Baquedano, Manuel (1826–1897)

Manuel Baquedano (b. 1826; d. 1897), Chilean military leader. Born in Santiago, Baquedano ran away at the age of twelve and sailed as a stowaway in the expedition sent to destroy the Peru-Bolivia Confederation. In 1839 he fought in the battles of Portada de Guias and Yungay. During the civil war of 1851 he fought in the battle of Loncomilla against his father. In 1854 he was separated from military service by the government of Manuel Montt but was reinstated in 1859. Baquedano fought against the Araucanian Indians in 1868 and was a brigadier general when the War of the Pacific (1879–1883) broke out. In February 1880 he commanded 14,800 men during the campaign against Tacna and Arica. Following this series of victories, he commanded 26,500 troops in the attack on Lima. On 13 and 15 January 1881 he won the bloody battles of Chorillos and Miraflores, which led to the capitulation of Lima and drove Peru to accept defeat.

Following the war Baquedano was promoted to generalissimo. In 1881 the Conservative Party proclaimed him their presidential candidate, but he refused to accept. Between 1882 and 1894 he served in the Chilean Senate. In early 1891 the Chilean Congress asked Baquedano to support its position against President José Manuel Balmaceda, but he declared neutrality and took no part in the revolution of 1891. Following Balmaceda's 1891 suicide, Baquedano took command of the nation until those opposed to Balmaceda could take charge.

See alsoChile, Political Parties: Conservative Party; Military Dictatorships: 1821–1945.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Jorge Carmona Yañez, Baquedano, 2d ed. (1978); Historia militar de Chile, 2d ed., 3 vols. (1984).

Additional Bibliography

Ekdahl, Guillermo, and Carlos Valenzuela Solis de Ovando. Baquedano general victorioso: Los Angeles, Tacna, Arica, Chorrillos, Miraflores. Santiago de Chile: Edit. Andújar, 2003.

                                         Robert Scheina