In 1864 the

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

an government ordered the construction of two

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

s in Ravenhill, the ''O'Higgins'' and the ''

Chacabuco Chacabuco is one of the many abandoned nitrate or "saltpeter" towns ("oficinas salitreras" in Spanish) in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. Other nitrate towns of the Atacama Desert include Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works. Unlik ...

''. Both corvettes were seized by the British authorities in order to enforce a neutrality provision in the impending state of war between Chile and Spain (

Chincha Islands War The Chincha Islands War, also known as Spanish–South American War ( es, Guerra hispano-sudamericana), was a series of coastal and naval battles between Spain and its former colonies of Peru, Chile, Ecuador, and Bolivia from 1865 to 1879. The ...

, 1864-1866). In 1866 the countries reached an agreement in which Chile received the corvettes and Spain the ships ''Arapiles'' and ''Victoria''. In 1869, under the command of

Manuel Blanco Encalada Manuel José Blanco y Calvo de Encalada (; April 21, 1790 – September 5, 1876) was a vice-admiral in the Chilean Navy, a political figure, and Chile's first President (Provisional) (1826). Biography Born in Buenos Aires which was the capital ...

, the remains of

Bernardo O'Higgins Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme (; August 20, 1778 – October 24, 1842) was a Chilean independence leader who freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. He was a wealthy landowner of Basque-Spanish and Irish ancestry. Althou ...

, first buried in Peru, were repatriated to Chile on board of the frigate that bore his name. In 1870, the ''O'Higgins'' went to

Easter Island Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearl ...

and performed the first topographic survey and scientific description of the island and acquired Rongorongo text I, the ''Santiago Staff''. The ship had an active role in the

Naval Campaign of the War of the Pacific The Naval campaign of the War of the Pacific or ''Saltpeter war,'' was a naval campaign that took place from 1879 to 1884, involving Peru (as well as Bolivia), and Chile, undertaken in order to support land forces in the Atacama Desert. Although ...

under the command of

Jorge Montt Jorge Montt Álvarez (; April 26, 1845 – October 8, 1922) was a vice admiral in the Chilean Navy and president of Chile from 1891 to 1896.L.S. Rowe, "Passing of a Great Figure in Chilean History." ''Bulletin Pan American Union'' 55 (1922): ...

and participated in the Capture of the Huáscar off Punta de Angamos. During the

1891 Chilean Civil War The Chilean Civil War of 1891 (also known as Revolution of 1891) was a civil war in Chile fought between forces supporting Congress and forces supporting the President, José Manuel Balmaceda from 16 January 1891 to 18 September 1891. The war ...

the ''O'Higgins'' sided with the congress.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:O'Higgins Steam corvettes of the Chilean Navy Ships of the War of the Pacific 1866 ships

See also

References

External links