Papudo, Battle of

Battle of Papudo, an important naval engagement in 1865 during Chile's war with Spain. On 26 November 1865, a Chilean vessel, the Esmeralda, attacked a Spanish ship, the Covadonga. Flying a British ensign as a ruse, the Chilean captain, Juan Williams Rebolledo, was able to approach the Covadonga, under the command of Luis Fery. When he came close enough, Williams simultaneously raised the Chilean flag and opened fire on the Spanish ship. Because the two vessels were so close, the Spanish ship's shells passed over the Esmeralda, which pounded the Covadonga. The Spanish struck their colors and tried to scuttle their ship, but the Chileans managed to board it, close the sea valves, and incorporate the Covadonga into their fleet. Capturing this Spanish vessel constituted one of the few high points in Chile's unfortunate war with Spain. The Covadonga remained in the Chilean navy until it was sunk during the War of the Pacific.

See alsoChile, War with Spain .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

W. C. Davis, The Last Conquistadores: The Spanish Intervention in Peru and Chile, 1863–1866 (1950).

Rodrígo Fuenzalida Bade, La Armada de Chile: Desde la alborada al sesquicentenario (1813–1968), vol. 2 (1978), pp. 595-598.

Additional Bibliography

Bethell, Leslie, ed. Chile since Independence. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993.

Campo Rodríguez, Juan del. Por la Repú blica y por la Reina: Una revisión histórica del conflicto de 1864–1871 entre España y la alianza peruano-chilena. Peru: Asociación de Funcionarios Diplomáticos en Actividad AFDA, 2003.

Rodríguez González, Agustín Ramón. La Armada Española, la campaña del Pacífico, 1862–1871: España frente a Chile y Perú. Madrid: Agualarga, 1999.

Tromben Corbalán, Carlos. La Armada de Chile: Desde la alborada hasta el final del Siglo XX. Santiago, Chile: Imprenta de la Armada, 2001.

                                            William F. Sater