Analysis On The Nitre War(1879—1883)

From 1879 to 1883, Chile, Bolivia and Peru which in the South America broke out a regional large-scale war for the nitre resource. The war had not only changed the historical development process of those countris, but also had an important influence on the whole South America.The outbreak of the Nitre War adhered to the rose of saltpeter industry and the formation of the territorial disputes in the Atacama desert.In the 19 th 50s to 60 s,the second industrial revolution began in Europe, the nitre, as a kind of agricultural fertilizer raw materials became hot in the development of the heavy industry, and almost in the same period, the the nitre resource was discovered in the Atacama desert.The territorial disputes and domestic political and economic crisis of Chile Peru and Bolivia eventually led to the war. Chile has certain advantages in the state system, national unity and national defense construction, while Peru and Bolivia are not. The war lasted four years, and Chile come to triumph ultimately, Peru and Bolivia failed. Since then, Chile accelerated the pace of modernization, has become one of South America ABC powers, and the modernization process in Peru and Bolivia were interrupted with the economic and social development has been destroyed. The war also made difficult to eliminatethe contradictions and barriers among the three countries. the sea disputes between Chile and Bolivia last to 120 years. This not only affects the normal cooperation between the three countries, but also hindered the process of regional integration in South America. It seems that war is not the best way to solve those disputes of resources and territory.This paper attempts in diffrents angles to explained in detail from the origin of the war, the causes, course and results, and other factors.The study is the first to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the Nitre War in country, it is not only gained the explorations in this issue to, but also provide a case study of how to deal with the territorial and maritime rights and interests disputes for countries in the world.