¹ See Bulmer-Thomas, V., The Economic History of Latin America Since Independence (Cambridge, 1994), pp. 48–154 passim, which considers Chile one of the few Latin American cases of successful export-led growth during the period 1850–1914.Google Scholar

² For a concise overview of the main trends of economic development in Chile during this period see Cariola, C. and Sunkel, O., “Chile. Ensayo de Interpretación” in Conde, R. Cortés and Stein, S.J., eds., Latin America: A Guide to Economic History, 1830–1930 (Berkeley, 1977), pp. 275–97.Google Scholar A more detailed work on this period is Martner, D., Historia de Chile. Historia económica I (Santiago, 1929), pp. 128–361.Google Scholar Recent Ph.D. dissertations on the Chilean economy during this period include J.S. Garreaud, “A Dependent Country: Chile, 1817–1861,” University of California at San Diego, 1981; L. Ortega, “Change and Crisis in Chile’s Economy and Society. 1865–1879,” University of London, 1979; C.G. Pregger Roman, “Dependent Development in 19th Century Chile,” Rutgers University, 1975 and G. Salazar, “Entrepreneurs and Peons in the Transition to Industrial Capitalism. Chile, 1820–1878,” University of Hull, 1984.

³ Calculated from D. Martner, Historia económica, pp. 224, 259–60. “$” signifies Chilean pesos.

⁴ Chilean copper during this period was exported in four main shapes: As raw copper ore usually of around 25 percent copper content; copper regulus, that is copper ore submitted to one firing and usually containing 50 percent fine copper; copper bars, the product of two or more firings and containing 96–97 percent fine copper; and copper ingots or refined copper containing at least 99 percent fine copper. During 1845–79 the long term tendency was to increase the proportion of copper exports in its most pure shape, bars and ingots. Calculations are from The Mineral Industry: Its Statistics, Technology and Trade in the United States and Other Countries from the Earliest Times to the End of 1892 1 (1892), pp. 548–9.

⁵ See Valenzuela, L., “Challenges to the British Copper Smelting Industry in the World Market. 1840–1860,” Journal of European Economic History 19 (1990)Google Scholar: passim, and Valenzuela, L., “The Chilean Copper Smelting Industry in the Mid-Nineteenth Century: Phases of Expansion and Stagnation, 1834–58,” Journal of Latin American Studies 24 (1992): 515–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

⁶ In the period 1850–79, Chilean production of smelted copper amounted to 598,000 tonnes while Britain’s production of smelted copper was 989,000 tonnes. See Herrmann, A., La producción en Chile de los metales i minerales más importantes … hasta … 1902 (Santiago, 1903), pp. 49–59 and Schmitz, C.J., World Non Ferrous Metal. Production and Prices, 1700–1976 (London, 1979), pp. 63–64, 69 and 209.Google Scholar The importance of coal deposits in the location of copper works in Britain, mainly South Wales, is analysed in R.O. Roberts, “The Smelting of Non-Ferrous Metals since 1750,” in G. Williams, ed., Glamorgan County History, 5 (Cardiff, 1980), pp. 49–52. For the importance of British demand of smelted copper see Toomey, R.R. Vivian and Sons, 1809–1924. A Study of the Firm in the Copper and Related Industries (New York, 1985), pp. 38–41.Google Scholar

⁷ This decline, to be followed in the 20th century by a vigorous revival is analyzed in Przeworski, J.F., The Decline of the Copper Industry in Chile and the Entrance of North American Capital, 1870–1916 (New York, 1980).Google Scholar See also Mackenna, B. Vicuña, El libro del cobre y del carbón de piedra en Chile (Santiago, 1966(1883)), pp. 385–403 Google Scholar, and Culver, W.W. and Reinhart, C.J., “Capitalist Dreams: Chile’s Response to Nineteenth-Century Copper Competition,” Comparative Studies in Society and History 31 (1989), 722–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

