Living in Peru : your everyday companion

This week many of us have paid special attention to the fact that October the 8th is a national holiday in Peru. But, do we know why this is? The day is a celebration, and an honoring of, Miguel Grau Seminario, one of Peru's heroes from the Guerra del Pacífico.

Miguel Grau Seminario holds an important place amongst Peru’s heroes. His military accomplishments, as well as his distinguished and courageous disposition earned him the title of Knight of the Seas (“Caballero de los mares”). At the end of the 20th century, he was also named the Peruvian of the Milenium.

Miguel Grau commanded the great “Huascar” which was the most brilliant ship of the Peruvian fleet of 1879, during the War of the Pacific. This fleet was inferior to that of the enemy Chileans. After losing the valuable battle ship “Independencia,” in the combat of Iquique (during which the “Huascar” sank the Chilean battleship “Esmeralda”), Miguel Grau was given orders to avoid direct combat with the Chilean fleet. Thanks to the superior speed of the “Huascar,” Grau was able to cruise along the coast creating havoc in enemy lands.

On October 8th of that same year, the monitor “Huascar” was captured after the battle of Angamos, during which its commander was killed. The morning of October 8th saw the ship fleeing from its Chilean aggressors; Grau, knowing combat was inevitable, shot cannons towards the Chilean ship “El Almirante Cochrane.” These shots provoked the eventual retaliation of “Huascar.” Miguel Grau was killed by a projectile from the Chilean ship. The capture of the “Huascar” was the final step in the clearing of the Peruvian seas, which allowed for the Chilean invasion by land, of the southernmost portion of Peru.

The Peruvian nation remembers this day with admiration and has rendered it a holiday in honor of Grand Admiral Miguel Grau.