Spanish and South American naval units meet in the Battle of Abtao off the coast of Chile

In the ongoing conflict between Spain and the Peru-Chile alliance in the Chincha Islands War, two Spanish warships, Villa de Madrid and Blanca, sought to engage Chilean-Peruvian naval units and avenge earlier Spanish naval defeats.  Attacking four enemy vessels in the narrow straits off the Chilean port of Abtao, the Spanish ships inflicted damage and casualties from a distance but could not follow up in water unsuitable for their larger vessels. (By John Osborne)