When, in 1891, Chilean leaders provoked a confrontation with the U.S, they sought political advantage from the crisis (at a domestic and international level) and had good reason to be optimistic. Indeed, the Baltimore Incident might better be understood as an acute manifestation of the larger, chronic competition between the United States and Chile over regional autonomy and control. To date, scholars have tended to underestimate the Baltimore Incident as “a mere tempest in a teapot,” or at best a signpost en route to the War of 1898. That the crisis has inspired relatively little comment in English literature should obscure neither its significance to contemporaries nor its enduring relevance to strategic planners. From these humble sparks came a war crisis over hemispheric leadership and the relative standing of the United States as a “great power.” personnel, and the investigative proceedings more broadly, as a matter of national sovereignty. The Chileans, meanwhile, held fast to their jurisdiction over the U.S. Unable to resolve the issue locally, the USS Baltimore’s commander telegraphed Washington for instructions. sailors dead, seventeen injured and a hemispheric relationship in tatters. After several hours (of, let’s be honest, presumably heavy drinking), a scuffle broke out between local Chileans and the American crew. On October 16th 1891, a group of USS Baltimore sailors, no doubt happy to have liberty after months at sea, set off to enjoy the delights of Valparaiso, Chile.
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