European pioneers on the Pacific Coast of South America
© WTA Publishing
Books by David J. Woods
Riches and ruin, victories and defeats, genius and
foolishness
Millions of European tourists now travel to the Pacific coast
countries of South America. They see names they recognize, and
food, architecture and lifestyles that seem familiar. Two books by
David Woods - each richly illustrated with engravings, photographs
and maps – reveal the little-known common heritage.The European
presence in the nineteenth century was preceded by the Spanish
colonial period, lasting nearly 300 years - at once, both extraordinary
and shameful. Many of the newcomers after independence were
intrepid individuals who pursued dreams and fulfilled their duties in
some of the harshest conditions on earth. Above all, they shared the
long and hazardous voyage from the great ports of Europe. Many
did not make it. The ships that line the bottom of the sea around
Cape Horn or the bed of the Strait of Magellan serve as testimony.
Poverty was rife alongside great wealth; risks were extreme – both
physical and financial. Many paid a heavy personal price, even the
ultimate price.
Meteor - How an adventure in New York changed the
extraordinary life of Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna
Now, David Woods has written a book on one of Chile’s most
celebrated and admired personalities of the 19th century. Meteor
(published by Ricaaventura Editores) is a biography of Benjamin
Vicuna Mackenna. In particular, the book describes in detail, for the
first time, his adventures in New York, in 1865-66, as confidential
agent of the Chilean government, seeking the support of
Washington in Chile’s war with Spain. Discretely, he was also
hunting for ships and ammunition with which to sink the Spanish
fleet, then blockading the port of Valparaiso. He provoked a
diplomatic scandal and found himself in court.
Vicuña Mackenna went on to translate his youthful revolutionary
activism into transformative, liberal policies and achievements that
changed Chile - as a politician, governor of Santiago and, very
nearly, president of the republic.
Europeans in Chile and Peru