Description
Chile / Bolivia, Treaty of Peace and Friendship 1904, to define finally the boundaries between the
two countries after Bolivia lost the War of the Pacific 1879 –1883. AV medal 1904 (38mm; 35.18gm) by
Guillermo Cordova. Minerva holding up a torch and two flags, beside her a condor, with a cornucopia
at her feet. rev. The two arms of Chile and Bolivia divided by a caduceus (trade) with olive and palm
branch below (peace and friendship), TRATADO DE PAZ AMISTRAD Y COMMERCIO, XX DE OCTUBRE DE MCMIV. (-)
Extremely Fine, matt surfaces. Very Rare.
In 1879 Chile went to war with Bolivia and its ally Peru over disagreements re. taxing of joint mining concessions. However, in 1880 Chile decisively beat the allies at the battle of Tacna and Bolivia retired from the war and as reparations Chile took the province of Litoral from Bolivia, ie its entire access to the sea thus rendering Bolivia a landlocked country. It was only in 1904 that Bolivia grudgingly accepted this situation and the border was formally recognised in the above treaty ceding the whole of its coastline to Chile but retaining unencumbered access to duty-free formerly owned ports. Bolivia is still unhappy with this state of affairs and has as recently as
2018 taken Chile to the International Court of Justice over its sovereign right of access to the sea.
