© WTA Publishing
The Bombardment of Paradise
Summary
The Spanish Pacific fleet bombarded the Chilean port town of Valparaiso, on 31 March 1866. In human terms, the costs were minimal. However, the destruction of property, most of it European-owned, was large - perhaps as much as $225 million in today’s money burned in the customs stores on the shore. Moreover, for the international standing, self esteem and credibility of England, Spain and the United States, the impact was immense. At least for a while, reputations, national and personal, were ruined. “The Bombardment of Paradise” seeks to deconstruct this apparently innocuous event. Using largely contemporary official records, newspaper accounts and other recollections, the book seeks to examine each element that contributed to what became an international cause célèbre and generated political embarrassment in London, Madrid and Washington. It looks at the lives and characters of the principal participants in the drama, paying particular attention to the role of foreigners in Valparaiso whose property and businesses were the most damaged. The book traces the currents and counter-currents that, in the final days, led the English and U.S. naval commanders to recoil from the widely-shared expectation that they would intervene to prevent the Spanish action. The text follows the independence struggle of Chile and Spain’s subsequent resurgent colonial ambitions; notably in its aggression towards Peru and then Chile itself. It describes the development of Valparaiso as a port and commercial centre with the opening up of trade and the arrival of many European - particularly British - merchants, entrepreneurs, adventurers and farmers. It provides a picture of life in Valparaiso in the mid-19th century. Apart from the broad political, diplomatic, military and commercial strands of the story, other key elements are investigated. These include Chile’s arms procurement efforts in the United States and the complications of the Monroe Doctrine; the meaning of neutrality for the main players; the challenges faced by naval commanders, with over- extended supply lines and changing methods of maritime warfare; and the balance between diplomatic and commercial interests. The costs of the bombardments are assessed as well as the longer-term fallout, including the clashes that took place in the British Parliament. Finally, an attempt is made to assess the troubled interactions among the principal characters in the drama; concluding that individual human strengths and frailties were, as so often, probably decisive.
European pioneers on the Pacific Coast of South America
European pioneers on the Pacific Coast of South America
© WTA Publishing
The Bombardment of Paradise
Summary
The Spanish Pacific fleet bombarded the Chilean port town of Valparaiso, on 31 March 1866. In human terms, the costs were minimal. However, the destruction of property, most of it European-owned, was large - perhaps as much as $225 million in today’s money burned in the customs stores on the shore. Moreover, for the international standing, self esteem and credibility of England, Spain and the United States, the impact was immense. At least for a while, reputations, national and personal, were ruined. “The Bombardment of Paradise” seeks to deconstruct this apparently innocuous event. Using largely contemporary official records, newspaper accounts and other recollections, the book seeks to examine each element that contributed to what became an international cause célèbre and generated political embarrassment in London, Madrid and Washington. It looks at the lives and characters of the principal participants in the drama, paying particular attention to the role of foreigners in Valparaiso whose property and businesses were the most damaged. The book traces the currents and counter-currents that, in the final days, led the English and U.S. naval commanders to recoil from the widely-shared expectation that they would intervene to prevent the Spanish action. The text follows the independence struggle of Chile and Spain’s subsequent resurgent colonial ambitions; notably in its aggression towards Peru and then Chile itself. It describes the development of Valparaiso as a port and commercial centre with the opening up of trade and the arrival of many European - particularly British - merchants, entrepreneurs, adventurers and farmers. It provides a picture of life in Valparaiso in the mid-19th century. Apart from the broad political, diplomatic, military and commercial strands of the story, other key elements are investigated. These include Chile’s arms procurement efforts in the United States and the complications of the Monroe Doctrine; the meaning of neutrality for the main players; the challenges faced by naval commanders, with over-extended supply lines and changing methods of maritime warfare; and the balance between diplomatic and commercial interests. The costs of the bombardments are assessed as well as the longer- term fallout, including the clashes that took place in the British Parliament. Finally, an attempt is made to assess the troubled interactions among the principal characters in the drama; concluding that individual human strengths and frailties were, as so often, probably decisive.
