398 SOUTH AMERICA— THE ANDES REGIONS. 



the advantage of a great centre of attraction in Valparaiso, chief seaport of the 

 republic, which lies about midway between the extremities of the long coast-line. 



Analogous positions were held in ancient times by Phoenicia, and afterwards 

 by Greece, which, thanks to the command of the sea, were able to enlarge their 

 narrow bounds by numerous colonies along the shores of the Mediterranean. In 

 mediœval times, also, Venice founded a maritime state stretching all along the 

 east side of the Adriatic, and in our own days Great Britain, which " rules the 

 waves," encircles the whole globe with its zone of colonies, constituting a vast 

 maritime empire which is destined to last as long as the naval supremacy of the 

 mother country. 



Thus enjoying substantial geographical and political unity, Chili tends even 

 to expand, and hitherto the fortune of war has been favourable to her in the 

 conflicts with her northern neighbours. In 1878 Bolivia, ill-advised by Peru, 

 wishing to replace the revenue derived from her exhausted guano beds by heavy 

 duties on the nitrates, had imprudently offended the Chilian traders working the 

 Bolivian deposits. Taking as her motto, " By right or might," Chili took up the 

 cause of her subjects, mostly wealthy members of the local aristocracy. A few 

 months after the declaration of war, the Chilian fleet, having triumphed over the 

 Peruvian ironclads, landed an armed force on Peruvian territory between Iquique 

 and Arica. Victory followed victory, though sometimes dearly bought, especially 

 before Tacna, and in storming the two lines of fortified works defending Lima. 



In virtue of the treaty dictated by the conquerors. Chili, already in possession 

 of the department of Cobija wrested from Bolivia, annexed the Peruvian depart- 

 ment of Tarapaca, containing the nitrate deposits which had given rise to the 

 quarrel. She at the same time sequestrated for ten years the surplus revenues of 

 Tacna, Arica, and of all the adjacent territory as far as the Andes. 



These northern deserts, which the patriots of Chili had hitherto regarded as 

 " providential barriers " against any attack from the north, were thus appro- 

 priated by the Chilians themselves, who even extended their conquests farther 

 north. The superficial area of the republic, increased some 130,000 square 

 miles by these annexations, was thus nearly doubled at a single stroke, and is at 

 present estimated at 294,000 square miles, or nearly two and a half times that of 

 the British Isles. Even if the department of Tacna be surrendered in 1894 for an 

 indemnity of £2,000,000, or if, as the Bolivians hope, it be presented to them as 

 a peace-offering to cement a permanent alliance, Chili will still be the gainer, 

 adding to military renown the reputation of generosity. 



Islands — Boundaries — Extent — Population. 



As a naval power Chili has also added some insular groups to her territory on 

 the mainland. The islets of San Ambrosio and San Felix, as well as the little 

 Juan Fernandez archipelago lying within 600 miles of the continent, fell naturally 

 to her share in the general dismemberment of the Spanish colonial empire. To 

 these were afterwards added the larger Easter Island and Sala-y- Gomez by the 



