enemies on land and sea. The turning point of the war was the occupation of Lima in 1881. It went downhill from there for Bolivia and Peru. The Treaty of Ancon ended the occupation of Lima and sealed Chile's victory. The result was that Chile extended its territory to include Peruvian and Bolivian provinces and left Bolivia without an outlet to the Pacific. Both Chile and Bolivia feel very strongly about this today and as recently as 2006 they still did not have diplomatic

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