The Blockade of Callao was a military operation that occurred during the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific (), also known by War of the Pacific#Etymology, multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Treaty of Defensive Alliance (Bolivia–Peru), Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought over Atacama Desert ...

or the Salitre War and that consisted of the Chilean squadron preventing the entry of ships to the port of

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists ...

and the neighboring coves between 10 April 1880 and 17 January 1881.

Blockade

Commencing on 10 April 1880, the

Chilean Navy The Chilean Navy () is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense (Chile), Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso. History Ori ...

fleet began a light

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are ...

of the

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

vian port of

. The Chilean fleet would slowly grow as additional ships became available from other regions of the campaign. Likewise, the

Peruvian Navy The Peruvian Navy (, abbreviated MGP) is the branch of the Peruvian Military of Peru, Armed Forces tasked with surveillance, patrol and defense on lakes, rivers and the Pacific Ocean up to from the Peruvian littoral. Additional missions include ...

would arm local vessels as equipment allowed. Several times over the year that the blockade was effected, the Chilean fleet would sortie and bombard the city. This was frequently in response to a Peruvian attack, such as the repeated successful deployment of disguised floating bombs.

Scuttling of the Peruvian fleet

After the successful attacks on the

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

s of

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

and Miraflores, it became apparent that the city was going to fall to the advancing

Chilean Army The Chilean Army () is the land arm of the Chilean Armed Forces. This 80,000-person army (9,200 of which are conscripts) is organized into six divisions, an army aviation brigade and a special operations brigade. In recent years, and after sever ...

. During the night of 16 January 1881, after the defeat of the Peruvian Army in the battles of San Juan and Miraflores, the Secretary of the Navy, Captain Manuel Villar, ordered the destruction of port defences and the remaining ships of the Peruvian NavyYábar 2001 to prevent their capture by Chilean troops. This order was executed by the captains

Germán Astete Germán () is a male given name in Spanish speaking countries. It is a cognate to French Germain, and is a variant of Latin Germanus. Surname * Domingo Germán (born 1992), baseball player * Esteban Germán (born 1978), Dominican professio ...

and Manuel Villavisencio during the dawn of 17 January 1881. Among the ships

scuttled Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull, typically by its crew opening holes in its hull. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vesse ...

were the last Peruvian

ironclad An ironclad was a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by iron armour, steel or iron armor constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or ince ...

, the

monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, Wes ...

, the corvette ''Unión'', the training ship , as well as Peru's first

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

, .

Ships scuttled

The Peruvian ships scuttled by their crew to prevent their capture, included:

Surrender

Callao surrendered on 18 January 1881, the day after the fleet was scuttled.

References

NavSource: USS ''Catawba''

* Yábar Acuña, Francisco (2001). ''Las Fuerzas Sútiles y la defensa de costa en la Guerra del Pacífico'', Fondo de Publicaciones Dirección de Intereses Marítimos.

External links

Battles involving Chile Battles involving Peru Battles of the War of the Pacific 1881 in Peru Maritime incidents in 1881 Scuttled vessels of Peru {{Peru-battle-stub