BC Cook
YOU may recall the story of the Pacific War involving Chile, Bolivia and Peru. This is a totally forgotten (until now) episode of that conflict that ties together international intrigue, maritime law, scandal, adultery and bird poo.
During the Pacific War a Scottish ship delivered goods to Chile, thus unwittingly siding with that country in their conflict with Bolivia. Cargo ships try their best to carry goods in both directions, out and back from port. If they cannot secure a return cargo they must fill their holds with something heavy, otherwise the vessel can be top-heavy and unstable in rough seas. Since the Scottish captain was unable to secure a return cargo he went looking along the coast of South America for something with which to fill his ship. Then he sighted guano.
Along the Bolivian shore lay millions of tons of bird poo. Ever since the world realized how valuable this commodity is, Bolivia has made decent money by selling the guano to other, poo-starved countries. It turns out that guano is good for making all sorts of products, from explosives to lipstick.
The Scottish captain had his crew load 600 tons of guano into the ship as ballast and sailed for home. He could not know the chain of events he set in motion. When the Bolivian government learned of the great guano theft they sent a representative to London immediately to complain. So prompt were they that the official actually arrived in London before the guano thieves themselves.
As the Scots tied up at the wharf the law was waiting for them and their contraband. The captain and his crew, who had no idea they did anything illegal, were arrested and thrown into prison, their vessel was confiscated and the Bolivian official took possession of the 600 tons of guano.
But Bolivia never got their guano back. Before anyone could say this deal smells funny, the Bolivian official promptly sold the guano to a German fertilizer company, kept the money for himself, and ran off to Paris with the wife of his ex-partner and lived on the run the rest of his life.
To summarize: Bolivia never got their guano or the money from the sale, Chile got absolutely nothing out of the deal, the Scottish captain and his crew were stuck in jail, the Bolivian official got the money and his partner’s wife, and the Germans got the guano. You cannot make this stuff up.
BC Cook, PhD researches and teaches Pacific history and other subjects. He has taught at various universities in the U.S., including the University of Missouri and Lindenwood University.
