Cascading effects and the Battle of Concepción

Hi, this is Our Bloody History, where we take complex, tense history and make it digestible for your busy brains.

Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

The final stand of seventy seven Chileans high up in the Andes against a Peruvian force seventeen times their size, which happened this week, 140 years ago, on 9-10 July 1882.

Bias Warning: I lived 6+ years in Chile and I'm married to a Chilean. That being said, objectivity is my goal.

Here we go.

It all starts with mining.

Actually, it starts with messy borders. We'll come back to mining in just a sec. Hold that thought.

The 19th century is both an exciting and confusing time for South America. On one hand, the proud nations begin to gain their independence from Spain and Portugal (viva sí!), but on the other, fuzzy and vague demarcations of frontiers lead to decades of conflict, shaping the geopolitical maps that we know today.

One of the most disputed territories at this time (and even today) is the Atacama Desert, the driest desert in the world and the northern border of Chile with Peru and Bolivia. And who wants the desert? Well, they all do. Because it's so freakn rich in minerals. In particular, potassium nitrate, also known as saltpeter, an important component in fertilisers and gunpowder.

...a perfect transition back to mining.

In the 1870s everyone is relatively happy making money in the desert. Entrepreneurs are creaming it and a series of different treaties between Chile and Bolivia keep things clear. It's Bolivian territory but Chile has tax-free access. But in 1878, Bolivia enforces a ten-cent tax on Chilean exports. Chile is like, qué te pasa, and refuses to pay. Bolivia then confiscates the property of a major Chilean mining company. So Chile dispatches a warship and occupies the coastal town of Antofagasta, a Bolivian port (which is now Chilean).

Things are starting to look ugly. Dudes are flexing.

In March 1879, Bolivia declares war on Chile. Then Peru joins the bandwagon and allies with Bolivia. A month later, in April 1879, Chile declares war against both its northern neighbours. And so begins the War of the Pacific, nicknamed the Saltpeter War or the Ten Cents War. This conflict lasts four and a half years and includes a series of naval and land campaigns, resulting in an even lonnngggeer Chile and a landlocked Bolivia, a source of deep resentment and tension to this day.

It's during the Sierra Campaign (Feb 1881 - Nov 1883), the last phase of the war, that this week's story takes place. Lima, the capital of Peru, is currently occupied by Chilean forces, the Peruvian state has collapsed, the President has fled, and the Peruvian army is non-existent. Unfortunately, little help is coming from Bolivia – they've also run out of money, men and weapons. Qué mal! 

Despite all this, Peru refuses to sue for peace and instead shifts their focus to fighting a war of attrition. They hope to wear Chile down bit by bit until the southern invaders give up and go home. After their defeat at Miraflores and the invasion of the capital city in 1881, many Peruvian officers flee to the mountains to organise resistance. And that's where the fighting is currently taking place, in the valleys of the snow-capped Andes, high up in the Peruvian sierra. And boy is it cold up there.

The Chilean division, about 5,000 strong, tasked with suppressing the guerrillas is spread throughout the Andes, stationed in small towns and garrisons. Morale is low and supplies even lower. The Chileans are running out of food, clothes, shoes, and ammunition. Many are also dying from frostbite, unknown illnesses and disease such as typhus. The situation is bleak in all meanings of the word.

Finally, after multiple requests upon deaf ears, the Chilean high command grants permission to retreat from the mountains, but in an orderly fashion. The plan is for the main column to first withdraw and collect the smaller, scattered garrisons along the way. You can imagine the relief. Vámonos! Let's get the hell out of here.

One of the garrisons is at a small town called Concepción (not to be confused with another city called Concepción in the south of Chile) and is 3,283 meters (10,771 ft) above sea level. That's pretty freakn high (no wonder mountain sickness is so rampant). Seventy seven Chilean soldiers under the command of Captain Ignacio Carrera Pinto are stationed here. Travelling with them are two women, one who is heavily pregnant and about to deliver. As per the plan, Carrera Pinto is waiting for the retiring division in order to join it. No attack is expected, but the garrison is on high alert, just in case.

Then, on the afternoon of 9 July 1882, our day in history this week, sentries sound the alarm. Enemy soldiers and angry farmers are spotted on the hills and the town is quickly surrounded by a force seventeen times the size of the trapped defenders. Madre mía. Dividing the already tiny band into three smaller units, Carrera Pinto tries to defend the entrances to the main square, but is easily overwhelmed. After an unsuccessful bayonet charge to break free, heavy sniper fire forces the Chileans to seek refuge within the church, a very exposed position at the centre of the square.

Surrounded, sick, and wounded, the Chileans hunker down inside with little chance of escaping. Their only hope is to hold out until the larger Chilean division comes to collect them. But who knows when that will be. Carrera Pinto dispatches three men to bring word of their situation, but none of them make it out of Concepción alive.

A communication is sent to the trapped defenders, giving them an opportunity to surrender and spare their lives. To which Carrera Pinto famously responds:

And so the fighting continues.

