The ''Scorpion'' scandal (1809) was a smuggling, criminal and political scandal that caused the downfall of the Spanish
Royal Governor of Chile
The Royal Governor of Chile ruled over the Spanish colonial administrative district called the Captaincy General of Chile, and as a result the Royal Governor also held the title of a Captain General. There were 66 such governors or captains du ...
, and hastened the
Independence movement
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
in that country.
Background
During the entire colonial period,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
maintained a very strict monopoly on international commerce with its American Empire. In 1808, the British whaling ship ''
Scorpion
Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...
'', under the command of Captain
Tristan Bunker, arrived at the Chilean coast with the stated purpose of
whaling
Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution.
It was practiced as an organized industry ...
. The real purpose of the trip was to smuggle into the colony a very valuable consignment of British cloth that the ship was carrying in its hull. To this purpose, Captain Bunker contacted
Henry Faulkner
Henry Lawrence Faulkner (January 9, 1924 – December 5, 1981) was an American artist and poet known as an eccentric rebel and bohemian. Faulkner is best known for his wildly colorful oil paintings and eccentric acts, including his bringing a bou ...
, an American medical doctor then living in the city of
Quillota
Quillota is a city located in the Aconcagua River valley in central Chile's Valparaíso Region. It is the capital and largest city of Quillota Province, where many inhabitants live in the outlying farming areas of San Isidro, La Palma, Pocochay ...
.
The ''Scorpion'' was just one of many ships trading contraband English fabrics on the Pacific coast. In 1807 the British Government, at the urging of the parliamentarian
William Jacob, had modified the monopoly of the
South Sea Company
The South Sea Company (officially The Governor and Company of the merchants of Great Britain, trading to the South Seas and other parts of America, and for the encouragement of the Fishery) was a British joint-stock company founded in Ja ...
so that vessels were permitted to enter the Pacific Ocean via
Cape Horn
Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...
. This incentive had been created as part of Britain's goal of challenging Spain's dominance of Central and South America. The short but failed
invasion of the Rio de Plata in 1806-1807 had encouraged this approach.
Captain Bunker, though commanding a British merchant sailing ship, was a North American, born and raised on
Nantucket Island, Massachusetts
Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...
. Many Nantucket whaling families had relocated to Britain in the 1790s at the urging of the English government and
William Rotch to establish a whale oil industry. Pacific Ocean whaling was then known as the
Southern Fishery.
Faulkner and Bunker reached an agreement, and the captain was to deliver the goods at the
Topocalma Hacienda that was owned by one José Fuenzalida. The agreed price was 80,000 pesos of the time, a small fortune. Don
Francisco Antonio de la Carrera, Royal Delegate of
Colchagua, with jurisdiction over Topocalma, got wind of the scheme and decided to intervene.
Fuenzalida, De la Carrera and Faulkner conspired together and decided to hijack the cargo. To achieve their plans they needed enough force to strongarm Captain Bunker and his crew. To that purpose, they contacted Royal Governor
Francisco Antonio García Carrasco
Francisco Antonio García Carrasco Díaz (December 15, 1742 – August 10, 1813) was a Spanish soldier and Royal Governor of Chile. His political relations with Juan Martinez de Rozas and a smuggling scandal involving the frigate ''Scorpion'' des ...
. The Governor and his secretary,
Juan Martínez de Rozas
Juan Martínez de Rozas Correa (December 28, 1758 – May 16, 1813) was a Chilean lawyer and politician, he was also the first leader in the Chilean fight for independence.
Biography
He was born at Mendoza (then, still a Chilean dependenc ...
, agreed to provide a squadron of ''Dragones'' (police) in exchange for 85% of the profits, and of course without notification to the Royal Customs Office.
On September 25, 1808, at Topocalma Bay, three conspirators (the butler of the Marquis of Larraín, the representative of De la Carrera and Dr. Faulkner) boarded the ''Scorpion'' to finalize the deal. The payment was to be made in copper ingots. While the representatives held their talks with the captain, the copper was loaded by ''Dragones'' disguised as porters.
After the copper was loaded, the captain and eight of his sailors were invited to a banquet on shore, at the hacienda houses. During the meal, after a prearranged signal, Captain Bunker and his sailors were shot and murdered. Then the ''Dragones'' boarded and proceeded to take over the frigate and its cargo.
Aftermath and importance
The facts came to light very quickly afterwards, and caused a very violent reaction. The populace tried to lynch all the participants, who were miraculously saved by being arrested and put under permanent armed guard. In
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
all the anger was directed against Governor García Carrasco and his secretary Martínez de Rozas; both men in a very short time accumulated a large number of legal suits against them, while public riots erupted. Martínez de Rozas had to resign and hide in
Concepción.
The subsequent investigation destroyed what little authority the governor had left, and less than a year later required his surrender of the post to
Mateo de Toro Zambrano, giving way to the
first Chilean attempt at self-government.
The events that the ''Scorpion'' participated in took many decades to resolve. The English firm of Hullett successfully sued the King of Spain for financial losses. The case was finally resolved in the Privy Council in the 1830s.
See also
*
Chilean political scandals
This is a list of major political scandals in Chile.
1800s
* "Scorpion" scandal (1809) – a smuggling scandal that caused the fall of the Royal Governor and hastened Chilean Independence
1810s
*Killing of Manuel Rodríguez Erdoíza
1820s
* C ...
*
Economic history of Chile
The economy of Chile has shifted substantially over time from the heterogeneous economies of the diverse indigenous peoples to an early husbandry-oriented economy and finally to one of raw material export and a large service sector. Chile's recent ...
External links
Basic Reference{{in lang, es
History of Chile
Political scandals in Chile
1809 in the Captaincy General of Chile
1809 in politics