Patricio Lynch
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Rear Admiral Patricio Javier de los Dolores Lynch y Solo de Zaldívar (Valparaiso December 18, 1825 - At sea, May 13, 1886) was a Chilean naval officer, and one of the principal actors of the later stages of the War of the Pacific. He is a very controversial figure of that war, specially for Peruvian historiography. He is variously nicknamed the "Last Viceroy of Peru" and the "Red Prince".
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[edit] Early years
He was born in the port of Valparaiso, the son of Estanislao Lynch y Roo (Argentinian of Irish ancestry), a wealthy merchant resident in Chile, and of Carmen Solo de Zaldívar y Rivera, who was a descendant of one of the best-known families in the country.
Entering the navy in 1837, at the age of 13, he took part in the Naval Battle of Socabaya (1838), during the War of the Confederation that led to the fall of Marshal Andrés de Santa Cruz. Next, he sought a wider field, and saw active service in the First Opium War on board the British frigate Calliope. He was mentioned in despatches for bravery, and received the grade of midshipman in the British service.
Returning to Chile in 1847, he became lieutenant, and seven years later he received the command of a frigate, but was deprived of his command for refusing to receive on board his ship political suspects under arrest. The Chincha Islands War saw him again employed, and he was successively maritime Prefect of Valparaiso, colonel of National Guards and, finally captain and minister of marine in 1872.
[edit] War years
At the beginning of the War of the Pacific, Lynch was a Naval Commander. He asked for a position in the navy, but was refused due to the opposition of his fellow officers. He retaliated by asking for a position in the Army, but instead was named as Commander General of Transports, where he was able to show his great abilities as an organizer. In the 1880, he led a raid against northern Peru to gather war taxes, that has become known as the "Lynch Expedition". This has been the main source of controversy about his record. On one side it is viewed as a brilliant military operation while on the other is viewed as a destructive pillage of defenceless civilian targets.
During the famous "Lynch Expedition", he freed thousands of chinese slaves that worked in the haciendas, and was able to convince them to join the army as an auxiliary force, thanks to the chinese he had learned in the Opium War. Later he abandoned them to become victims of angry peruvian mobs that killed many.
In the final campaign that led to the capture of Lima, he participated in the battles of Chorrillos and Miraflores (1880), in which he led first a brigade (as colonel) and afterwards a division under General Baquedano. His services at the battle of Chorrillos led to his appointment as Supreme Military and Political Commandant of Peru in 1881.
During the time he was Commander of the Army of Occupation, his action in deporting the acting Peruvian president Francisco Garcia Calderon to Chile, excited considerable comment by many Peruvian aristocrats. He returned to his own country in 1883 after the Treaty of Ancon was signed.
[edit] Later years
Promoted to Rear-admiral, in 1884 he was designated as Chilean plenipotenciary minister (ambassador) to Madrid with the mission to negotiate a definitive peace treaty with that country. Feeling sick, he asked for leave to return to Chile. He died at sea on the return trip, in front of the Tenerife coast, on May 13, 1886. He is regarded as one of Chile's heroes.
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
