Baltimore Crisis
Encyclopedia
The Baltimore Crisis was a diplomatic incident that took place between Chile
and the United States
, during the Chilean Civil War
, as result of the growing American influence in Pacific Coast
region of Latin America
in the 1890s. It remains a nodal event because it marked a dramatic shift in United States-Chilean relations. It was triggered by the stabbing of two United States Navy
sailors from the USS Baltimore
in front of the "True Blue Saloon" in Valparaíso
on October 16, 1891.
as a potential threat to the hegeamony of the United States. The Chilean navy, then the strongest fleet in the Pacific, was able to confront American policy. In 1882 Chile refused US mediation in the War of the Pacific. In 1885, as the United States Navy occupied Colón
, then part of Colombia
, the Chilean government ordered its navy to occupy Panama City
and not to leave until after the American forces evacuated Colon. Finally in 1888 Chile annexed Easter Island
, located some 2,000 miles west of Valparaíso
, and by occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations.
But by 1891 the equation of power had changed. The United States possessed more naval power and, more significantly, Alfred Thayer Mahan
's theories were needed to secure the growing influence of the United States in Latin America.
During the Chilean Civil War the American government supported the forces of President Jose Manuel Balmaceda
and enforced a ban on exports for the insurgents that was supported partially by the United Kingdom
. These and another circumstances troubled relations between the United States and the victorious former insurgents, who in 1891 defeated the presidential forces and were then in power in Chile.
Just before the end of the Chilean Civil War the State Department ordered the USS Charleston
to force the Chilean insurgents' cargo ship Itata
, that illegally loaded arms in San Diego for the insurgents, to return to San Diego. The USS Charleston reached the Itata in Iquique after the end of the war. The new Chilean government ordered the ship back to San Diego to face outstanding charges.
During the war the American owned Central and South American Cable Company, by order of the Balmaceda administration, restored submarine telegraph cable service between Santiago and Lima
and sundered the cable connection to the insurgent headquarters.
In addition, the United States minister in Santiago gave diplomatic asylum
to various insurgent leaders during the war and to Balmaceda's supporters after the war. The victorious insurgents called upon the American minister in Santiago, Patrick Egan
, to surrender the newest refugees to the authorities but it was refused.
From the insurgents' point of view, the United States had tried to stop them from purchasing weapons, denied the rebels access to international telegraph traffic, spied on the insurgent troops, and refused to surrender war criminals.
On October 16, 1891, a mob attacked a group of sailors on shore leave from the cruiser USS Baltimore outside of a bar in the Chilean port of Valparaíso
. Two sailors were killed and seventeen to eighteen were injured.
The new Chilean government rejected American protests, but after United States President Benjamin Harrison
sent a strong message to the United States Congress
Chile apologized and paid $75,000 in gold.
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, during the Chilean Civil War
Chilean Civil War
The Chilean Civil War of 1891 was an armed conflict between forces supporting Congress and forces supporting the sitting President, José Manuel Balmaceda. The war saw a confrontation between the Chilean Army and the Chilean Navy, which had sided with the president and the congress, respectively...
, as result of the growing American influence in Pacific Coast
Pacific Coast
A country's Pacific coast is the part of its coast bordering the Pacific Ocean.-The Americas:Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western border.* Geography of Canada* Geography of Chile* Geography of Colombia...
region of Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
in the 1890s. It remains a nodal event because it marked a dramatic shift in United States-Chilean relations. It was triggered by the stabbing of two United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
sailors from the USS Baltimore
USS Baltimore (C-3)
The fourth USS Baltimore was a United States Navy cruiser, the second protected cruiser to be built by an American yard. Like the previous one, , the design was commissioned from the British company of W...
in front of the "True Blue Saloon" in Valparaíso
Valparaíso
Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...
on October 16, 1891.
Background
In 1884 Chile emerged from the War of the PacificWar of the Pacific
The War of the Pacific took place in western South America from 1879 through 1883. Chile fought against Bolivia and Peru. Despite cooperation among the three nations in the war against Spain, disputes soon arose over the mineral-rich Peruvian provinces of Tarapaca, Tacna, and Arica, and the...
as a potential threat to the hegeamony of the United States. The Chilean navy, then the strongest fleet in the Pacific, was able to confront American policy. In 1882 Chile refused US mediation in the War of the Pacific. In 1885, as the United States Navy occupied Colón
Colón, Panama
Colón is a sea port on the Caribbean Sea coast of Panama. The city lies near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal. It is capital of Panama's Colón Province and has traditionally been known as Panama's second city....
, then part of Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, the Chilean government ordered its navy to occupy Panama City
Panama City
Panama is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama. It has a population of 880,691, with a total metro population of 1,272,672, and it is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, in the province of the same name. The city is the political and administrative center of the...
and not to leave until after the American forces evacuated Colon. Finally in 1888 Chile annexed Easter Island
Easter Island
Easter Island is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people...
