Comment by Bernardito on 02/04/2020 at 14:22 UTC*

62 upvotes, 1 direct replies (showing 1)

View submission: Thank you everyone who participated in /r/HistoricalAITA for April Fools, 2020! Here is the full rundown of submissions, and more importantly, the tallying of the judgements!

It was a pure joy writing my singular post for this event, in which I took on the guise of Bolivian president Hilarión Daza in 1879 in the run up to the War of the Pacific (1879-1884). AITA for imposing a 10 cent tax on my neighbor despite needing the money?

This is based on the months leading up to the war in which the Bolivian government imposed a tax Chilean companies on their (then) seacoast, breaking the 1874 treaty between the two countries which expressively forbade it. The reasons for Bolivia's choices during this period is still up for debate, although the 1870s world depression certainly played a role, as well as a need to control Bolivian resources. On February 14, 1879, Chilean forces occupied towns all along the Bolivian coast, prompting a state of war within weeks. Through a secret military treaty, Peru was roped into the conflict as well on the side of Bolivia. By the end of the war in 1884, Bolivia had lost its coast and became effectively landlocked. On the lead-up to the war, see this post of mine.

Daza didn't last long as president. After making one of the strangest choices in the war[1], he was overthrown in a coup.

1: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/a312y9/tuesday_trivia_invade_russia_in_the_winter_other/eb2ivch/

Replies

Comment by I_am_Nemo1 at 02/04/2020 at 19:13 UTC

6 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Daza didn't last long as president. After making one of the strangest choices in the war, he was overthrown in a coup.

I think you snagged the wrong post there, this is the post[1] where you touch on Daza's desert misadventure.

1: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/7bujjz/how_was_chile_able_to_decisively_defeat_the/