3-021-748 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

War between Spain and Chili: the Plaza de la Intendencia at Valparaiso, where war with Spain was proclaimed, 1865. Engraving from a photograph by '...our correspondent Mr. C. L. Rowsell, photographic artist, a resident at Valparaiso for twelve years past...Spain has declared war against Chili, and Chili has accepted the war. Valparaiso and all the principal ports are blockaded, and a bombardment is threatened. Trade has come to a standstill; every one who can manage to do so is leaving this place; money has disappeared; all the banks have stopped for want of funds; in fact, ruin the most complete has come upon us, like an earthquake or a flash of lightning; and Valparaiso, which but a fortnight since was teeming with life and activity, will, in a few days more, be all but deserted...I inclose you a View of the Plaza de la Intendencia here, in which the declaration of war by the President was read. The place was lined with soldiers, all infantry, and in the centre was the Procurador Municipal, on horseback, surrounded by the populace. Whilst the Procurador read the proclamation they were all cheering, and the soldiers waving their caps on their bayonets'. From "Illustrated London News", 1865.