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Events on Friday 14 February 1879 1
1879War of the Pacific BeginsChile occupies Antofagasta, igniting war with Bolivia and PeruChilean troops occupied the Bolivian port of Antofagasta over a mining tax dispute, triggering a war against the allied forces of Bolivia and Peru. The conflict would last until 1883 and reshape the map of South America's Pacific coast. Chile's eventual victory gave it control of the nitrate-rich Atacama region.