Argentine–Chilean Naval Arms Race
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In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the South American nations of
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
and
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
engaged in an expensive naval arms race to ensure the other would not gain supremacy in the
Southern Cone The Southern Cone (, ) is a geographical and cultural subregion composed of the southernmost areas of South America, mostly south of the Tropic of Capricorn. Traditionally, it covers Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, bounded on the west by the Pac ...
. Although the Argentine and Chilean navies were insignificant in the 1860s, with zero and five warships, respectively, Argentina's concern over a strong
Imperial Brazilian Navy The Imperial Brazilian Navy (Brazilian Portuguese: ''Armada Nacional'', commonly known as ''Armada Imperial'') was the navy created at the time of the independence of the Empire of Brazil from the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algar ...
and the Chilean war against Spain caused them to add capable warships to their fleets in the 1870s. During this time, diplomatic relations between Argentina and Chile soured due to conflicting boundary claims, particularly in
Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...
. By the beginning of the 1880s, after the
War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific (), also known by War of the Pacific#Etymology, multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Treaty of Defensive Alliance (Bolivia–Peru), Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought over Atacama Desert ...
, the Chilean government possessed possibly the strongest navy in the Americas. They planned to add to it with an 1887 appropriation for one
battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...
, two
protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of cruiser of the late 19th century, took their name from the armored deck, which protected vital machine-spaces from fragments released by explosive shells. Protected cruisers notably lacked a belt of armour alon ...
s, and two torpedo gunboats. Argentina responded a year later with an order for two battleships of its own. The naval arms race unfolded over the next several years, with each country buying and ordering vessels that were slightly better than the previous ship, but the Argentines eventually pulled ahead with the acquisition of four ''Garibaldi''-class cruisers. The race ended in 1902 with the British-arbitrated Pacts of May, which contained a binding naval-limiting agreement. Both governments sold or canceled the ships they had ordered, and three major warships were mostly disarmed to balance the fleets. The pacts proved to be the answer to the Argentine and Chilean disputes, as the countries enjoyed a period of warm relations. This did not last, as the Brazilian government's attempt to rebuild its naval forces sparked another naval arms race, involving all three countries ordering revolutionary new
dreadnought The dreadnought was the predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's , had such an effect when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", ...
s—powerful battleships whose capabilities far outstripped older vessels in the world's navies.


Background

Conflicting Argentine and Chilean claims to
Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...
had been causing tension between the two countries since the 1840s. Lacking seaborne forces, neither could enforce its claim, though: in 1860, the Chileans had only five small vessels, while the Argentine Navy had no seagoing ships. These attitudes quickly changed when the circumstances warranted; when Chile joined Peru against Spain in the
Chincha Islands War The Chincha Islands War, also known as Spanish–South American War (), 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 conflict began with Spain's seiz ...
, the Spaniards bombarded and blockaded
Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...
, leading the Chilean government to strengthen the navy. The Argentine government, under President
Domingo Sarmiento Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (15 February 1811 – 11 September 1888) was President of Argentina from 1868 to 1874. He was a member of a group of intellectuals, known as the ''1837 generation, Generation of 1837'', who had a great influence on 19t ...
, decided to build a navy in the 1870s to counter Brazilian naval acquisitions. Two large monitors, ''Los Andes'' and ''El Plata'', were ordered from Laird Brothers, a British company, along with two gunboats. They were delivered in 1874 and 1875. Patagonian tensions heightened in 1872 and 1878, when Chilean warships seized merchant ships which had been licensed to operate in the disputed area by the Argentine government. An Argentine warship did the same to a Chilean-licensed American ship in 1877. This action nearly led to war in November 1878, when the Argentines dispatched a squadron of warships to the Santa Cruz River. The Chilean Navy responded in kind, and war was only avoided by a hastily signed treaty. Both countries were incapable of enforcing these claims with a seaborne force in the next few years, as the Argentines were occupied with internal military operations against the indigenous population (1870–84), and the Chileans involved in the
War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific (), also known by War of the Pacific#Etymology, multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Treaty of Defensive Alliance (Bolivia–Peru), Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought over Atacama Desert ...
(''Guerra del Pacífico'', 1879–83) against Bolivia and Peru. Still, several warships were ordered by both nations: the Argentines commissioned a central battery ironclad, , and a protected cruiser, , in 1880 and 1885, respectively. For their part, the Chileans ordered a
protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of cruiser of the late 19th century, took their name from the armored deck, which protected vital machine-spaces from fragments released by explosive shells. Protected cruisers notably lacked a belt of armour alon ...
, , to bolster its fleet, which was centered on two central battery
ironclad An ironclad was a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by iron armour, steel or iron armor constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or ince ...
s, and . With these ships, the Chilean Navy emerged from the War of the Pacific as the preeminent navy in the Americas, surpassing even the navy of the United States, which had fallen into steep decline after the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
. The Chilean government utilized this advantage when it deployed ''Esmeralda'' to Panama in 1885 to block the U.S. from attempting to annex the region.


