Arturo Prat
Captain, Chilean Navy
"Boys, the enemy has boarded us! Follow me, we shall not surrender while I live!"
Biography
A naval officer and trained lawyer, Arturo Prat commanded the ageing wooden corvette Esmeralda on the blockade of Iquique when she was cornered by Peru's ironclad Huáscar. Refusing to strike his colours against an enemy that outclassed his ship in every way, Prat kept fighting until the Huáscar rammed the Esmeralda — and then, in an act of desperate valour, leapt onto the deck of the enemy ironclad, sword in hand, calling on his men to follow, and was shot down almost at once. His sacrifice, and the sinking of the Esmeralda with her flag flying, transformed a lost battle into Chile's founding heroic legend. Prat became the supreme national hero, his name given to ships, streets, and squares across Chile, and May 21 became the country's Navy Day. His chivalrous enemy Grau returned his sword and personal effects to his widow.
Did you know?
He had qualified as a lawyer only months before the war, arguing his thesis in uniform — a scholar-sailor who became Chile's greatest martyr.
Key Battles
Naval Battle of Iquique
Peru & Bolivia victoryMay 21, 1879 · 200 total casualties
Though a Peruvian tactical victory, Iquique gave Chile its supreme national hero in Prat, whose sacrifice electrified the country and became a rallying cry. Meanwhile the escape of the Peruvian ships bought Chile time to hunt the Huáscar.
Life Journey
Timeline
April 3, 1848
🌅 Birth
Born in Ninhue, Chile
May 21, 1879
✝️ Death
Dies boarding the Huáscar at Iquique