⁸ Exporters of Chilean copper ore had to pay freight rates of between £2 and £5.11s. per ton from the Chilean coast to the North Atlantic during this period. This meant that only certain types of copper ore were competitive in North Atlantic markets, usually those of a grade of 20 percent or more. The importance of the freight rate as a component of the final price in the North Atlantic markets decreased in inverse proportion to the copper content of the product. See L. Valenzuela “Chilean Copper,” pp. 528, 530–31, 550 and Stemmer, J.E. Oribe, “Freight Rates and the Trade between Europe and South America,” Journal of Latin American Studies, 21 (1989), p. 24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

⁹ See Vayssière, P., Un siècle de capitalisme minière au Chili, 1830–1930 (Paris, 1980), 97 and Valenzuela, L., “Chilean Copper” p. 508.Google Scholar

¹⁰ See, for mining, P. Vayssière, Capitalisme minière, pp. 31–52; Pederson, L.R., The Mining Industry of the Norte Chico, Chile (Evanston, III., 1966), pp. 187–98 Google Scholar and Salazar, G., Labradores, peones y proletarios. Formación y crisis de la sociedad popular chilena en el siglo XIX (Santiago, 1985), pp. 195–201, 212–15 Google Scholar. These works are based on material pertaining to mining in northern Chile. The coal mines of the southern region seem to have generally been much more advanced technically. See Ortega, L., “The First Four Decades of the Chilean Coal Mining Industry,” Journal of Latin American Studies, 14 (1982)CrossRefGoogle Scholar: passim, especially p. 15 and 24. In relation to agriculture see J. Bengoa, El Poder y la subordinación. Historia social de la agricultura chilena, 1 (Santiago, 1988), pp. 231–43 and Bauer, A.J., Chilean Rural Society. From Spanish Conquest to 1930 (Cambridge, 1976), pp. 101–111.Google Scholar

¹¹ See Valenzuela, L., Tres estudios sobre el comercio y la fundición de cobre en Chile y en el mercado mundial. 1830–1880 (Santiago, 1995), pp. 146–5.Google Scholar

¹² The main collections containing material pertinent for the study of the Company that we consulted are: Archivo Notarial de Vallenar (ANVr), Archivo Notarial de Freirina (ANFr), Archivo Notarial de La Serena (ANLS), Archivo Notarial de Ovalle (ANOva), Archivo Notarial de Valparaíso (ANValpo), Archivo Notarial de Santiago (ANStgo), Archivo Judicial de Santiago (AJStgo), Archivo Judicial de Valparaíso (AJValpo), Archivo del Ministerio de Hacienda (AMH), Archivo del Ministerio del Interior (AMI), Archivo de la Intendencia de Coquimbo (AICoqbo) and Archivo Errázuriz Urmeneta (AEU). All these collections are located in the Archivo Nacional de Chile, Santiago. Other sources heavily used in this article and not mentioned in the previous notes are British Foreign Office Archives (FO), Public Record Office, London, El Mercurio de Valparaíso (EMV), Gibbs Papers (GP), Guildhall Library, London, Parliamentary Papers (PP), The Mining Journal (MJ), London and the Anuario Estadístico de la República de Chile (AERC). Especially important in this latter source is the section on mining included almost every year since 1872 which will be referred to hereafter simply as “Minería.”

¹³ See Mackenna, B. Vicuña, Libro del Cobre, 25–48, “José Tomás Urmeneta” in Figueroa, P.P., Diccionario histórico y biográfico de Chile, (Santiago, 1925–31), and Nazer, R. José Tomás Urmeneta. Un empresario del siglo XIX (Santiago, 1994).Google Scholar

¹⁴ Unfortunately we have found little information on Errázuriz prior to his incorporation into the company. Secondary sources are also scarce and imprecise. See Larraín, C.J., “D. Maximiano Errázuriz Valdivieso” in Medina, J. T., Los Errázuriz (Santiago, 1964), pp. 237–49;Google Scholar “Maximiano Errázuriz” in P.P. Figueroa, Diccionario and Sergio Villalobos, Origen y ascenso de la burguesía chilena (Santiago, 1987), pp. 110–26; AEU, Vol. 3, fs 9; ANStgo, Vol. 271, No. 249 and Vol. 586, pp. 437–40, Vol. 297, No. 13, Vol. 339, No. 296 and ANValpo, Vol. 116, No. 837.

