WesWorld

The Peruvian Times (Lima), 18 January 1947

With the announcement of the appointment of Pedro Beltrán Espantoso to the post of Minster of Foreign Affairs and Luis Gallo Porras to the post of Minister of Education, Culture, and Sport, the cabinet of President Odría is now complete. Mister Beltrán Espantoso has wide experience in international affairs, having served as Peru’s representative to the League of Nations for the last five years. Mister Gallo Porras, long-time mayor of the city of Lima, has long championed educational reform and expansion, and is expected to oversee the overhaul of the nation’s educational system.


El Popular (Lima), 27 January 1947

Reports of renewed unrest in the Chilean-Bolivian Special Administrative Region have spawned rumors that the 12ª Brigada de Montaña at Cusco has been put on alert. These in turn have prompted the Ministry of Defense to categorically deny any increase in readiness among any of the Army’s units deployed in the border region. A spokesman for the Ministry admitted that “we are monitoring the situation for any indication of a serious threat from that quarter; however, at this time, the matter appears confined to random action of bandits and malcontents.”

Quoted from "BruceDuncan"

The Peruvian Times (Lima), 18 January 1947

With the announcement of the appointment of Pedro Beltrán Espantoso to the post of Minster of Foreign Affairs and Luis Gallo Porras to the post of Minister of Education, Culture, and Sport, the cabinet of President Odría is now complete. Mister Beltrán Espantoso has wide experience in international affairs, having served as Peru’s representative to the League of Nations for the last five years.

An interesting choice; as the representative to the League of Nations, Beltrán would have had interesting contacts with Jorge Castro, the Chilean representative between 1939 and 1944 - who is now the Chilean president. An important past connection which may have useful future consequences. :)

Lima, The American Embassy, 3 February 1947

William Pawley re-read the dispatch from Washington with interest, for it confirmed rumors he had heard.

“The Secretary,” it read, “requests any information at your command regarding facilities suitable for acquisition by a third-party nation for diplomatic functions. Reply soonest.”

The inquiry from Foggy Bottom seemed linked to reports that Peru and Chile might be moving closer to normalizing their diplomatic relations. If true, that would certainly be to Washington’s relief – the possibility of war shaking the South American continent was one less thing to worry about. The new Peruvian foreign minister, Beltrán, had a good record from his stint in Geneva, and was said to be a personal acquaintance – if not friend – of Castro, the Chilean president. If Odría was sincere in his desire to mend fences with Peru’s neighbors, re-establishing normal diplomatic relations with Chile was important.

El Comercio (Lima), 28 February 1947

In a statement issued today by Ministro de la Produccion Félix Huamán Izquierdo it was announced that an agreement has been reached with the Hungarian firm Orion Villamossági to undertake the assembly of the firm’s commercial radio receiver in a new factory in Callao. The new firm, Compañía de Fabricación de Radio ‘Santa Maria’, will be a joint venture between Orion Villamossági and the ministry, with a sixty percent share of the capital being held by the Direccion General de Inversion Publica. The goal of manufacturing radio receivers locally is to expand access to the Radio Nacional del Perú in rural areas throughout the country.

El Popular (Lima), 15 March 1947

Rumors of a thawing of relations between Peru and its neighbor to the south received confirmation today when a government spokesman announced that President Odría will meet with President Jorge Castro of Chile sometime next month. Details of the planned conference have not been finalized at this time, though it is anticipated that normalization of diplomatic relations, reduction of tariffs, and expansion of trade will be among the items discussed.

Diario Oficial El Peruano (Lima), 17 April 1947

Yesterday President Odría addressed the Congress on the results of his meeting with President Castro of Chile in Guayaquil. The president announced that an agreement had been reached to re-establish formal diplomatic relations between Peru and Chile, with an exchange of ambassadors scheduled for 1 January of the forthcoming year, and the president further indicated that consular representation would follow to support what he described as “an increase in beneficial trade between our two countries”. President Odría went on to announce that Peru would enter into negotiations to formalize the so-called ‘Tacna Compromise’ and put an end to the border dispute with “our southern neighbor”.


El Popular (Lima), 28 April 1947

The Peruvian Times (Lima), 7 May 1947

The Oficina de Minas y Desarollo Minero has announced its intention to pursue development of coal deposits in the vicinity of Alto Chicama, 140 kilometers north of Trujillo, in La Libertad Region. Initial estimates place the recoverable reserves there at 400,000,000 tonnes. Expansion of coal production is seen as key to the Government’s plans to increase electricity production, though some in the Congress are pressing for development of the nation’s potential hydroelectric resources in preference to thermal power plants.


