Guano
Guano is accumulated seabird or bat droppings valued as a fertilizer because it can contain high concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus.
Peruvian guano trade: The nineteenth-century international commerce in fertilizer-rich guano mined from Peru’s coastal islands. Peru’s deposits turned guano into a major export and a source of state revenue.
Nitrogen: A chemical element essential to proteins, nucleic acids, and plant growth. Nitrogen-rich compounds in guano can support vigorous plant growth.
Seabird colony: A group of seabirds nesting or roosting together, often in dense coastal aggregations. Repeated nesting and roosting can build thick guano deposits beneath colonies.
Coolie trade: The coercive nineteenth-century migration and labor trade involving Asian workers, especially to plantations and mines. Chinese contract laborers endured dangerous conditions extracting guano on Peru’s islands.
Guano Islands Act: A United States law enacted in 1856 allowing citizens to claim unoccupied guano-bearing islands for the country. The law tied guano demand to American island claims and overseas expansion.
Phosphorus: A chemical element essential to DNA, cell membranes, and energy transfer in organisms. Guano supplies phosphorus compounds needed for plant development.
Bat cave: A cave used by bats for roosting, breeding, or hibernation. Large, persistent roosts can accumulate substantial deposits of bat guano.
Chincha Islands War: A conflict from 1864 to 1866 between Spain and a coalition of Peru, Chile, Ecuador, and Bolivia. Spain’s occupation of the Chincha Islands threatened Peru’s lucrative guano resources.
Artificial fertilizer: Manufactured plant nutrients produced through industrial chemical processes. Synthetic fertilizers eventually reduced agriculture’s dependence on mined guano.
Ammonification: The microbial conversion of organic nitrogen into ammonia or ammonium. Soil microbes transform nitrogen in guano into forms plants can access.