The Beagle crisis revisited, 1978: A study with Brazilian (diplomatic) sources.

In December 1978, a militarized interstate dispute almost provoked a war between Chile and Argentina. The motivation of this divergence was, fundamentally, the possession of some small islands and their corresponding maritime projection in the southern end of the American continent - that is, the maritime boundaries, as well as the socalled principle of the Atlantic-Pacific division between both countries. The most dramatic moment of the conflict happened between 12 and 22 December. And only the providential intervention of a third party, in this case Pope John Paulo II, prevented a major tragedy in the Southern Cone. In this context, this paper proposes to explore Brazilian perceptions, interpretations and initiatives directly linked to the Chilean-Argentinian crisis. The article is the result of research in the history of international relations. Primary sources and documentation were collected in Arquivo Nacional and Arquivo do Ministério das Relações Exteriores; both in Brazilia, Federal District. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]