Arturo Prat Boards the Huáscar at Iquique

On the morning of May 21, 1879, two older Chilean wooden warships blockaded the Peruvian port of Iquique. Chile had declared war on Peru and Bolivia the previous month, sparked by territorial disputes over mineral extraction in the Atacama region and Bolivia's attempted confiscation of the Antofagasta Nitrate and Railway Company. While Chile's modern armored vessels sailed north toward Callao to seek a decisive fleet engagement, the wooden corvette Esmeralda and the schooner Covadonga remained behind off Iquique under Captain Arturo Prat. Emerging through morning fog, the modern Peruvian ironclad monitor Huascar and the armored frigate Independencia arrived to lift the blockade.

Recognizing the vast technological imbalance, Prat prepared his crew aboard the aging Esmeralda for action. Built in the 1850s, the wooden corvette possessed older armament and defective engines, whereas Huascar, commanded by Captain Miguel Grau, carried thick iron plating, and mounted two heavy 300-pound cannons in a revolving turret. As the engagement opened, Covadonga fled southward, drawing the frigate Independencia into a separate pursuit along the coast. Prat maneuvered Esmeralda close to the shore, which limited Grau's fire because the town and civilian onlookers lay behind the Chilean ship.