The Norte Grande insurrection (December 25, 1931) ( es, Motín del Norte Grande) was a violent and ultimately unsuccessful coup d'etat attempt against the government of

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 President Juan Esteban Montero.

Background

In 1931, Chile was in the midst of a political and economic chaos that resulted from the market crash of 1929. Unemployment and poverty had soared, specially in the north of the country that was highly dependent of the income from the Nitrate industry, which had been highly affected by the introduction of artificial nitrates after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. By mid-December, wild rumors started to fly about an upcoming communist insurrection that was to take place in the extreme north provinces against the government of President Juan Esteban Montero. In the cities of

Vallenar Vallenar is a city and commune in Atacama Region, Chile. It is the capital of the Huasco Province and is located in the valley of the Huasco River. Vallenar has 52,000 inhabitants. Its main activities are farming and mining. It was founded as S ...

and

Copiapó Copiapó () is a city and commune in northern Chile, located about 65 kilometers east of the coastal town of Caldera. Founded on December 8, 1744, it is the capital of Copiapó Province and Atacama Region. Copiapó lies about 800 km nort ...

the rumours were that the insurrectionists were going to take over the ''Esmeralda'' regiment barracks and the police headquarters on Christmas night, as the first step to a full-fledged revolution. Authorities gave no credence to any of the rumours, precisely because they were so open and precise.

Events

The plot took place at 2 AM on the morning of December 25. At that time, Communist militia attacked the army barracks in Vallenar. The lieutenant and soldiers at the guard caught by surprise had to retreat to the infirmary where they were able to mount a hasty defense. The noise from the battle alerted the police, who arrived promptly to swell the ranks of the defenders. After more than half an hour of battle, the revolutionaries, who had suffered several casualties, escaped towards the hills. When the news reached the superior authorities, a decision was made to nip the revolution in the bud. A police platoon was dispatched to capture the Communist headquarters in Vallenar. The police arrived shooting, and fire was returned from the inside. Since the policemen couldn't capture the building, they proceeded to dynamite it, killing everyone inside. Then they rounded up all the known Communists they could find in the city and shot them immediately. An investigation established that 21 people were killed, nine of them during the assault on the barracks. On the other side, three policemen and two soldiers died, plus an unarmed civilian who happened to be passing by and was hit by a stray bullet.

References

Some information on the events
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norte Grande insurrection 1930s coups d'état and coup attempts 1931 in Chile Attempted coups in Chile Communist Party of Chile December 1931 events Conflicts in 1931

Background

Events

See also

References