¹⁵ See “Statement of the Smelting Works Established in the Provinces of Coquimbo and Atacama…,” 27th June 1845 in FO 16/55, 169–71; “Copia de diseños de marca que han adoptado los dueños de fundiciones de cobre,” AICoqbo, Vol. 232, n.p. and F. Bascuñán al Intendente, Ovalle, 22 June 1850, AICoqbo, Vol. 260.

¹⁶ “Estatutos (of the Sociedad Chilena de Fundiciones),” El Araucano, 17th June 1856.

¹⁷ As a manager Alison had a salary plus a share of one eighth of the net profits. He signed his formal contract with the company on 28th May 1856. See Alison, R.E., A los accionistas de la Compañía de Méjico y Sud América. Contestación del Sr Don Roberto Eduardo Alison … 28 de Julio de 1856 (Santiago?, n.d.), pp. 76, 121 and passim;Google Scholar Mayo, J., British Merchants and Chilean Development, 1851–1886 (Boulder, 1987), pp. 149–51 and Mackenna, B. Vicuña, Libro del cobre, pp. 192–93.Google Scholar

¹⁸ “Estatutos,” ANValpo, Vol. 111, No. 274 and ANStgo, Vol. 306, No. 101 and Vol. 308, No. 192.

¹⁹ GP, MS 11,038A, Private Information Book of Foreign Customers, “J.T. de Urmeneta and Co.” and untitled document signed by J.T. Urmeneta and M. Errázuriz in Santiago, 22 April 1859, in AEU, Vol. 4, fs 9. See also MJ, 7 May 1859 and ANStgo, Vol. 323, p. 126.

²⁰ ANStgo, Vol. 421, No. 262, ANStgo, Vol. 605, No. 785. On 1 Jan. 1881 the firm was transformed into a sociedad anónima, the Sociedad Chilena de Fundiciones, with a capital of $1,000,000 and incorporating the assets and liabilities of U&E. See ANStgo, Vol. 607, Nos. 314 and 396; ANValpo, Vol. 163, No. 214.

²¹ The lands on which the works were built were claimed by H. Lafourcade and R. Malis and subsequently bought by them on 17th November 1855 for $1,000. Two thirds of them were sold to the Sociedad Chilena on the 17th November 1856 but by then Mr. Alison had already erected a chimney for furnaces and a group of humble houses for the workers. The rest of the original 90,000 square varas (84 cms) bought by Lafourcade and Malis were sold to the company on 21 September 1858. See ANLS, Vol. 118 No. 278, Vol. 121, No. 324 and Vol. 128, No. 285. The Sociedad Chilena started to buy ore from Lafourcade’s mines only in April 1856, thus it is unlikely that the works were in operation before that date. See ANLS Vol. 132, No. 42. ANLS, Vol. 120, No. 16. The works was bought by R. E. Alison but probably on behalf of the would-be company. On 30 November 1855 Alison wrote to Enrique Ranking, “I have formed a new and powerful [smelting] company,” probably referring to the Sociedad, See R.E. Alison, A los accionistas: appendix 11.

²² ANLS, Vol. 126, No. 115 and Vol. 123, No. 296.

²³ AMH, Vol. 356, M. Arguelles to Minister of Finance, La Serena, 28 Aug. 1858. At the time the total number of copper smelting furnaces in Chile was 333. See L. Valenzuela, “Chilean Copper,” p. 521.

²⁴ Calculated from “Precios corrientes,” fortnightly quotations of El Mercurio de Valparaíso (hereafter EMV).

²⁵ See AMI, Vol. 448, pp. 328–9, “Razón de los establecimientos de fundición … provincia de Coquimbo” and ANValpo, Vol. 136, No. 345.

²⁶ The construction of the Coquimbo Railway started on 1 January 1861 and by 1 May 1862 the works of Guayacán were directly conected by rail to the minerales of Andacollo (18 miles) and Tambillos (22 miles). See Guillermo Lloyd to the Minister of the Interior, Valparaíso, 23 May 1862 in AMI, Vol. 428. See miscellaneous statistics of imports of the port of Guayacán in EMV, 7 Feb. 1867 and 29 July 1870.

