The Peruvian Republic was a state that seceded from the

Peru–Bolivian Confederation The Peru–Bolivian Confederation () was a short-lived state that existed in South America between 1836 and 1839. The country was a loose confederation made up of three states: North Peru and South Peru—states that arose from the division of th ...

in 1838 under the leadership of General Luis Orbegoso. Its territory comprised the totality of North Peru, which by a majority of votes proclaimed itself independent of the Peru-Bolivian Confederation. This was not accepted by the Confederation, however, and both countries went to war during the

War of the Confederation The War of the Confederation () was a military confrontation waged by the United Restoration Army, the alliance of the land and naval forces of Chile and the Restoration Army of Peru, formed in 1836 by Peruvian soldiers opposed to the conf ...

. After Orbegoso and Santa Cruz reached an agreement, the country ceased to exist as a

sovereign state A sovereign state is a State (polity), state that has the highest authority over a territory. It is commonly understood that Sovereignty#Sovereignty and independence, a sovereign state is independent. When referring to a specific polity, the ter ...

on October 20, 1838 and instead became an

autonomous republic An autonomous republic is a type of administrative division similar to a province or state. A significant number of autonomous republics can be found within the successor states of the Soviet Union, but the majority are located within Russia. Ma ...

within the confederation until its defeat by

Agustín Gamarra Agustín Gamarra Messia (27 August 1785 – 18 November 1841) was a Peruvian soldier and politician, who served as the 4th and 6th President of Peru. Gamarra was a Mestizo, being of mixed Spanish and Quechua descent. He had a military life s ...

and his

United Restoration Army The United Restoration Army, also called simply as the Restoration Army, was a land military force that operated between the years 1837 and 1839, which had the objective of ending the Peru-Bolivian Confederation, led by General Andrés de Sant ...

in 1839.

History

Declaration of independence

The territory that conformed the Confederate subdivision of North Peru was proclaimed independent of the Peru-Bolivian Confederation by

Luis José de Orbegoso Luis José de Orbegoso y Moncada-Galindo, de Burutarán y Morales (August 25, 1795 – February 5, 1847), was an aristocratic Peruvian soldier and politician, who served as the 5th President of Peru as well as the first President of North ...

on July 30, 1838, until the territory was conquered by the

on August 21, 1838. Orbegoso led a military campaign against

Andrés de Santa Cruz Andrés de Santa Cruz y Calahumana (; 30 November 1792 – 25 September 1865) was a Bolivian general and politician who served as interim president of Peru in 1827, the interim president of Peru from 1836 to 1838 and the sixth president of ...

together with the opponents of the confederation and were first allied with the Peruvian-Chilean alliance of the

. Before the acts of vandalism committed by the Chileans on north-Peruvian soil, however, and the little interest apparently shown by the Chilean generals, the Northern Peruvian Republic was led to declare war on both the confederation and the Peruvian-Chilean alliance.

Battle of Portada de Guías

The restorative forces continued their advance towards Lima and encountered the Peruvian forces commanded by Orbegoso, Nieto and

Vidal Vidal (, , , ) is a Catalan language, Catalan, Aragonese language, Aragonese, and possibly also Romansh language, Romansh surname, which also appears in French language, French, Italian language, Italian, Portuguese language, Portuguese and Engl ...

on the outskirts of Lima. The numerical difference was overwhelming: some 4,800 ''restaurateurs compared to about 1,300 Peruvian ''orbegosistas''. Despite this, a battle took place nevertheless, today known as the Battle of Portada de Guías, in which the restaurateurs won on August 21, 1838 and occupied

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

until the Confederates occupied it again. Gamarra, who had a more pro-Chilean stance, became president by way of

open cabildo The open cabildo (Spanish: ''cabildo abierto'') is a traditional Hispanic American political assembly for convening citizens to deliberate policy. Originating in Spanish America as an iteration of the ''cabildo'', it also spread to Spain. His ...

on August 25. Orbegoso remained hidden in Lima for a few days, until he fled to

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists ...

in unsuccessful disguise, being recognized. After being shot, he hid on the seashore remaining barely alive until the next day, where drenched and cold, he found refuge in the port within the

Real Felipe Fortress The Real Felipe Fortress is a fortress located within the Monumental Zone of Callao, Peru. It was built to defend the main port of the country, as well as the city of Lima from pirates and corsairs during colonial times. The fortress was subject ...

. The port would see itself at the center of an ensuing

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

between the restorationists and the confederates.

Reunification with the Confederation

Orbegoso took refuge in the

Real Felipe The Real Felipe Fortress is a fortress located within the Monumental Zone of Callao, Peru. It was built to defend the main port of the country, as well as the city of Lima from pirates and corsairs during colonial times. The fortress was subject ...

fortress. From there he denounced the

Chilean army The Chilean Army () is the land arm of the Chilean Armed Forces. This 80,000-person army (9,200 of which are conscripts) is organized into six divisions, an army aviation brigade and a special operations brigade. In recent years, and after sever ...

as invaders and declared that he intended to wage war on it with the same determination as against the army of Santa Cruz; and that he only wished to favor the meeting of a congress that would freely decide the fate of the country. However, he refused to deal with Gamarra, when he offered to formalize a commitment to beat Santa Cruz together with the restorationists. In the end, Santa Cruz convinced Orbegoso to support him, promising that he would convene a Congress after expelling the invaders. Orbegoso believed him and announced on October 20, 1838 his new alliance with Santa Cruz.Modesto Basadre, "Diez años de historia política del Perú, 1834-1844", p. 68 Thus, Santa Cruz managed to maintain the rebel state on his side as an

by turning it against the restorer allies, causing the imminent invasion of the Confederate north and putting in its place the provisional Peruvian government of Agustín Gamarra, ignoring the regime of Orbegoso. A year later, the Confederates launched a reconquest campaign in the north, causing the restorers to flee and re-annexing the northern Peruvian territory. In the meantime, Gamarra and the restorationists would be the ones to defeat the Confederation in the

Battle of Yungay The Battle of Yungay (or Yungai) was the final battle of the War of the Confederation, fought on January 20, 1839, near Santo Domingo de Yungay, Yungay, Peru. The United Restoration Army, led by Chilean General Manuel Bulnes, consisting mainly ...

of 1839.

References

Notes