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THE PERUVIAN WAR 273 their career of independence, the boundaries were fixed according to the respective limits of provinces as they existed in 1810. But those were by no means definite. A boundary was established between Chile and Peru in 1628, in which the northern limits of Chile were fixed at El Paposo in 25" 2' south latitude. In 1776, when Buenos Ayres was formed into an independent viceroyalty, Bolivia, then Charcos, was included in it, with the boundaries as defined by an old law. This declared the Chilean boundary to be at El Paposo, the first inhabited place to the southward of the desert, and at this point the old maps of Chile fixed her north- ern boundary. But the limit, established in 1628, can hardly be said to have been very definite. Chile early claimed the twenty-third parallel and Bolivia conceded the twenty-fourth, on August loth, i866, the republics then being allied in a war against Spain. In the treaty it was further stipulated that Chile should receive one-half the customs between the twenty- third and twenty-fourth parallels, as Chilean citizens were largely interested in that region; also, that Chi- lean citizens should be allowed to mine and export the products of this district without tax or hindrance from Bolivia. In return, Bolivia was to have the same rights in the territory claimed bj' Chile between the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth parallels. To enable Chile to obtain her share of the customs, she was al- lowed to have a representative in the custom-house at Antofagasta. In 1870, Bolivia made a further concession; in con- sideration of a sura of ^10,000 she granted the right to a company to work the nitrate deposits north of 24° south, construct a mole at Antofagasta and build a road to Caracoles, where rich silver mines had been discov- ered. The company was English and Chilean, employ- iS