Hilarión Daza
President of Bolivia and Commander-in-Chief
"Bolivia will not be robbed of its coast without a fight."
Biography
The Bolivian dictator whose actions helped ignite the war, Hilarión Daza had seized power in a coup and, in 1878, imposed the disputed tax on the Chilean nitrate company and then moved to confiscate it — the spark that brought Chile's occupation of the coast and the outbreak of war. He led Bolivia's army into the field, but his campaign was marked by hesitation and failure. Most notoriously, during the Tarapacá campaign he halted his army at Camarones and turned back rather than march to join the Peruvians, a decision widely seen as abandoning his allies. Overthrown in a coup while still at the front in late 1879, Daza went into long exile, his name a byword in Bolivia for the catastrophe of the war. Returning years later, he was assassinated on his arrival, in murky circumstances, in 1894.
Did you know?
His controversial 'retreat from Camarones,' turning back instead of aiding Peru, made him one of the most reviled figures in Bolivian history.
Key Battles
The Occupation of Antofagasta
Chile victoryFebruary 14, 1879 · 0 total casualties
The bloodless seizure of Antofagasta began the war. Bolivia declared war, and its secret alliance treaty dragged in Peru, turning a tax quarrel over guano and nitrate into a three-nation conflict for the Pacific coast.
Life Journey
Timeline
January 14, 1840
🌅 Birth
Born in Sucre, Bolivia
1879
📍 Posting
His tax dispute triggers Chile's invasion
February 27, 1894
✝️ Death
Assassinated on his return from exile