²⁷ The site was claimed by U&E in April 1869, see ANOva, Vol. 61, p. 64. Douglas writing in or before 1872 indicated that the company had “furnaces” at Cerrillos. See J. Douglas, “The Copper Mines of Chile,” Quarterly Review of Science (April 1872), p. 180.

²⁸ In the last quarter of 1865, U&E exported 152 tonnes of copper bar through the port of Tongoy which had presumably been produced in these works. J. Douglas, “Copper Mines”: 180 asserted that most of the production of Tamaya was composed of copper regulus sent to Guayacán for further processing and only some copper bar was made at Tongoy. See also Sociedad Nacional de Minería, Datos estadísticos sobre las minas y fábricas metalúrgicas correspondientes al año 1893 (Santiago, 1894): 3rd Section, Province of Coquimbo, n.p. which asserts that No. copper bars were made in Tongoy until 1870.

²⁹ ANFr, Vol. 26, No. 10, ANValpo, Vol. 151, No. 376 and Vol. 155, No. 300.

³⁰ Calculated from B. Vicuña Mackenna, Libro del cobre, p. 194. and A. Herrmann, La producción, p. 51. Metric tons are used unless otherwise specified.

³¹ EMV 30 Aug. 1871, quotations dated 16 July 1871. See also Mineral Statistics of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for the Year 1871, 17. These prices were, however, lower than those of Burra Burra (£76 to £76. 10s.), Wallaroo (£76) and British best selected copper (£77).

³² “Minería,” 1872, 1878. Unfortunately this source only included reverberatory furnaces. For instance the data for 1872 indicate the presence of only 14 reverberatory furnaces in Guayacán but in fact there was a total of 35 furnaces. See Table 2.

³³ Calculated according to J.F. Przeworski, Decline, pp. 177–78 and A. Herrmann, La producción, pp. 52–5.

³⁴ See “Estado de las personas que han entrado y salido por el puerto de Coquimbo en Enero del año 1848,” AMI, Vol. 239; R.E. Alison A los accionistas, appendix 14; consul Ross to Earl Clarendon, Edinburgh, 18 February 1858 in FO 16/105, and B. Vicuña Mackenna, Libro del Cobre, 200.

³⁵ Letter of John Buchanan, manager of the copper works included in the report of the British consul of Coquimbo for the year 1872 in PP, 1873, Vol. 65, p.41.

³⁶ O. North, “Copper Smelting in Chile,” MJ, 9 Nov. 1872 and 28 Dec. 1872.

³⁷ Tornero, R.S., Chile Ilustrado. Guía descriptiva (Valparaíso, 1872), 268.Google Scholar

³⁸ J.V, “Reseña de viaje por los departamentos de La Serena y Ovalle,” in EMV, 31 March 1863.

³⁹ R.S. Tornero, Chile ilustrado, pp. 268–69.

⁴⁰ The same problem was faced by M. Davies, “The South Australian Mining Association and the Marketing of Copper and Copper Ores, 1845–1877,” M.A. Thesis, University of Adelaide, 1977, p. 134. In it he asserts that “There is little evidence to explain what the Napier process entailed” and refers to the experiments of James Napier in 1847 in the Spitty Works, Swansea, whose results “were never revealed.”

⁴¹ These conclusions are based on the following sources R.E. Alison, A los Accionistas, pp. 103, 10; Alison, R.E., “A Sketch of the Geology of Chile No. 2,” MJ 29 (1859) p. 624;Google Scholar “Privilegios exclusivos concedidos por el Gobierno de Chile,” Boletín de la Sociedad de Fomento Fabril, 5 (1888), p. 311. and Napier, J., “On Copper smelting,” The London, Edinburgh and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science 4 (1852), pp. 453–58.Google Scholar

⁴² O. North, “Copper Smelting,” MJ, 9 Nov. and 28 Dec. 1872.

⁴³ O. North, “Copper Smelting.”

⁴⁴ The “Welsh” method of copper smelting is described in “Copper” in The Penny Cyclopedia, Vol. 7, (London, 1837). This method or a version of it was introduced in Chile in about 1845, see L. Valenzuela, “Chilean Copper,” pp. 510–12, 523–24.

