Santiago, RIL Editores, 2019
“This second volume refers to Chile’s naval history from the Civil War of 1891 to the commemoration of the Navy’s two hundred years of existence.
Its initial pages refer to a period of great growth of the national naval power due to the border problems occurring from the late 19th century to the first decades of the following century. In light of the economic crisis of the late 1920s, this power began to decay as many political and social problems affecting the armed forces at the time took place. A particularly critical period was that of the 1931 naval mutiny which is thoroughly discussed in the book.
The years of the Second World War had to be confronted with a acute scarcity of means. At the end of this conflict, the United States began a period of transfer of ships and organization of training courses that renewed the Navy. At the same time, tensions arising from the Cold War were felt everywhere, which in turn culminated in Chile in the 1973 events that shocked the navy.
The crisis with Peru in the period 1975-1979, and with Argentina that culminated in 1978 thanks to the mediation of the Holy See that led to the end the conflict over the Beagle Canal islands , are dealt with from a naval standpoint along with the Falkland Islands’ war.
In the most recent decades, efforts to renew the fleet with increased participation of national companies is highlighted. Also covered in detail is the Navy’s involvement in natural disaster mitigation, including the great earthquake and tsunami of February 27, 2010, in which a major technical effort had to be undertaken to rescue ships and damaged naval material at the Talcahuano Naval Base, as well as rebuild its seafront and many buildings.
The final pages highlight the Navy’s participation in peace operations and multinational exercises to which she is invited due to the prestige she has achieved in her operations. This volume ends with the commemorations of the bicentennial of the Chilean Navy in the biennium 2017-2018.”