Economic history of Chile |
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The Chilean independence debt was a debt obtained from a large loan the nascent republic of Chile obtained in the last years of its independence war. The loan was obtained in London in 1822 by the government of Bernardo O'Higgins. [1] To address the debt Minister of Finance Manuel Rengifo made first a study to identify all debts incurred before 1830. [2] Chilean agent Francisco Javier Rosales was sent to London to negotiate the payments of the debt in 1836. [2] He was however unable to reach an agreement with the creditors. [2]
Exports of Chilean silver alongside copper and wheat were instrumental to help Chile prevent default in the 1830s and 1840s. [2] Joaquín Tocornal who succeeded Rengifo as Minister of Finance paid off all the default and refused at the time to take new loans. [2]