“All allies play dead”: Peruvians and Bolivians in Chilean War of the Pacific’s cartoons (1879-1883)

Abstract

From the engravings published in the pages of newspapers that included humor in its editions during the Pacific War (1879 - 1883), Chilean cartoonists deployed an aggressive visual speech patriotic and bellicose key, where they presented their readers a contemptuous criticism and respect of opponents of Chile’s image. They stressed the alleged lack of fighting spirit and courage, by the mere presence of Chilean troops both at sea and on land. Thus, the ink and the paper, became another of the weapons involved in the conflict in Chile against Peru and Bolivia for possession of the rich nitrate territories of Tarapaca and Antofagasta. The images were interpreted from the postulates of the School of Warburg, especially Erwin Panofsky, proposed three levels of study of the meaning of each work, namely the “preiconographic description”, then the “iconographic study” and finally “iconological interpretation”.