War Photography: Díaz & Spencer’s coverage of the War of the Pacific (1879-1883)

In the study of 19th-century Latin American photography, the photographic capture of war and military operations has implicitly been equated with the eye of national states, understanding that photographers would want to show a positive portrayal of the military forces. However, war photography as a language of state power was not the point of departure. In most of the earlier examples of war photography, it was private photographers who first ventured into military conflicts almost as soon as the new visual technology was made available. They saw war as both an important historical event and a commercial opportunity. Experiencing with a technology that forced them to produce images of war stripped of battle action while trying to capitalize on the diverse interests in these conflicts, most photographers offered a rendering of war of ambiguous political meanings. In this essay, I argue that the photographs of the War of the Pacific taken by the studio Díaz & Spencer are one of the first examples of the successful use of war photography for nation-building purposes, that is, as national propaganda. Photographers had the challenge to create impressive, apologetic and heroic captures of the military forces, and Díaz & Spencer succeeded in creating a visual narrative congruent with Chilean official discourses, consolidating, rather than challenging, the Chilean state view of the war. Equally important, this allignment of political views was accomplished on account of Díaz and Spencer’s initiative—not that of Chilean state officials.

British Business on the West Coast of South America

Broadly speaking, historians have considered the development of British business on the west coast of South America in the 19th and 20th centuries with a strong focus on Chile and Peru and in the light of two different historiographical approaches: debate over the organization of British business overseas and controversies over informal imperialism and dependency. Initially, the most visible examples of British business influence were merchants who arrived at the time of independence in the early 19th century, although from the middle of the century there was also significant investment in government bonds (sovereign debt). After the War of the Pacific (1879–1883), “freestanding companies” and investment groups, often organized by commercial houses handling Latin American exports, became the main vehicle for British capital flows. The activities of merchants and other suppliers of business services, such as shipping firms, banks, and insurance companies, together with the development of freestanding companies in railways and resource extraction after the War of the Pacific, certainly accelerated the incorporation of Peru and Chile into the expanding global economy. While it is difficult to find concrete examples of direct intervention by British firms in local politics, the growth of foreign business did set constraints on the autonomy of Latin American governments, which became dependent on the direct and indirect income from commodity exports. However, it also provided opportunities for local politicians and business elites, especially in the 1880s and the decade before the First World War when London financial institutions were seeking new openings for direct investment overseas. During the interwar period, British business influence began to fade as merchants and banks ran into greater difficulties, and US participation in the west coast economies, especially in resource extraction (mining and oil), grew. Although some major British multinational firms did invest in industry in Peru and Chile following the Second World War, little British business remained in the region after the 1970s.

Obligation to Negotiate Access to the Pacific Ocean (Bolivia v. Chile)

1International Court of Justice — Jurisdiction — Consent of States Parties — Pact of Bogotá — Exception to jurisdiction for disputes settled before entry into force of Pact — Dispute between Bolivia and Chile regarding Bolivian access to the Pacific Ocean — War of the Pacific — 1904 Treaty of Peace — Whether Chile had subsequently agreed to negotiate to give Bolivia sovereign access to the sea — Whether dispute had been settled before the entry into force of the Pact — Whether objection possessing an exclusively preliminary characterDiplomatic relations — Peaceful settlement of disputes — Duty to negotiate — Whether duty of peaceful settlement giving rise to duty to negotiate to achieve a specific result — Whether expression of willingness to negotiate imposing binding obligation — Obligations of resultGeneral principles of international law — Estoppel — Conditions for estoppel — Legitimate expectations — Whether forming part of international lawTerritory — Sovereignty — Treaty of peace — 1879 War of the Pacific — Bolivia losing coastal territory to Chile — 1904 Treaty of Peace — Whether Bolivia possessing sovereign rights of access to the Pacific notwithstanding loss of coastline — Whether Chile under a duty to negotiate sovereign access for BoliviaTreaties — Diplomatic exchanges — Whether constituting treaty — Whether giving rise to binding legal obligations — Expressions of willingness to negotiate — Whether creating legal obligation to negotiate so as to achieve specific resultWar and armed conflict — Treaty of peace — Territory acquired by use of force during nineteenth century — Subsequent recognition of title of victorious State by treaty of peace

