AHC: Prevent/Delay the War of the Pacific

POD no earlier than 1870.

Is it possible an alliance system could take root in South America, involving all of the major players, without the conflict?

Edit: for some reason I wrote later instead of earlier.
 
Last edited:
POD no later than 1870.

Is it possible an alliance system could take root in South America, involving all of the major players, without the conflict?

According to one of my Latin American history books, the cause of the war is Bolivia passing an "export duty on nitrate in place of existing taxes". The Bolivians shot themselves in the foot even more when they "not only refused to rescind the export duty but declared it retroactive" Maybe if the Bolivian leaders had cooler heads, the 1866 border treaty between Bolivia and Chile could hold?

EDIT: I forgot to cite the book here.

Scheina, R. L. (2003). Latin America's wars: The age of the Caudillo, 1791-1899. Washington, D.C.: Brassey's.
 
So if cooler heads prevail in Bolivia, is the whole dispute papered over or does the Peru-Bolivia alliance germinate into a regional bloc against Chile? Argentina was close to joining at certain points. If it becomes a larger alliance, does Brazil try to correct the balance of power by aligning with Chile? Will that suck the minor countries into the alliance system?
 
IOTL, Argentina supported the Peru-Bolivia alliance, but feared a Chile-Brazil alliance.

I'm surprised at how little interest there is in this.
 
IOTL, Argentina supported the Peru-Bolivia alliance, but feared a Chile-Brazil alliance.

I'm surprised at how little interest there is in this.

I think most of the posters on this board are more used to American or European history, and may not know as much about South America. (It wasn't taught at all in my schools except for maybe a bit about the Incas and conquistadores.)

See the wiki article Nothing Ever Happens in South America:

http://wiki.alternatehistory.com/doku.php/alternate_history/nothing_ever_happens_in_south_america


If the other South American countries know how comparatively strong Chile is at the time, I could see an alliance against it. Would Bolivia be a much wealthier country in the future if it keeps its coastline in this scenario?
 
Top