The church and convent are sprayed with fuel and set on fire. The Chileans try to force back the attackers, shooting from the windows and largely exhausting their ammunition. Meanwhile, the pregnant woman delivers her baby. Oh man, this pobre mujer. Not the birth she imagined – inside a burning church filled with screaming bullets.

Carrera Pinto then tries to lead his men to a house next door but is killed in a skirmish outside. With few available options, the surviving Chileans grab their commanding officer's body and retreat to the blazing sanctuary once more. Soon after, a group of Peruvian montoneros penetrate the walls of the church. The defenders quickly rally and push them back. Close call. The Chileans succeed in putting out one fire while the world figuratively (and kinda literally) burns around them. And on it goes: a relentless bullet storm barrages the defenders from all sides, and slowly, but surely, the Chilean resistance is whittled down to a small group of ragged survivors.

At 7:00 the next morning more guerrillas arrive.

At 10:00 the Chileans officially run out of ammo. The church ain't looking too good and the smoke and flames forces them outside.

At 11:00 there's only nine Chileans left. Another volley kills four more.

Five left.

Terms of surrender are offered again.

15-year old Luis Cruz Martinez, the remaining Chilean officer in charge, refuses the offer. He cries, "For the fatherland, Chileans will never surrender!" and leads a final bayonet charge.

Finally, after 27-hours, the bitter fighting comes to an end.

At noon, just an hour later, the main Chilean column arrives with reinforcements. But they're too late. Everyone's already dead: 77 Chileans, more than 40 Peruvian soldiers and over 250 guerrillas. And sadly, the two women and the newborn baby are found lifeless and dismembered.

In anger, the Chileans burn down the town and kill any lingering residents. As they say, violence begets violence.

Although just a small blip in a multi-year war, the Battle of Concepción is a reminder of the power of decisions, no matter how small, to create a chain of cascading consequences we can't even begin to predict. Who knew that a 10-cent tax would lead to young men dying in the Andes. Or a dismembered mother and child.

All actions have effects and, surprise, those effects also have effects. Considering all the potential downstream consequences, and not just the immediate results, is called second-order thinking. Shane Parrish, author of The Great Mental Models, writes "Failing to consider the second- and third-order effects can unleash disaster" and that "despite our intentions our interventions often cause harm."

In 2019, this happened again in Chile. Local authorities tried to raise the price of a ride on the metro system by 30 pesos, about $0.04 cents. This led to mass riots, subway stations burned to the ground, ongoing civil unrest and calls for a constitutional reform which is currently taking place right now. No one foresaw these second-order effects.

Small sparks make big fires. It's wise to think carefully about the spark you're making.

PS: It's pretty clear that Chileans don't like price hikes. Ojo con eso.

3 quick facts:

• After the burning of Concepción, the hearts of the four Chilean officers, including Captain Ignacio Carrera Pinto and Second Lieutenant Luis Cruz Martinez, are extracted and sent in formalin to Santiago. The remains of the 77 Chileans are buried beside the church. Only in 1911, in a church in Santiago, are the hearts of the 4 officers interred with a marker dedicated to the memory of all 77.

• The Battle of Concepción has deep meaning for both countries. In Chile, every 9 July, Día de la Bandera (Day of the National Flag) is celebrated, in remembrance of those who chose to die defending their flag rather than surrender. In Peru, it is remembered as a triumph and an important milestone of their resistance. Concepción is one of Peru's Heroic Cities and on the day of their victory, a national youth marching band competition is held there.

• Although this victory goes to Peru, Chile ultimately wins the war. A year later, at the Battle of Huamachuco, Chile crushes Peruvian forces in the last major battle of the War of the Pacific, paving the way for the Treaty of Ancón that finally puts an end to the war.

Other conflicts that happened this week:

• 4 July 1879: The Zululand capital of Ulundi is captured by British troops and burned to the ground, ending the Anglo-Zulu War and forcing King Cetshwayo to flee.

• 5 July 1594: Portuguese forces begin an unsuccessful invasion of the Kingdom of Kandy during the Campaign of Danture in Sri Lanka.

• 6 July 371 BC: Boeotians and Thebans crush the Spartans at the Battle of Leuctra, shattering Sparta's reputation of military invincibility.

• 7 July 1892: The Katipunan, an anti-Spanish revolutionary society, is established, which, when discovered by Spanish authorities, initiates the Philippine Revolution.

• 8 July 1709: Peter I of Russia defeats Charles XII of Sweden at the Battle of Poltava, effectively ending Sweden's status as a major power in Europe.

• 9 July 1900: 45 foreign Christian men, women and children are killed during the Taiyuan Massacre, which was part of the larger Boxer Rebellion, an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901.

• 10 July 1921: Sixteen people are killed and 161 houses destroyed during rioting and gun battles in Northern Ireland in Belfast's Bloody Sunday.

A historical quote about historical things:

DisclaimerYou are reading my abstractions based on the abstractions of others. History is not always an accurate map of what really happened. The map is not the territory. Reality can be very different. We are like blind people groping an elephant, describing what we feel. It always pays to do your own research and ask questions.