⁴⁵ O. North, “Copper Smelting,” R.O. Roberts “Non-Ferrous Metals,” p. 69.

⁴⁶ A. Herrmann, La producción, p. 47; B. Vicuña Mackenna, Libro del cobre, pp. 200–202, Aracena, F.M., Apuntes de viaje. La industria del cobre en las provincias de Atacama, Coquimbo y … de Concepción (Valparaíso, 1884), pp. 267, 299.Google Scholar

⁴⁷ “Privilegios exclusivos,” pp. 353–54 and J.V, “Reseña de Viaje.”

⁴⁸ Avío or habilitación of mines was practiced not only by smelters but also by merchants, commission houses and private investors. In these cases the payment of the debt was not necessarily in ores. For analysis of the operation of the system in 19th century Chile see Volk, S.S., “Mine Owners, Money Lenders, and the State in Mid-Nineteenth-Century Chile: Transitions and conflicts,” Hispanic American Historical Review, 73 (1993), pp. 73–81;CrossRefGoogle Scholar Mayo, J., “Commerce, Credit and Control in Chilean Copper Mining before 1880” in Greaves, T. and Culver, M. (eds.), Mining and Miners in the Americas (Manchester, 1985), pp. 33–7;Google Scholar Prezeworski, J.F., Decline, 99–106 and Rector, J., “Transformaciones económicas producidas por la independencia de Chile,” Revista Chilena de Historia y Geografía 144 (1976), pp. 76–8.Google Scholar

⁴⁹ See Walpole to Aberdeen, Santiago, 27 June 1845 and same to same, Santiago, 4 July 1845, FO 16/55.

⁵⁰ See O. North, “Copper Smelting” and AMH, Vol. 225, No. 222.

⁵¹ L. Valenzuela, Tres estudios, pp. 122–3.

⁵² AEU, Vol. 4, fs. 30, 18 May 1859; J. Douglas, “Copper Mines,” p. 180, MJ 15th January 1859.

⁵³ Calculated from B. Vicuña Mackenna, Libro del Cobre, pp. 181, 204–5.

⁵⁴ See “Minería,” several years and AMI, Vol. 448, p. 328.

⁵⁵ Assuming that half of the provision of regulus to Guayacán originated in the Tongoy works, and that the poor ore used to produce this regulus of 50 percent grade was of 12.5 percent copper content.

⁵⁶ See AMI, Vol. 448, p. 328 and AMH, Vol. 351, No. 352. Of course these miners had the option of exporting crude ores via the port of Tongoy, but in that case they had to use the cartroad belonging to U&E.

⁵⁷ See PP 1866, Vol. 54, 10; “Minería,” 1872 and “Estado en la visita del mineral de Tamaya practicada en el mes de Octubre de 1854,” AICoqbo, Vol. 232. “Tons” in this case is a British weight.

⁵⁸ This was explicitly recognized by the mining laws in force in Chile at the time as a right of the aviador. See Ordenanzas de Minería otorgadas por el Rey Carlos III de España. (Mexico, 1961), p. 34.

⁵⁹ This surcharge has been calculated comparing the prices quoted in EMV for copper regulus of 50 percent and copper ore of 25 percent during the pertinent periods and those stipulated in the contracts. See ANVr, Vol. 31, pp. 37–40 and ANLS, Vol. 157, No. 331.

⁶⁰ ANLS, Vol. 171, No. 99.

⁶¹ L. Valenzuela, Tres estudios, p. 125.

⁶² See ANStgo, Vol. 341, No. 589 and Vol. 421, No. 262.

⁶³ ANStgo, Vol. 431, No. 209.

⁶⁴ See ANValpo, Vol. 150, No. 1,373 and Vol. 170, No. 920.

⁶⁵ GP, MS 11,033/3-4, “Interest and Discount Account,” 30 April 1857 and 1858. On the policy of A. Gibbs and Son to Chilean miners see L. Valenzuela, “Chilean Copper,” pp. 539–49 and J. Mayo, British Merchants, 113–20. Documents of 1858 suggest that the Sociedad was bound to consign its production to W. Gibbs and Co. See AJValpo, legajo 852, No. 10.