El Comercio (Lima), 17 May 1947

Yesterday, special ceremonies at the San Lorenzo Naval Station, Callao, marked the formal commissioning of the frigates Galindo and Gaetano, the newest vessels in the Marina de Guerra del Perú. Two sister-ships are due to be completed today at the Callao yards of the Servicios Industriales de la Marina, while a further two vessels are under construction. These ships are seen as an important element in the modernization of the Marina de Guerra del Perú, and a continuation of the type is seen as probable for the next fiscal year.

La Industria (Piura), 3 June 1947

The local firm Empacadora de Frutos Tropicales has dispatched no fewer than 149,000 packages of grapes to the port of Paita, where they are due to be loaded aboard the refrigerated transport ship Amazonas for carriage to markets in North America. Frutos Tropicales, founded in 1945, has made significant investment in facilities for packing and marketing locally-grown produce for the export market.


Diario Oficial El Peruano (Lima), 10 June 1947

Ground was broken today for the great Montaro-Tablachaca hydroelectric and irrigation scheme. In addition to impounding the waters of the Rio Montaro in order that they might be tapped to support agriculture throughout the Junin Region the projected hydroelectric plant will, in its final phase, generate more than 900 MW of power. Work is expected to continue over the next ten years.

Quoted from "BruceDuncan"

President Odría went on to announce that Peru would enter into negotiations to formalize the so-called ‘Tacna Compromise’ and put an end to the border dispute with “our southern neighbor”.

Would've been formalized back in the early 1930s, I think... though I doubt a treaty was ever posted in game, I'm pretty sure one existed to that effect.

Quoted from "Brockpaine"

Quoted from "BruceDuncan"

President Odría went on to announce that Peru would enter into negotiations to formalize the so-called ‘Tacna Compromise’ and put an end to the border dispute with “our southern neighbor”.

Would've been formalized back in the early 1930s, I think... though I doubt a treaty was ever posted in game, I'm pretty sure one existed to that effect.

Well, that's the problem with picking up the pieces. As the only references I've seen have been to the "Tacna Compromise" rather than to the Treaty of Lima I presumed that it was still an open book de jure, if settled de facto. Occasional breaks in continuity are to be expected.

El Popular (Lima), 25 June 1947

I think it might be called the Treaty of Savannah in our Wesworld timeline, hence why you might not have seen anything on the Treaty of Lima. Here's what I found with an archive check:

Quoted from "Ithekro"

November 11, 1932
The Republic of Chile has announced a treaty with Peru to secure the northern border with Peru. Details suggest that the northern provence of Tacna might have been returned to Peru to ensure a secure border during this time of war. The citizens of Tacna seem to have a mixed feeling on the matter, as some wanted to return to Peru for decades while other want to remain with Chile. This paper suggests that the times ahead will result it a lot of moving of people in and around Tacna provence.

Quoted from "perdedor99"

December 15th 1932-
Meanwhile the Foreign Ministry and the Office of the Presidency admitted that indeed the province of Tacna has been returned to Peru as a result of the Savannah meetings between Chile and Peru. Also an official response about the status of the province of Arica was given but without mentioning the area by name and quote; "we consider the border dispute with Chile as finish, with the borders agreed during the Savannah meetings as final and binding."

I don't see any comments on the exact details of the treaty, so if you want to retcon something out to determine fine details, we can finish that discussion on the side rather than in your news thread.

Diario Oficial El Peruano (Lima), 2 July 1947

Yesterday, in the naval dockyard at Callao, Ministro de Defensa Nacional Zenon Noriega Aquero superintended the keel-laying of the three latest warships to be laid down for the Marina de Guerra del Perú. The destroyers Larrea and Deganio are the third and fourth units of the Cano class, the lead units of which are expected to complete in December; the frigate Prado was also begun – it is the sixth of vessel of the Catalano class. In his remarks Ministro Noriega suggested that when these new ships enter service some of the older units of the fleet will be disposed of, noting that Peru has entered into a new era of cooperation with its neighbors, laying aside old confrontations.


The Peruvian Times (Lima), 18 July 1947

Speaking before the Anglo-Peruvian Chamber of Commerce Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation Francisco Graña Garland indicated that strong growth in the agricultural sector is anticipated in the coming year. He cited the fact that palm oil production in the Amazon basin has increased more than twenty-five percent, much of it exported through the port of Iquitos. Two new plantations, the Palmas Del Espino and the Palmas Del Shanusi, have been tapped for the first time, and several other projects are under consideration by the ministry.

