ABSTRACT
Tacna is the focus of the Bolivia Chile Peru territorial dispute involving Bolivia's loss of access to the sea. It is an arid region at the northern end of the Atacama Desert and is significant mainly for the extraction of nitrates and phosphates. Eighty-five percent of the population of Antofagasta Province covered by the agreement for profits from the nitrate and guano industries. This made Bolivia a secret Treaty of Alliance with Peru in February 1873. In addition, the AricaLa Paz railway was build at Chilean expense and Bolivia's right to full and free transit through Chilean territory to the Pacific was recognised in perpetuity. In 1913 the railway was completed, but in 1918 Bolivia demanded an outlet via a sea port in either Tacna or Arica province. A minor compensation was that Bolivia gained right of access to the Atlantic via Paraguay and the Parana River, with the use of Puerto Casado as a free port.
