The origin of the first saltpeter works that John Thomas North and his associates, Robert Harvey and John Dawson, acquired is still almost unknown. However, the “nitrate king” myth has been built based on them. Taking advantage, the thorough expropriation process of the saltpeter
works done by the Peruvian State, between 1875 and 1879, through the Associate Banks, making use of the Attorneys and Engineers Commissions, have let us know about the original property of those saltpeter works or rather, of J. T. North’s first stakes. We have wondered about its first owners, the impact of the Peruvian expropriation process, and if in effect there was speculation and privilege information, that would exclusively benefit North and his associates, damaging to the rest of the emerging nitrate entrepreneurs, since 1880, under the Chilean State.
González Miranda, S. (2019). The First Stakes Of John Thomas North’s Nitrate Kingdom. The Origin Of The Myth. Cuadernos De Historia, (49), pp. 7–36. Retrieved from https://cuadernosdehistoria.uchile.cl/index.php/CDH/article/view/52233
