Abstract

ZAPATA, Antonio  and  ZHANG, Song. The meaning of an oath. The Chinese and the Pacific War. Apuntes [online]. 2023, vol.50, n.95, pp.75-96.  Epub Dec 31, 2023. ISSN 0252-1865.  http://dx.doi.org/10.21678/apuntes.95.1861.

This article aims to analyze the political conduct of the Peruvian Chinese in the Pacific War. We will probe into the process of incorporating a Chinese unit as a Chilean army auxiliary and its oath on the eve of the battles for the Peruvian capital in January 1881. The sources are the eyewitnesses to the ceremony, all of whom were Westerners: Chilean officers, journalists, and some European military observers. Early accounts of the Pacific War from Chilean and Peruvian authors, respectively Vicuña Mackenna and Paz Soldán, will also be used. Finally, we will analyze 19th-century Chinese newspapers with letters from the coolies about their situation in Peru and the war with Chile. The research findings are: 1. The rite was 100% Chinese. It was not related to Chilean or Peruvian patriotic identity but instead to the imminence of a battle. 2. The warrior culture of the coolies was based on the clan war taking place in Canton between the locals called Punti and the guests called Hakka. 3. The Pacific War was an opportunity for a large-scale coolie rebellion, which led to severe inter-ethnic clashes in Peru. 4. In letters sent to Chinese newspapers at the time, the coolies have left testimonies recounting their great suffering in Peru, relating the probable Peruvian defeat to the lack of public morality. While defining their status as neutrals, the coolies wondered about the Peruvians’ motives for looting their businesses. 5. The Peruvian historiography recognizes that the Chinese were in self-defense. Except for a small group, they did not ally themselves with Chile. In contrast, the vast majority acted the same way as the other neutrals involved in this international conflict.

Keywords : South American War of The Pacific; 1879-1884; Chinese coolies; rebellions; Canton.

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