⁶⁶ The low figures for 1864 and 1865 in the table were a consequence of Edwards selling £800,000 [or ca. $4.5 million] worth of copper produce in Britain through a different agent. See Thompson to Russell, Santiago, 1 Aug. 1863 in FO 16/126; EMV, 17 Oct. 1863 and J. Mayo, “Commerce, Credit and Control,” p. 37.

⁶⁷ AEU, Vol. 4, fs. 32.

⁶⁸ ANValpo, Vol. 126, No. 892.

⁶⁹ See ANValpo, Vol. 135, No. 104; Vol. 137, No. 372; Vol. 142, No. 277 and ANStgo, Vol. 390, Nos 111 and 113.

⁷⁰ ANValpo, Vol. 142, No. 275 and 749; Vol. 145, No. 441.

⁷¹ ANValpo, Vol. 151, No. 230 and Vol. 172, No. 94. The lax attitude of the bank towards the firm might be explained by the fact that partner Errázuriz was the largest shareholder in the bank at the time. See L. Ortega, “Change and Crisis,” p. 220.

⁷² See ANValpo, Vol. 147, p. 835, “Balance Sheet with Observations,” and W. Gibbs to A. Gibbs and Son, Valparaiso, 30 April 1881, GP, MS 11,033/6-8; and J. Mayo, “Commerce, Credit and Control,” p. 39.

⁷³ Although to the best of our knowledge U&E never acquired coal deposits or mined coal, both partners separately and jointly participated in coal mining in a major way and used the coal thus produced in the company’s works. Furthermore there is evidence that the company provided avíos for at least one of the companies in which they participated (Mackay and Company). These facts make it pertinent to consider coal mining as part of the company’s activities.

⁷⁴ Naranjo was a dynamic mining entrepreneur first as an associate of U&E and later in his own right. The nature of his relationship with the company was complex since he was at the same time employee and co-partner of U&E. Furthermore he received avíos from Urmeneta. See EMV, 16 Aug. 1871, AERC, Vol. 4 p. 421, ANVr, Vol. 42, Nos 96 and 206.

⁷⁵ Along with his shares in the “Rosario,” Naranjo sold the company 6 barras in each of the copper mines “Marquesa” and “Naranjo” and six and eight barras respectively in the silver mines “Santo Domingo” and “Guía de Tunas.” See ANVr Vol. 42, No. 148.

⁷⁶ EMV, 8 March 1869 and 3 July 1870.

⁷⁷ See “Minería” for 1872, ANValpo Vol. 139, No. 6, ANFr Vol. 48, No. 71, Vol. 39, pp. 195–200 and ANStgo, Vol. 327, No. 717.

⁷⁸ See ANLS, Vol. 128, No. 258; Vol. 132 No. 240 and Vol. 157, No. 74; J. Edwards, “Estado” and “Minería,” 1872.

⁷⁹ See ANValpo, Vol. 170, No. 40 and 154 No. 268; ANVr Vol. 39, Nos 212 and 264, Vol. 41, No. 34 and Vol. 42 No. 95. MJ, 18th July 1863. Estimates of production calculated from EMV, 2 Nov. 1869.

⁸⁰ ANValpo, Vol. 145, No. 17, ANFr Vol. 40, No. 80.

⁸¹ ANValpo, Vol. 170, No. 40.

⁸² This was the completion of the socavón (adit) Lecaros of 2,000 meters in length. See “Minería,” 1872, 282–3n.

⁸³ See B. Vicuña Mackenna, Libro del cobre, p. 181 and “Minería,” 1872–1889.

⁸⁴ Intendente al Ministro, La Serena, 29 March 1878 in AMH, Vol. 974. For Lambert’ works see L. Valenzuela, “Chilean Copper,” pp. 531–4.

⁸⁵ MJ, 1 Dec. 1866 and 20 Nov. 1875.

⁸⁶ See “Minería” for those years.

⁸⁷ M. Aracena, Apuntes de Viaje, pp. 64, 130.

⁸⁸ ANValpo, Vol. 111, No. 27 and EMV 7 Sept 1861.

⁸⁹ EMV, 15 Feb 1862.