El Popular (Lima), 12 August 1947

Lima, The American Embassy, 18 August 1947

William Pawley liked having good news to report to Washington, and the situation in Peru was certainly looking favorable from the American perspective. The improved relations between Peru and its neighbors certainly pleased the Administration – small ‘brushfire’ wars in South America too often threatened to suck the United States into a wider conflict. Despite the lingering issue of Peru’s expropriation of some American-owned mining properties, trade between Peru and the United States was booming – W.R. Grace and Company had already eclipsed many of its British rivals in terms of selling American goods on the local market. While the Peruvian military had gone to Europe to fulfill its needs the national airline, AeroPeru, had purchased two more Douglas DC-3 transports a month ago, and there were negotiations for acquisition of some of the Douglas firm’s four-engine transports. The American consul in Cusco reported that increasing numbers of American tourists were thronging to the ancient Inca site of Machu Picchu, and he himself had flown over mysterious geoglyphs in the Nazca Desert while on a flight to Arequipa in the south of the country; a professor from Long Island University, Paul Kosok, was at work there seeking the answer to their creation.

In local politics, the Odría Administration seemed to be fulfilling its election promises – much money was being spent on housing for the poorer classes, new schools, and clinics, as well as on larger projects to jump-start the economy. Even the opposition parties in the Congress lauded the Administration’s crack-down on corruption in the public sector, where several cases had made banner headlines.

Finishing the draft of his report to the Secretary of State, Pawley hoped that the good news would increase his stock at Foggy Bottom, and earn him a promotion to a more prestigious posting. Peru was nice, but Europe was where truly important things happened.


El Comercio (Lima), 22 August 1947

The new paint factory constructed by the Sociedad Quimica Alemana in the industrial district of Callao was dedicated today. Quimica Alemana manufactures paints and industrial coatings for commercial and marine use; the opening of local facilities for such activities is but one part of the Government’s import substitution program that will contribute to the nation’s industrial development.

El Popular (Lima), 4 September 1947

An official announcement carried by French news agencies have confirmed the initial reports of the successful voyage of the raft KonTiki under the command of Nordmarkian ethnographer Thor Heyerdahl. The craft, which had departed from Callao on 28 April, reached an uninhabited islet off Raroia atoll in the French-administered Archipel des Tuamotu on 7 August. After spending a number of days alone on the tiny islet, the crew was greeted by men from a village on a nearby island who arrived in canoes, having seen washed-up flotsam from the raft. The crew were taken back to the native village, where they were feted with traditional dances and other festivities. Finally the crew were taken off Raroia to Tahiti by the French schooner Tamara, with the salvaged KonTiki in tow.


La Industria (Trujillo), 9 September 1947

The local firm Importadora Comercializadora del Norte, with facilities in the El Molino district, has strengthened its position as a supplier of industrial equipment by becoming the local agents of the Hughes Tool Company of the United States. Importadora Comercializadora will supply drilling equipment to the expanding petroleum sector but in the north-west and in the Loreto region.

Although the Polynesie would probably have been in the area waiting for their arrival. ;)

Quoted from "Brockpaine"

Although the Polynesie would probably have been in the area waiting for their arrival. ;)

I believe that the KonTiki, as a raft, rather than a boat, would have had limited ability to sail; the navigational equipment available to Heyerdahl, a simple sextant, was actually more than any putative South American navigators would have had. As it was, the KonTiki actually crashed on the atoll’s reef. My presumption has been that the expedition could only estimate its position within broad parameters and that its radio was lost when the KonTiki wrecked on the reef. The ending is as historical.

El Popular (Lima), 10 September 1947

Jenaro Herrera, Loreto, 18 September 1947

Nearing the two-year mark on his assignment in Jenaro Herrera Capitán Manuel Gordon Magne had more than enough reasons to be happy. The promotion he had received four months ago was no small part of his current satisfaction, but the growing settlement he had founded was the true source of his happiness. Over time, his unit had been augmented and in addition to constant work in and around the town itself small detachments were overseeing the construction of roads, traveling by boat to nearby villages to provide supplies or medical assistance, or surveying for the land for settlers – who had begun to arrive in some numbers.

The landing stage was evolving into a small harbor, with a supply ship making weekly runs upriver from Iquitos, bringing goods for the now thriving market as well as materiel for his troops. The grid of main streets had been metaled – true paving might come someday – and proper drainage kept it dry save in the rainy season. Work on the church was progressing, and Father Alvaro was hopeful to hold services there by Christmas. Along the trail leading eastward from the town – a trail that would be a road if only the equipment would arrive – commercial firms had begun to lay out plantations for palm oil, diversifying the economic basis of the region. For the moment though peasants harvested palm kernels in the wild, selling them to traders in town, as well as rubber and animal skins. Money was circulating, and at last his unit was being paid regularly and on time – which was good for everyone’s morale. Magne did not care about the politics of the capital, but the Government seemed to be doing its best to make his job easier here in the wilds of Loreto.