Arms race

The Chilean government moved first to begin the naval arms race when it ordered a modern ironclad
battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...
, , two protected cruisers, and two
torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...
s from France and the United Kingdom. Bought with a £3,129,500 appropriation in the 1887 budget, the ships would have upset the balance of naval power in Latin America—while the Argentines had more vessels, the Chileans had larger warships with far more experienced crewmen. This purchase was made worse, from the Argentine perspective, by a large order for
rifle A rifle is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a gun barrel, barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus o ...
s,
field gun A field gun is a field artillery piece. Originally the term referred to smaller guns that could accompany a field army on the march, that when in combat could be moved about the battlefield in response to changing circumstances (field artillery ...
s,
saber A sabre or saber ( ) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the Early Modern warfare, early modern and Napoleonic period, Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such a ...
s, and
carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and ligh ...
s, enough to arm an 80,000-strong army. The Argentine government responded with two battleships— and , though they were individually smaller than their Chilean counterpart—and two protected cruisers, one purchased on the stocks in 1890 () and a new-build of the same design in 1891 (). The purchases were funded largely through export-related windfall, Chile through nitrates and Argentina through grain and cattle. The Chilean Civil War (1891), rather than calming the naval ambitions of Chile, escalated them. In that conflict, the Chilean Navy played a significant role on the congressional side against the president and the army. The resulting victory of the congressional side and subsequent presidency of Admiral Jorge Montt led to a large increase in prestige and consequent funding for the navy. Argentine naval units assisted failed revolts in Argentina, but the continuing acrimony with and naval acquisitions of Chile meant this had little effect. The Chilean government purchased a protected cruiser, , on the stocks in 1892, while the Argentines purchased one, , being built speculatively in late 1893. The Chileans sold their oldest protected cruiser, ''Esmeralda'', in late 1894 to finance the order of an
armored cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a pre-dreadnought battles ...
. This materialized in May 1895 with a new , along with four torpedo boats; a Brazilian protected cruiser, , was purchased while under construction in August 1895. The Argentines purchased an Italian armored cruiser, , on the stocks on 14 July 1895. In April 1896, Chile ordered another armored cruiser, , and six torpedo boats. Naval historian Robert Scheina states that in the same month Argentina ordered , a near-sister ship to ''Garibaldi'' which was under construction in Italy, but notes that the small time lapse between the orders makes it difficult or impossible to know who was responding to who—or if either were simply independent acquisitions. As historian Jonathan Grant writes, the Argentines may have moved first to secure a definite, if momentarily tenuous, advantage over the Chilean Navy. In May 1898, the Chilean government found that the Argentines were planning on acquiring one, then two, ''Garibaldi''-class cruisers ( and ). With tensions extremely high and war seemingly imminent, the two countries agreed to submit their boundary disputes to the British. They also signed pacts which led to the resolution of the Puna de Atacama dispute. As the former arbitration took much time, leaving that particular boundary dispute unresolved, the naval arms race quickly picked back up. The Argentines ordered two additional armored cruisers that were similar to the previous four, but more powerful. To counter them, the Chilean government ordered two new battleships, ''Constitución'' and ''Libertad'', using part of its
gold reserve A gold reserve is the gold held by a national central bank, intended mainly as a guarantee to redeem promises to pay depositors, note holders (e.g. paper money), or trading peers, during the eras of the gold standard, and also as a store of v ...
to pay for them. These battleships' fast speed would make them suitable for opposing the new Argentine armored cruisers. The Chileans also purchased the protected cruiser , which had been built on speculation, on the stocks in late 1901. The Argentines responded in May 1901 with an inquiry, possibly a full order, to Ansaldo for a new battleship design. This would mount a
main battery A main battery is the primary weapon or group of weapons around which a warship is designed. As such, a main battery was historically a naval gun or group of guns used in volleys, as in the broadsides of cannon on a ship of the line. Later, th ...
and be capable of steaming at . The increased tensions and near state of war between Argentina and Chile caused the British to push for a resolution, lest their economic interests in the region, which included the export of British goods and the import of Latin American raw materials, be disrupted. Talks were held in the Chilean capital,
Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...
, between the British ambassador to Chile, the Argentine ambassador to Chile, and the Chilean foreign minister and President
Germán Riesco Germán Riesco Errázuriz (; May 28, 1854 – December 8, 1916) was a Chilean political figure, and he served as President of Chile between 1901 and 1906. Early life He was born in Rancagua, the son of Mauricio Riesco, a Spanish people, Spani ...
. This led to the three Pacts of May on 28 May 1902, which ended the dispute. The third limited the naval armaments of both countries. Argentina and Chile were barred from acquiring any further warships for five years, unless they gave the other eighteen months of advance notice. The warships under construction were sold to the United Kingdom, with Chile's battleships becoming the , and Japan, with Argentina's final two armored cruisers becoming the . The two planned Argentine battleships were either never ordered or canceled, and ''Garibaldi'' and ''Pueyrredón'', along with Chile's ''Capitán Prat'', were disarmed with the exception of their main batteries, as the Argentine Navy had no crane capable of removing the armored cruiser's gun turrets.


