Baltimore crisis

The Baltimore crisis was a diplomatic incident that took place between Chile and the United States, after the 1891 Chilean Civil War, as a result of the growing American influence in the Pacific Coast region of Latin America in the 1890s. It marked a dramatic shift in United States–Chile relations. It was triggered by the fatal stabbing of two United States Navy sailors from USS Baltimore in front of the "True Blue Saloon" in Valparaíso on October 16, 1891. The United States government demanded an apology. Chile ended the episode when it apologized and paid a $75,000 indemnity.

Escalating tensions

In 1884, Chile emerged from the War of the Pacific as a potential threat to the hegemony of the United States in the Western Hemisphere. The Chilean navy, then the strongest fleet in the Pacific, was able to confront American policy. In 1882, Chile refused US mediation in the War of the Pacific. During the Panama crisis of 1885, when the United States Navy occupied Colón, then part of Colombia, the Chilean government sent its most powerful protected cruiser (which represented a serious threat to the wooden American warships) to Panama City, and ordered it not to leave until after the American forces evacuated Colon. Finally, in 1888, Chile annexed Easter Island, located some 2,000 miles (3,200 km) west of Valparaíso, and joined the ranks of imperial nations.