Still Desperate after Pearl Harbor: Investigations of Saburo Kurusu after the War of the Pacific

Saburo Kurusu, an oft-forgotten diplomat who participated in the final three weeks of the U.S.-Japanese negotiations prior to the Pearl Harbor attack, has garnered renewed attention from diplomatic historians in the last several years. Owing to the publication of The Desperate Diplomat (Clifford & Okura, 2016), which included an original research article on Kurusu’s informal diplomacy along with his own English translation of the crucial parts in his memoir, academics now have a better understanding of his diplomatic efforts to stave off the War of the Pacific. A follow-up article, “The Desperate Diplomat Revisited (Okura, 2016),” presented perspectives from Kurusu’s collaborators in his informal diplomacy, an American financier, Barnard M. Baruch, and a Methodist minister, E. Stanley Jones, in support of his innocence. While those two studies are valuable in examining Kurusu’s involvement in the final U.S.-Japanese negotiations, they came up short in enlightening academics about what happened to Kurusu after Japan’s unconditional surrender in 1945. No studies have revealed Kurusu’s struggle after the war to debunk the myth of the deceitful ambassador. Although the International Persecution Section for the Tokyo Trials never indicted him, he was indeed under investigation. This article will seek to fill the gap in research by undertaking multi-archival studies.

La poesía de Palma ante el monumento del general San Martín el 28 de julio de 1890:

ResumenEl presente artículo busca ahondar en un aspecto poco conocido del patriotismo de nuestro insigne tradicionista, en circunstancias de profunda congoja y dolor, como acaeció en nuestra capital días despuésde las exequias solemnes a los héroes de la Guerra del Pacífico y de las que Palma también fue víctima al perder en el incendio del pueblo de Miraflores su valiosa biblioteca. Dedicarle unas líneas en su poema alvencedor de la reciente guerra fue un acto de noble patriotismo cuando aún nuestro país sufría por los compatriotas inmolados en dicha gesta.Palabras clave: poesía, Palma, General San Martín, Guerra del PacíficoAbstract:This article seeks to delve into a little-known aspect of the patriotism of our illustrious traditionalist, during circumstances of deep sorrow and pain, as happened in Lima days after the solemn funeral of the heroes of the War of the Pacific, Palma being also, a victim when he lost his valuable library in the fire of Miraflores. To dedicate a few lines in his poem to the victor of the recent war was an act of noble patriotism when our country still suffered for the fellow countrymen immolated in that feat.Keywords: Poetry, Palma, General San Martín, War of the Pacific

Ports of Transnational Labor Organizing: Anarchism along the Peruvian-Chilean Littoral, 1916–1928

This article centers cross-border solidarity in the post–War of the Pacific (1879–83) context in Peru and Chile. I examine the ways in which some maritime and port workers in these countries in the early twentieth century created bonds of solidarity despite the reigning nationalism of the day. The article analyzes labor struggles and the move toward industrial organizing in Mollendo, Peru; Chilean Industrial Workers of the World efforts at creating links with Peruvian workers; and police repression after a 1925 strike in Mollendo. I combine an in-depth view of local organizing with the transnational political moves and connections forged by maritime and port workers. They lived and organized in their own ports while also forming bonds with other working-class people in the shared space of the Pacific littoral. Their organizing locally and transnationally challenged the chauvinistic nationalism of the era.

RECONSTRUCTION OF EXPORT SERIES FOR PERU BEFORE THE GREAT DEPRESSION

This article discusses the available sources of information on the value and volume of Peru’s exports and estimates the current value of exports, the index of export prices and the quantum of exports using a wide variety of sources. By relying on several sources, I estimate the first complete series of the current value of exports for Peru for 1830-1930. Importantly, I adjust other studies’ estimates by taking into account the deficiencies of foreign sources and by distinguishing between exports of specie and of minerals. The estimations show that exports experienced substantial growth in the 1850s and 1860s, during the Guano Era. Exports stagnated in the 1870s and dropped during the War of the Pacific (1879-1883) before recovering in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, especially during World War I.