cannon with him from Peru to Chile, for the latter country had abundant raw material. [In the seventeenth and cighteenth centuries copper was shipped from Coquimbo—and less exten- sively from Copiapé—to Callao. Though nothing came of it, a proposal was made to establish an arsenal at the former place because of its greater accessibility to fuel. By the end of the eighteenth century many mines had been denounced and exploited, especially in the province of Coquimbo, but only the richest could be worked for any length of time: only those so rich as to yield at least fifty per cent refined copper, says Molina.[1]
The influences coming into operation after the Revolution had as marked effects on copper mining as on silver. The market was enlarged, the price of copper raised, and the cost of production diminished. The diminution in the working ex- penses was chiefly due to the reduced prices of all commodities needed for the mines. Means of exportation improved also. Ships formerly bringing imports and returning in ballast began to find cargoes. For a time the triangular movement to the Orient was encouraged, although the Calcutta trade was dropped in 1835. American vessels bound for China called at Valparaiso for copper. If they were unable to complete their shipload at this port they proceeded farther north to Huasco and Copiapó.[2] Ships sailing to Buenos Aires and unable to obtain cargoes began to round the Horn to Chile. The time (1840) was ripe for the introduction of steam naviga- tion. As early as 1829 Wheelwright had established a regular line of sailing vessels between Valparaiso and Cobija. The Pacific Steam Navigation Company was founded in 1838, and the first two steamers started running two years later between Valparaiso and Callao. In 1846 the line was extended to Panama, where connection was made with Royal Mail steam- ers on the Atlantic side. In 1868 the line to Liverpool was inaugurated. Incidentally, because of the difficulty of obtain- ing fuel, the steam navigation stimulated exploitation of the coal mines of southern Chile.
