Migracje ludności a wybuch wojny chilijsko-peruwiańsko-boliwijskiej 1879-1884

The borders of the states formed on the ruins of the Spanish colonial empire in South America have been roughly set by the former administrative boundaries of individual Spanish provinces. In this way, Bolivia gained access to the Pacific in the form of a 200-kilometer fragment of the coast with the Cobija port, belonging to the intendencia Potosi. The entire coastal area was occupied by the inhospitable desert of Atacama, which is why initially the Bolivian cost did not raise the interest of the authorities in La Paz. Around 1840, however, the exploitation of the guano deposits began, which forced the Bolivian government to be more interested in its coastal province. In 1866, on the occasion of signing an alliance treaty with Chile in connection with the ongoing war with Spain, the border between the two countries was established on the 24th parallel, while recognizing the area between the 23rd and 25th parallel for a common mineral exploitation zone and the area where citizens of both countries could to settle freely and run a business. However, this right was mainly used by Chileans, economic weakness and communication difficulties, prevented Bolivia from developing its desert seaside province. In 1872 large saltpeter deposits were discovered in the desert, which became the main raw material extracted from that moment. The extraction of saltpetre resulted in the uncontrolled inflow of a large number of workers from Chile, and in a short time the Bolivians became a minority in their desert coastal province. In 1879, the Bolivian government, struggling with financial problems, imposed a new nitrate tax, contrary to earlier findings. He provoked the outrage of the Chilean government, which decided to intervene armed to defend its entrepreneurs. In February 1879 Chileans occupied the entire Bolivian province almost without resistance, because 80% of its inhabitants were their citizens. In this way, the uncontrolled inflow of economic migrants to Bolivia cost contributed to the loss of control by the Bolivian government over part of its territory and in the prospect of losing the province, which after the war was within Chile.