Premium
Revisiting the Battle of Iquique
Author(s) -
Sater William F.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
history compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.121
H-Index - 1
ISSN - 1478-0542
DOI - 10.1111/j.1478-0542.2006.00373.x
Subject(s) - battle , navy , threatened species , adversary , endangered species , spanish civil war , geography , political science , aeronautics , history , ancient history , engineering , computer security , ecology , computer science , biology , archaeology , habitat
Both Peru and Chile needed to achieve maritime supremacy to protect themselves from each other as well as to carry the war to their enemy. The Battle of Iquique provided one of the seminal events in the naval war: Peru lost one of its two most powerful ships, giving Chile maritime supremacy. As this article indicates, had the Peruvians won the Battle of Iquique, Peru's navy under the command of the very aggressive Captain Miguel Grau would have threatened Chile's maritime traffic, endangered its heartland, and prevented the invasion of Peru itself. Quite possibly, he might have stalemated the war.