Manuel Baquedano

Manuel Jesús Baquedano González (; January 1, 1823 – September 30, 1897) was a Chilean soldier and politician, who served as Commander-in-chief of the Army during the War of the Pacific, and briefly as President of Chile during the civil war of 1891.

Manuel Baquedano was of Spanish (Navarra) descent. He took part in the War of the Confederation, the revolutions of 1851 and 1859, the Occupation of Araucanía, and the War of the Pacific. He also served as Senator for Santiago and for Colchagua. He was instrumental in reorganizing the Army and establishing the Military Academy.

Early life Manuel Baquedano was born in Santiago, the son of cavalry colonel Fernando Baquedano and of Teresa González de Labra y Ros. He studied at the school of clergyman Juan Romo and at the Instituto Nacional of Chile. Baquedano was only 15 years old and still at school when the War of the Confederation broke out. He fled his home in July 1838 to join the troops leaving for the War.

Manuel Montt promoted him sergeant-major of the government bodyguard in January 1852. In November 1879 he disembarked his troops in Pisagua under orders from infantry commander General Erasmo Escala. This manoeuvre is regarded as the first amphibious disembarkation in history.

He took part in the first three land campaigns: Tarapacá, Tacna and Arica, and Lima, and planned the Battle of Los Ángeles. After the resignation of General Escala over a dispute with Rafael Sotomayor Baeza, the Minister of War, Sotomayor appointed Baquedano as Commander-in-Chief, in the expectation that Baquedano's abilities as commander would enable him to restore good order and morale among the troops.

The military reputation of Baquedano was enhanced by his outstanding direction and participation in the battles of Chorrillos and Miraflores, in January 1881. There, thanks to the efforts of the men under his command, the Peruvian capital was occupied in less than a month. Baquedano returned to Chile when the government of President Aníbal Pinto decided to bring home most of the Army, due to the high cost of maintaining troops. He arrived at Valparaiso in March 1881 and was received by a large crowd; the celebration was repeated in Santiago. Although he had little training in strategy, he is remembered as a general who personally directed battles resulting in decisive victories. He was a strict disciplinarian: he had a soldier shot for cowardice at the Battle of Chorrillos. Of a stubborn and obstinate nature, he tolerated no argument once he had taken a decision.

After the Battle of Tacna, when his tactics were publicly criticised in the El Mercurio de Valparaíso newspaper, an enraged Baquedano had the reporter arrested and held incommunicado aboard the warship Abtao. The historian Francisco Encina, while recognizing Baquedano's courage, described him as having a "poverty of ideas" and a poor command of tactics. By means of a law passed in August 1881, the government of Domingo Santa María granted him lifelong honors, pay and allowances at the level of an active commander in chief.

He was elected as a senator for Santiago for two terms, between 1882 and 1888, and by Colchagua for another two terms, between 1888 and 1894. From these positions he participated in the reorganization of the Army and was a member of the standing Army and Navy commission, active in establishing the General Staff and the military academy. He then handed power to Navy captain Jorge Montt on August 31, and retired permanently to private life.

The exclusion from the coalition of Baquedano, the charismatic wartime leader who had conquered Lima, helps explain why Chile would soon experience a civil war between two statist factions.

He died at his home in Santiago on 30 September 1897, at the age of 74.

Memorials

There is an equestrian statue of Baquedano by the Edificio Telefónica in Av Providencia at Santiago.

There are several places in Chile named for Baquedano: Baquedano metro station and Plaza Baquedano in Santiago; Baquedano Street in Iquique; and the Cordón Baquedano range in Chilean Tierra del Fuego. Two ships of the Chilean Navy have borne his name: the frigate General Baquedano (PF-09) and the corvette Baquedano.

On March 12, 2021, the statue in Plaza Baquedano has been removed in order to be restored after several acts of violence and defacement against it.