Buying ironclads as a national insurance policy

Errázuriz treated naval preparation as a response to Chile's exposed strategic position, winning congressional authority to acquire two armoured frigates in 1872. Only his predecessor voted against the measure, reflecting a competing belief that a financially strained state could avoid danger by remaining unarmed. In this account, weakness invites pressure rather than removing the causes of conflict. Procurement therefore becomes a political choice about risk: defer spending in peacetime, or buy capability before a crisis makes it indispensable.