Aftermath

The Argentine–Chilean naval arms race was extremely expensive for both countries. The Argentine government was able to purchase £4,534,800 worth of ships between 1890 and 1898 with large foreign loans, which were given to them despite the country's role in the Baring crisis of 1890. The government's total foreign debt reached 421 million gold pesos by 1896. As for Chile, it was forced to take out a £2 million loan in order to purchase Krupp weaponry, and this combined with its other loans led the banking industry to suspend loans to Chile until the diplomatic crisis with Argentina was solved. Both the Argentine President Julio Argentino Roca and American ambassador to Argentina William Paine Lord ascribed the ending of the arms race to the diminished credit of Argentina and Chile. By all measures, the Pacts of May were an unmitigated success. Both Argentina and Chile enjoyed a period of lessened tensions, leaving the near state of war they were in, and the pacts ended their expensive naval buildups. However, the third major country in South America, Brazil, brought this to a crashing halt in 1904, when its congress passed a large naval construction plan. This culminated in 1907 with a Brazilian order for three "
dreadnought The dreadnought was the predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's , had such an effect when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", ...
s", a new form of warship whose advanced armament and propulsion capabilities far outstripped older vessels in the world's navies. Two would be laid down immediately, with a third to follow. The Argentine and Chilean governments quickly moved to cancel the remaining months of the naval-limiting Pacts of May, and both eventually responded with orders for their own dreadnoughts.Scheina, ''Naval History'', 80–81; Scheina, "Brazil," 403; "The Brazilian Navy," ''Times'' (London), 28 December 1908, 48f.


See also

* East Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego and Strait of Magellan Dispute * Maximum neighbor hypothesis * Anglo-German naval arms race * Austro-Italian ironclad arms race


Footnotes


Endnotes


References


Books and journal articles

* Gardiner, Robert, Roger Chesneau, and Eugene Kolesnik, eds. ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905''. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1979. . . * Garrett, James L.
The Beagle Channel Dispute: Confrontation and Negotiation in the Southern Cone
" ''Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs'' 27, no. 3 (1985): 81–109. . OCLC . * Grant, Jonathan A. ''Rulers, Guns, and Money: The Global Arms Trade in the Age of Imperialism''. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007. . OCLC . * Lyon, Hugh. "Argentina." In Gardiner, Chesneau, and Kolesnik, ''Conway's'', 401–04. * ———. "Chile." In Gardiner, Chesneau, and Kolesnik, ''Conway's'', 410–13. * Sater, William F. ''Chile and the United States: Empires in Conflict''. Athens, GA: University of Georgia, 1990. . OCLC . * Scheina, Robert L. "Brazil." In ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921'', edited by Robert Gardiner and Randal Gray, 403–07. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1985. . OCLC . * ———. ''Latin America: A Naval History, 1810–1987''. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1987. . OCLC .


Articles and newspapers

* '' Boston Evening Transcript'' * '' National Labor Tribune'' * ''Times'' (London)


Further reading

* Rauch, George V. ''Conflict in the Southern Cone: The Argentine Military and the Boundary Dispute with Chile, 1870–1902''. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1999. . . {{DEFAULTSORT:Argentine-Chilean naval arms race Argentina–Chile relations Argentine Navy Battleships Chilean Navy History of Argentina (1880–1916) Modern history of Chile Military history of Argentina Military history of Chile Military history of Latin America Technological races