Agustín Arturo Prat Chacón (Latin American Spanish: [aɾˈtuɾo pɾat tʃaˈkon]; April 3, 1848 – May 21, 1879) was a Chilean Navy officer and lawyer. He was killed in the Battle of Iquique, during the War of the Pacific. During his career, Prat had taken part in several naval engagements, including battles at Papudo (1865), and at the Abtao (1866). Following his death, his name became a rallying cry for Chilean forces, and Arturo Prat has since been considered a national hero.
Prat's name is commemorated on numerous plazas (squares), streets, buildings and other structures in Chile. His name has been commemorated by four of Chile's major warships, including a Brooklyn-class cruiser in the 1950s, a British County-class destroyer from 1983 to 2006, and most recently a Dutch Jacob van Heemskerck-class frigate transferred to Chile as Capitan Prat in 2006. One of Chile's Antarctic research facilities, Arturo Prat Station, and the Chilean Naval Academy, Escuela Naval Arturo Prat are named after him. His portrait appears on the 10,000 Chilean peso bank note. Also, in 1984 Arturo Prat University was founded, with its main campus in Iquique where his heroic deed took place.
Arturo Prat, the oldest of five brothers, (Ricardo, Rodolfo, Atala Rosa and Escilda Aurelia) son of Agustín Prat del Barril and Rosario Chacón Barrios, was born at the San Agustín de Puñual Hacienda in south-central Chile on April 3, 1848. The name Prat is of Catalan origin (not to be confused with the English 'Pratt'). He entered the Naval Academy on August 28, 1858, at the age of 10 years thanks to one of the scholarships created by President Manuel Montt, another son of Catalan immigrants. There were two scholarships per province: one for Arauco went to Prat, and the other went to Luis Uribe. Both had the same benefactor, Don Jacinto Chacón (uncle of Arturo and stepfather of Uribe), resulting in the two youths considering each other as brothers.
At the time, the academy was directed by the Frenchman Juan Julio Feillet and was backed by another Frenchman, Anatolio Desmadryl. Young Arturo and his friend Luis were part of the so-called "class of the heroes" including Carlos Condell, Juan José Latorre, and Jorge Montt Álvarez.
In 1859, his second year as a cadet, he commenced a nautical apprenticeship – a requirement for second-year students. His first voyage of training was completed in the steamer Independencia, with sail and rigging maneuvers, followed later by practice in seamanship and artillery.
In January 1860, Prat boarded, for the first time, Esmeralda. His nautical apprenticeship continued: embarkation and disembarkation, combat simulation, etc. In July 1861, he left the Naval Academy as "primera antigüedad" (the most distinguished in the course). He obtained the grade of "midshipman without examination".
During this period, Prat distinguished himself in an incident involving Infernal, a French ship that was carrying explosive materials. On October 1, 1861, it caught on fire while in the Bay of Valparaíso. Esmeralda, which was nearby, sent boats to save the wreck, one of which was steered by Prat, who would struggle for two hours against the fire.
On July 21, 1864, Arturo Prat passed the theoretical and practical test needed to be promoted from "midshipman without exam" to "examined midshipman". That year saw the incidents that resulted in the war against Spain, inflamed by the Chilean attitude towards the occupation of the Peruvian Chincha Islands by a Spanish squadron. The resulting war would prove to be a baptism of fire for Prat and his classmates.
Commanding Esmeralda at the time was Juan Williams Rebolledo, who planned the recovery of the Chilean steamer Matías Cousiño and the capture of the Spanish schooner Covadonga. The naval battle of Papudo occurred on December 26 and rapidly went the way of the Chilean force which was superior in firepower and was able to defeat and capture the ship. The capture of Covadonga resulted in the promotion by one grade of all sailors participating in the battle, converting Prat into an ensign (equivalent to a second lieutenant in the army).
Wishing to offset their losses at Papudo, the Spanish fleet sought another confrontation with the allied navies (Peru and Ecuador added to Chile's side), leading to the inconclusive battle of Abtao at Chiloé on February 7, 1866. Artillery combat occurred only between Covadonga and the Spanish screw frigates Villa de Madrid and Reina Blanca, as the other allied ships were unused due to a lack of coal and the rocky estuary. Prat then served on Covadonga, the ship which resisted the Spanish bombardment. There were no losses on the allied side, while the Spanish suffered two deaths.
After the war, Prat completed a large number of sea voyages, both inside and outside his country, including voyages to the Juan Fernández Islands, Easter Island (on the corvette Esmeralda under Policarpo Toro's command), Magallanes and Peru. During the latter trip in 1868, he was responsible for transporting aid to those affected by that year's earthquake, and he later brought back the remains of Bernardo O'Higgins, at the orders of Manuel Blanco Encalada.
Prat was promoted to a lieutenant on September 9. He returned to Naval School, as an instructor. From 1871, he was the Second Commander of Esmeralda, leading to his appointment to several positions in the school (teacher, subdirector, internal director), and was assigned to teach courses such as Naval Order, Law, Naval Tactics and Cosmography. Additionally, he was responsible for docking the corvette for four years (1871–1874) in the port of Mejillones. He received the title of Graduated Corvette Captain (equivalent to lieutenant commander) in 1873 and Capitán de Corbeta Efectivo in 1874. He was a dedicated teacher who fought against the lack of resources available to provide quality education. He translated textbooks from French to Spanish.
Around that time, Prat faced an unusual situation. On May 24, 1875, Esmeralda was in the port of Valparaíso while Prat was on sick leave. The commander of the ship, Luis Alfredo Lynch, was also on leave, so Lieutenant Constantino Bannen was left in charge. A storm began in the bay and Valdivia broke its cables and went right towards Esmeralda, which then impacted with Maipo. It appeared that the destruction of Esmeralda would be unavoidable. When Prat and Lynch returned, they managed to be taken back to the ship by boat, but the violent waves kept them from embarking. Lynch and Prat threw themselves into the water and swam to the ship to climb a rope. Prat worked feverishly with a rope tied from his waist to the mast to accomplish rescue maneuvers which stopped the vessel with its bow against the beach, and secure it there with rigging. Luis Alfredo Lynch later remembered Prat's "unflappable calm in the face of danger".
The repair of Esmeralda was long and hard and cost 100,000 pesos. Lynch had to face charges of dereliction of duty, however he was saved by a tie in the voting. Throughout the trial, Arturo Prat was always faithful to his superior, helping him however he could.
After the tests of May 1876 and only three years before the War of the Pacific, the Chilean government closed the Naval School, saying that Chile no longer needed naval officers.
Prat, who left Condell in charge of Esmeralda, disembarked and, because of his studies in law, was named helper of the Maritime Government of Valparaíso. It was December 1876, he was already a graduated commander, but he only returned to the ship after the war started.
In 1870, Prat began the path of becoming a lawyer. Prat had always had an interest in law and therefore decided to pursue his law degree. He entered as a secondary student in humanities at the Liceo de Valparaíso and the National Institute (Instituto Nacional). In 1871, he received his diploma in Philosophy and Humanities — a prerequisite for studying law. One of his examiners was the renowned Chilean historian Diego Barros Arana.
In the following year, he began his studies in Property Law in the Faculty of Law of the University of Chile. He studied on board the "Esmeralda", which was located in Mejillones. Upon returning from his mission, he requested to take his examinations in Valparaíso where he passed the required subjects.