Chapter 3 the mobilization of the European communities in chile during the First World War

Abstract

Chile remained neutral during the First World War. However, the war was experienced with naval battles on its shores between the British and Germans. Chilean society was divided between the two sides during the conflict, and the press was the vehicle through which they were informed about European events. The foreign communities whose countries participated in the conflict mobilized reinforcements to the European front to swell the ranks of their respective armies. The most numerous were the Franco-Chileans for the facilitation of chartering ships from Chilean ports, but contingents of British and Germans and their descendants also departed.

This chapter analyzes their military and economic mobilization and the strategies developed in Chilean territory by German, French, and British communities.