⁹⁰ See L. Ortega, “Chilean Coal,” pp. 10–13, 16 and “Estado de la industria minera en la subdelegación de Coronel …,” 18 May 1862 in Archivo de la Gobernación de Lautaro, Vol. 14; AEU, Vol. 4 fs. 113–4. Cousiño paid $10,000 for the mines and $5,000 for the tools and implements. See ANStgo, Vol. 432, No. 290 and Archivo Notarial de Coronel, Vol. 45, No. 162.

⁹¹ ANValpo, Vol. 142, No. 68 and Archivo Vicuña Mackenna (Archivo Nacional de Chile, Santiago), Vol. 184, “Apuntes de Juan Mackay.”

⁹² See EMV, 29 July 1870, and J.F. Przeworski, Decline, p. 176.

⁹³ ANValpo, Vol. 171, Nos 1219–20 and ANStgo, Vol. 500, No. 6.

⁹⁴ “Minería” for 1878–1885.

⁹⁵ Encina, F., Historia de Chile, (Santiago, 1984), pp. 28, 141–42.Google Scholar See also Rafael to Maximiano Errázuriz, 27 Jan. 1885 in AEU, Vol. 3, fs 244 which indicates that the concern was losing $100,000 per year.

⁹⁶ L. R. Pederson, Norte Chico, pp. 214–16 and Bowman, I., Desert Trails of Atacama (New York, 1924), pp. 165–67.Google Scholar

⁹⁷ See Pederson, Norte Chico, pp. 213–25; J.F. Przworski, Decline, pp. 229–57 and miscellaneous documents in the AMI, for instance Vol. 301, p. 372 and “Solicitud de David Thomas,” 5 Nov. 1864, Vol. 338, pp. 101–7 and Vol. 473, B. Larrain to the minister, La Serena, 19 May 1865.

⁹⁸ This estimate is based on the following information: R. Espech, El jubileo de Atacama (Santiago, 1897), p. 28; ANOva, Vol. 14, p. 1. and Vol. 17 No. 164; and PP, 1847, Vol. 59, p. 82.

⁹⁹ During the 1850s prices of copper ore of 25 percent grade were quoted as between $2.25 and $3.75. See “Precios corrientes en Valparaíso” in EMV for those years.

¹⁰⁰ See H. Bliss to the Intendente of Coquimbo, Valparaíso, 13 Jan. 1855, AMI, Vol. 301. The savings were calculated as half of the total annual transport cost ($102,000/2 = $51,000) minus the annual road repairs expenditure ($5,000).

¹⁰¹ AMI, Vol. 339, pp. 203–204.

¹⁰² El Araucano, Santiago, 23 Oct. 1858.

¹⁰³ See British consular report for the Province of Coquimbo for 1864 in PP. Vol. 54, p. 10. During 1863 the export of copper ore for the whole mineral of Tamaya was 700,000 quintales and for other sorrounding minerales 850,000 quintales. See EMV, 5 Nov. 1863.

¹⁰⁴ See ANOva, Vol. 14, p. 1 and Vol. 17, No. 164; and note 108 above.

¹⁰⁵ ANValpo, Vol. 144, No. 421.

¹⁰⁶ See ANValpo Vol. 147 p. 835, EMV, 1 Aug 1865 and J.F. Przeworski, Decline, p. 232.

¹⁰⁷ See B. Vicuña Mackenna, Libro del Cobre, p. 36; ANLim, Vol. 4, No. 154 and Vol. 68, No. 206.

¹⁰⁸ C. Veliz, Marina mercante, pp. 77–129, passim.

¹⁰⁹ See “Estado que manifiesta las mercaderías internadas … por Guayacán … durante 1866,” AICoqbo, Vol. 468.

¹¹⁰ ANValpo, Vol. 126, No. 393 and 931; ANLS Vol. 165. No. 80 and ANStgo, Vol. 341, No. 589.

¹¹¹ ANLS, Vol. 165, No. 95 and ANStgo Vol. 416, No. 97.

¹¹² See ANValpo, Vol. 123, No. 117; Vol. 125, No. 84; Vol. 140, No. 82; Vol. 116, No. 383; Vol. 125, Nos 889 and 890 and Vol. 216, Nos 258 and 266.

