The English Mercury
Publishing history
The Valparaíso English Mercury was published by British editors in Valparaiso at the press of the oldest Chilean daily, El Mercurio. Intriguingly, the parallel titles indicate a close partnership between British and Chilean publications. Founded in 1843, the English Mercury is the oldest of our three Anglophone newspapers. The inaugural edition was printed on Saturday, Dec. 16, 1843, and its final edition on Saturday, March 2, 1844.
In the first issue's editorial, the editors offer their view of the functions to be served by a newspaper written in the native language of a foreign community abroad. In every issue, the English Mercury provides extensive information about trade and the market, both within the country and on an international scale. Sample stories include, but are not limited to, coverage of colonial expansions relevant to British readers in informal empire: France's efforts to annex Tahiti, treaties between Britain and China in relation to Hong Kong, etc.
The English Mercury also covered material more immediately relevant to British interests in Chile, providing extensive information about vessels coming in and out of the port, trade prices, the new technology of steamboats with potential to boost Chile’s trade, developments in British-owned business in Chile, and the affairs of residents' mother countries, which included Scotland, England, and to a lesser extent Ireland and the United States.
Advertisements
While its coverage becomes increasingly diverse as the newspaper's run continues, the English Mercury is short and rarely contains advertisements. Instead, the inside matter of the newspaper generally consists of lists of vessels arriving and leaving the port, quantities and prices of goods for import and export, and similar shipping news.
General news
Before its sections on business and trade, the newspaper usually opens with general news of Valparaiso. For instance, the English Mercury on Dec. 30th, 1843 informs readers about violent storms happening at the Valparaiso port and related news on refugees from the hardest-hit areas. Although the newspaper is informative in many respects, its content is quite simple and it ended after just one year (1844); an editorial in its final issue explains that the editors are obliged to suspend publication due to the lack of patronage from the mercantile community. The final issue hints tantalizingly at an increase in cultural reportage on the Anglo-Chilean colony had the paper continued, adding new sections on music and religion.
References
"List of Vessels in Port, March 2, 1844," Valparaiso English Mercury, vol. 1, no. 12 (Valparaiso, Chile), March 02, 1844. Accessed July 22, 2020.
Table of Market Imported and Exported Goods, Valparaiso and West Coast Mail, vol. 1, no. 1 (Valparaiso, Chile), August 17, 1867, 3-4. Accessed July 22, 2020.
Note to Subscribers, Valparaiso English Mercury, vol. 1, final issue (Valparaiso, Chile), February 24, 1844. Accessed July 22, 2020.