Abstract
This chapter intends to introduce the quality of magnanimous valor that Frigate Captain Arturo Prat (1848–1879) developed in the course of his life, which later allowed him to display his nobleness, greatness and glory when he died in the Battle of Iquique on May 21st, 1879 during the war between Chile, Peru and Bolivia (1879–1883). This chapter will offer a brief account of his life, and proposes the current need to know, highlight and follow authentic service leaders such as Prat. It delves into the conceptualization of magnanimous valor as a significant quality for extreme situations and emphasizes how this quality served Prat’s life as a leader. Practical suggestions for military leaders are provided based on the model of Arturo Prat. Finally, a description of the Battle of Iquique where the hero’s final moments can be observed is presented.
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Notes
- 1.
Officer in charge of administrative affairs on a ship.
- 2.
For more details on this battle, see Sect. 7.
- 3.
The conference that appears in the archives of the Academia Uruguaya de Historia Marítima y Fluvial (Uruguayan Academy of Maritime and Fluvial History), given by Herrera (2008) and entitled “Visión valórica de la vida de don Agustín Arturo Prat Chacón” (Value Vision of the Life of Agustín Arturo Prat Chacón), provides an interesting relationship between aspects of the life and writings of our hero and the theological virtues (faith, hope and charity) and cardinal virtues (fortitude, justice, temperance and prudence).
- 4.
I would like to highlight that the text written by Grau has a very high human value because it displays a deep attitude of respect and consideration, as well as the most elevated gesture of gentlemanliness from a military enemy towards his adversary. It even indicates a quality that is proper of a hero because, as expressed by Johnson (2010, p. 26): “a true hero always finishes the battle thinking of the dead, even if they are the defeated enemy”.
- 5.
For the reader who is not aware of the outcome of Arturo Prat’s death, we recommend reading Sect. 7, which includes some details of the Naval Battle of Iquique where he played the lead on May 21st, 1879.
- 6.
Mellafe (2011) claims that by 1879, the Esmeralda was already a very old ship, “overworked”, full of imperfections and with little military value.
- 7.
Although this naval battle started among these four ships, it was divided into two by Condell’s action. The first is the one we briefly describe here, called “Naval Battle of Iquique”, between the Huáscar and the Esmeralda. The second is called “Naval Battle of Punta Gruesa”, between the Covadonga and the Independencia.
- 8.
Monitors are a type of armoured ship that owe their name to the ship Monitor (1862), designed by the Swedish engineer Johann Ericcson for the US Navy during the Civil War (1861–1865). A monitor combines the characteristics of cheap and quick construction with the power of strong artillery from one or two turrets (Castagneto and Lascano 2009).
- 9.
Foretop: a board that is placed on the high part of the masts, from bow to stern.
- 10.
Bow: front part of the ship.
- 11.
Quarter deck: deck located between the stern and the mizzen mast, which serves as a roof for the high chamber. The superstructure built in this same place is also called this way.
- 12.
For this event, I have followed the version of Vial (1995), but Rafael Mellafe (2011) provides another version in which the beheaded child is not this one, but another: “the bugler Gaspar Cabrales who was playing charge was shot by enemy fire. His friend, Corporal Crispín Reyes, took the instrument and kept playing until a grenade decapitated him. Then the cabin boy Pantaleón Cortés took the bugle drenched in blood and kept playing without interruption until the ship sank” (p. 35).
- 13.
Starboard: right side of the ship from the perspective of one who is facing the bow.
- 14.
Stern: rear end of the ship.
- 15.
The foremast is the mast of intermediate height located between the mainmast and the mizzen mast; it is usually the one closest to the bow. The mainmast is the highest mast and the middle one when there are three. The mizzen mast is the lowest and closest to the stern.
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Gorrochotegui, A. (2017). Magnanimous Valor in Arturo Prat (1848–1879): A Necessary Quality for Leadership in Extreme Situations. In: Holenweger, M., Jager, M., Kernic, F. (eds) Leadership in Extreme Situations. Advanced Sciences and Technologies for Security Applications. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55059-6_19
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