(1879–83) Conflict involving Chile, Bolivia, and Peru over disputed territory on the mineral-rich Pacific coast.
National boundaries in the region were not definitively established prior to the conflict, and in the 1870s Chile controlled nitrate fields claimed by Peru and Bolivia. When demand for nitrates rose, war broke out over the territory. Chile defeated both countries and took control of valuable mining areas in each; Bolivia lost its entire Pacific coast. A 1904 treaty gave Bolivian commerce freedom of transit through Chilean territory, but Bolivia continued to try to escape its landlocked status (see Chaco War ). Peru foundered economically for decades after the war. A final accord between Peru and Chile was only reached in 1929 through U.S. mediation.