The Guano wars: When bird droppings fuelled global conflict
Key topics:
19th-century wars fought over guano-rich islands and fertiliser demand
US, Spain, and South America clashed over control of guano resources
Guano conflicts reveal early global rivalries for strategic natural assets
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By Amanda Jones
It is said people will fight over… well… just about anything. From the control of territory to access of resources, the unstoppable march of the one true faith, or simply good old-fashioned hatred, humanity doesn’t seem to be short of excuses to go to war.
In 1869, a very serious conflict began. It involved a superpower. Its colonies. Sea battles. Coastal incursions. Insurrection. Occupation. It took as many lives as any serious conflict of the time. And it was fought for, and about, a precious and important resource: seagull droppings
1869 was a big year: America finally completed its transcontinental railroad, the women’s suffrage movement was gaining momentum in New York, Goldman Sachs was founded, Oxford won the boat race against Cambridge, Japan was at war with itself and Spain remained a major colonial power in the Caribbean and the Philippines.
The Industrial Revolution was well underway, and populations began to grow. Along with this, the need to feed people strained traditional agriculture. In the Old World and the New, the quest for ever higher agricultural yields was an immediate and serious source of anxiety.
Enter guano. Rich in potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen, it was the hottest must-have farming accessory of its day – the best possible fertiliser.
21 kilometres from the coast of Peru lay a trio of islands known as the Chincha Islands that had been famous for their rich guano deposits. The Peruvian government, recognising the economic potential of guano, began exporting it on a large scale, attracting the attention of European and North American nations.
First, there was the Talambo incident in 1864. We know very little of the details, other than that a fight broke out between Spanish nationals and local Peruvians. Spain wanted the Peruvians extradited, the Peruvians said it was a local matter for local courts, and Queen Isabella’s navy took the Chincha Islands. Anti-Spanish sentiment spread, and in no time at all, Bolivia, Chile and Ecuador began to protest and eventually entered into armed conflict with the Spanish.
The United States, eager to bolster its agricultural productivity, was quick to join the fray. The Guano Islands Act of 1856 granted American citizens the right to claim uninhabited and unclaimed islands containing guano for the United States. This legislation laid the groundwork for the U.S. government’s involvement in the Guano Wars, as private entrepreneurs and corporations rushed to secure guano-rich islands around the world.
The guano-rich Chincha Islands, however, became a focal point of contention. Spain, which had historical claims to the region, and the United States, with its Guano Islands Act, found themselves in a diplomatic and territorial dispute. Like all wars, the parties arrived at open conflict gradually. Tensions escalated in 1863 when a Spanish warship seized three American guano-mining vessels near the Chincha Islands. This incident strained diplomatic relations between the United States and Spain, setting the stage for further conflicts in the years to come.
In 1865, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution authorising the president to use military force to protect American interests in the guano-rich territories. This resolution reflected the growing importance attached to guano as an economic and strategic resource. As a result, the U.S. Navy was deployed to the Pacific to safeguard American interests and assert control over guano-rich islands.
But once the guano hit the fan, so to speak, the impact spread well beyond the borders of the Americas and into the Pacific islands, where European powers were also engaged in fierce competition for resources. Although earlier conflicts, such as the Battle of Ty-ho Bay in 1855, were unrelated to guano, they illustrated how strategic islands and maritime control were becoming flashpoints for imperial rivalry. In the late 1860s, tensions over the Lobos Islands off the coast of Peru further exposed how fiercely nations were willing to defend their guano interests. The United States, citing the Guano Islands Act, asserted its claims through naval power, leading to diplomatic confrontations and shows of force. These incidents highlighted how even a seemingly humble fertiliser could trigger international disputes, underscoring the economic and strategic value attached to guano.
The aftermath of the Guano Wars saw the consolidation of American control over several guano-rich islands, further solidifying the United States’ position as a major player in the global guano trade. However, the guano boom was relatively short-lived, as synthetic fertilizers began to gain prominence in the early 20th century, reducing the dependence on guano for agricultural purposes.
The Guano Wars serve as a historical example of the lengths to which nations were willing to go to secure vital resources for their economic and agricultural development. The conflicts over guano-rich islands underscore the complex interplay of economic interests, territorial ambitions and geopolitical rivalries that characterised the 19th-century scramble for resources. In hindsight, the Guano Wars stand as a fascinating chapter in the annals of history, revealing how a seemingly mundane natural resource could spark international conflicts and shape the course of global events.