, located some 2,000 miles west of Valparaíso
Valparaíso
Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...
, and by occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations.
But by 1891 the equation of power had changed. The United States possessed more naval power and, more significantly, Alfred Thayer Mahan
Alfred Thayer Mahan
Alfred Thayer Mahan was a United States Navy flag officer, geostrategist, and historian, who has been called "the most important American strategist of the nineteenth century." His concept of "sea power" was based on the idea that countries with greater naval power will have greater worldwide...
's theories were needed to secure the growing influence of the United States in Latin America.
During the Chilean Civil War the American government supported the forces of President Jose Manuel Balmaceda
José Manuel Balmaceda
José Manuel Emiliano Balmaceda Fernández was the 11th President of Chile from September 18, 1886 to August 29, 1891. Balmaceda was part of the Castilian-Basque aristocracy in Chile...
and enforced a ban on exports for the insurgents that was supported partially by the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. These and another circumstances troubled relations between the United States and the victorious former insurgents, who in 1891 defeated the presidential forces and were then in power in Chile.
Just before the end of the Chilean Civil War the State Department ordered the USS Charleston
USS Charleston (C-2)
The second USS Charleston was a United States Navy protected cruiser — the first US protected cruiser to be built. Lacking experience in building steel cruisers, the design was commissioned from the British company W. Armstrong, Mitchell and Co...
to force the Chilean insurgents' cargo ship Itata
Itata Incident
The Itata Incident was a diplomatic affair and military incident involving the United States and Chilean insurgents during the Chilean Civil War in 1891. The incident concerned an arms shipment by the Chilean ship Itata from the United States to Chile, to assist insurgent Congressionalist forces in...
, that illegally loaded arms in San Diego for the insurgents, to return to San Diego. The USS Charleston reached the Itata in Iquique after the end of the war. The new Chilean government ordered the ship back to San Diego to face outstanding charges.
During the war the American owned Central and South American Cable Company, by order of the Balmaceda administration, restored submarine telegraph cable service between Santiago and Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
and sundered the cable connection to the insurgent headquarters.
In addition, the United States minister in Santiago gave diplomatic asylum
Right of asylum
Right of asylum is an ancient juridical notion, under which a person persecuted for political opinions or religious beliefs in his or her own country may be protected by another sovereign authority, a foreign country, or church sanctuaries...
to various insurgent leaders during the war and to Balmaceda's supporters after the war. The victorious insurgents called upon the American minister in Santiago, Patrick Egan
Patrick Egan (land reformer and diplomat)
Patrick Egan was an Irish and American political leader.Egan was born in Ballymahon, Co. Longford, Ireland. His family later moved to Dublin and at the age of fourteen he entered the office of an extensive grain and milling firm, the North City Milling Company, in Dublin, and before he was twenty...
, to surrender the newest refugees to the authorities but it was refused.
From the insurgents' point of view, the United States had tried to stop them from purchasing weapons, denied the rebels access to international telegraph traffic, spied on the insurgent troops, and refused to surrender war criminals.
USS Baltimore Incident
Valparaíso
Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...
. Two sailors were killed and seventeen to eighteen were injured.
The new Chilean government rejected American protests, but after United States President Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
sent a strong message to the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
Chile apologized and paid $75,000 in gold.
Sources and external links
- Foreign Relations of the United States of America for the Year 1891. Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
: GPOUnited States Government Printing OfficeThe United States Government Printing Office is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States federal government. The office prints documents produced by and for the federal government, including the Supreme Court, the Congress, the Executive Office of the President, executive...
, 1892. - Foreign Relations of the United States of America for the Year 1892. Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
: GPOUnited States Government Printing OfficeThe United States Government Printing Office is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States federal government. The office prints documents produced by and for the federal government, including the Supreme Court, the Congress, the Executive Office of the President, executive...
, 1893. - The Federal Reporter. vv 47-9, 56
- John W. Foster. Michael Devine, London: The Ohio University Press, 1981.
- Message of the President of the United States Respecting the Relations with Chile. Benjamin Harrison, Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
: GPOUnited States Government Printing OfficeThe United States Government Printing Office is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States federal government. The office prints documents produced by and for the federal government, including the Supreme Court, the Congress, the Executive Office of the President, executive...
, 1892, 664 pp. - Dark Days in Chile. Maurice H. Hervey, New York: McMillan, 1892, 336 pp.
- "The Late Chilean Controversy" John Bassett Moore, in Political Science Quarterly, vol 8 (1893), pp 467–94.
- Histamar sobre el tema
- General History of the Foreign Affairs of Argentina