¹¹³ MV, 18 Dec. 1868.

¹¹⁴ See D/D PRO/RBS/S2, Transaction Registers, 16 Oct 1865, Glamorgan Public Record Office, Swansea; Jones, W.H., History of the Port of Swansea (Carmarthen, 1922), 288;Google Scholar Craig, R. “The Ports and Shipping ca. 1750–1914” in Williams, G., ed., Glamorgan County History (Cardiff 1980), p. 498.Google Scholar

¹¹⁵ J.F. Przeworski, Decline, 149n; ANValpo, Vol. 216, Nos 258 and 265.

¹¹⁶ Calculation based on tonnages and itineraries listed in the “Estado que manifiesta el movimiento marítimo en … Guayacán durante el mes de … 1867,” several months in AICoqbo, Vol. 468.

¹¹⁷ ANStgo Vol. 341, No. 589.

¹¹⁸ H. Bliss to Intendente of Coquimbo, Valparaíso, 3 Jan. 1855, in AMI, Vol. 301.

¹¹⁹ R.S. Tornero, Chile ilustrado, pp. 269–70; EMV, 15 Sept. 1869. Compare with J.V., “Reseña de Viaje” in EMV, 31 March 1863.

¹²⁰ O. North, “Copper Smelting.”

¹²¹ See “Razón de los establecimientos de fundición … Provincia de Coquimbo,” AMI, Vol. 448.

¹²² O. North, “Copper Smelting.”

¹²³ L. Valenzuela, Tres estudios, pp. 122–23, 157.

¹²⁴ See R. Nazer, José Tomás Urmeneta, p. 153 and Compañía Explotadora de Lota y Coronel, Memoria presentada a la Junta General de accionistas el día 30 de Agosto de 1870 (Santiago, 1870), pp. 12–5.

¹²⁵ At the end of 1860 his contribution to the capital of the firm was only $200,000, by the end of April 1866 his contribution was a full half ($500,000). As explained below almost all his capital was invested in the firm.

¹²⁶ See Thomson to Russel, Santiago, 17 Oct. 1862, FO 16/122.

¹²⁷ The most significant item in Thomson’s calculations was the value of the coal used. In 1860 and 1872 the price of coal was virtually the same and if anything it would have made the cost of production in 1872 cheaper than in 1870.

¹²⁸ L. Valenzuela, Tres estudios, p. 157.

¹²⁹ Pinto, J. and Ortega, L., Expansión minera y desarrollo industrial: Un caso de crecimiento asociado (Chile 1850–1914) (Santiago, nd), p. 22.Google Scholar

¹³⁰ According to the mining statistics of 1874, 25.4 percent of the copper miners of the provinces of Chile depended on avíos for earring out their activities, see “Minería,” 1874.

¹³¹ For U&E see Tomson to Russel, Santiago, 17 Oct. 1862, F016/122, PRO. For other smelting firms in the 1840s and 1850s see PP 1847, Vol. 59, 72; P. del Barrio, “Noticia sobre Coronel y Lota” in EA, 12 September 1857 and B. Vicuña Mackenna, Libro del cobre, p. 269. For a comparison between technical progress in copper smelting on the one hand and silver refining and mining on the other see L.R. Pederson Norte Chico, pp. 187–213.

¹³² The only evidence in this respect is the contract signed by the Sociedad Chilena de Fundiciones with Le Quellec and Bordes in September 1857 to sell 24,000 quintales of copper bar over a period of 12 months at $22 per quintal on shore. The current price was $21 per quintal on shore and the average price for the 12 months was $19.89. See AJValpo, legajo 852, No. 10 and “Precios corrientes” in EMV for those months.

¹³³ After Urmeneta’s death his personal assets were divided between the two branches of the family: the Errázuriz Urmeneta, the kin of his daughter Amalia, whose assets basically remained within U&E and, after 1880, within the Compañía Chilena de Fundiciones, and the Eastman Urmeneta, the kin of his daughter Manuela. See ANStgo, Vol. 607, No. 50, No. 396 and fs. 457 and AEU, Vol. 3, fs. 144.