The Republic of South Peru () was one of the three constituent Republics of the short-lived

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 ...

of 1836–39. South Peru was one of two states—the other being North Peru—that arose from the division of the Peruvian Republic due to the civil wars of

1834 Events January–March * January 1 – Zollverein (Germany): Customs charges are abolished at borders within its member states. * January 3 – The government of Mexico imprisons Stephen F. Austin in Mexico City. * January – The W ...

and 1835 to 1836. The states were founded in 1836 to be constituent Republics of the planned Peru-Bolivian Confederation, alongside

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

. The Confederation came to an end three years later after continuous border wars with

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

in 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 ...

, and after a chaotic civil conflict between north and south Peruvians. In August 1839,

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 ...

declared the Confederation dissolved; as a result, South Peru and North Peru reverted to being a unified Republic of Peru.

History

Background

After political instability in Peru and a coup d'état in 1835, a

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

broke out between newly self-declared president

Felipe Santiago Salaverry Felipe Santiago Salaverry del Solar (1805 – February 19, 1836) was a Peruvian soldier and politician who served as the Supreme Chief of Peru. Biography Salaverry was born in 1805 in Lima and studied in the College of San Carlos in Lima. Whe ...

and constitutional president

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 ...

, who allowed Bolivian president

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 ...

to send his troops through the Peruvian border. After the latter's triumph in 1836, assemblies were soon established to make way for the creation of the Confederation, an idea that had been floating around since the era of independence.

Establishment

A constituent assembly known as the Sicuani Assembly was established on March 16, 1836, and closed on March 22. It featured representatives from

Ayacucho Ayacucho (, , derived from the words ''aya'' ("death" or "soul") and ''k'uchu'' ("corner") in honour of the battle of Ayacucho), founded in 1540 as San Juan de la Frontera de Huamanga and known simply as Huamanga (Quechua: Wamanga) until 1825, i ...

Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara language, Aymara and ), also known by its nicknames of ''Ciudad Blanca'' (Spanish for "White City") and ''León del Sur'' (Spanish for "South's Lion"), is a city in Peru and the capital of the eponymous Arequipa (province), ...

Cuzco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous province and department. The city was the capital of the Inca Empire unti ...

Puno Puno ( Aymara and ) is a city in southeastern Peru, located on the shore of Lake Titicaca. It is the capital city of the Puno Region and the Puno Province with a population of approximately 140,839 (2015 estimate). The city was established in ...

and

Tacna Tacna, officially known as San Pedro de Tacna, is a city in southern Peru and the regional capital of the Tacna Region. A very commercially active city, it is located only north of the border with Arica y Parinacota Region from Chile, inland f ...

. On April 10, Orbegoso recognized South Peru as an independent state through a decree, and a Supreme Court was installed in

on August 24. The assembly also created the country's flag and currency. Fines were put in place to prevent the (now North) Peruvian flag from being flown. Provided, then, with all the legal elements granted by the assemblies of the three states, Santa Cruz decreed the establishment of the Peru-Bolivian Confederation, by decree given in Lima on October 28, 1836. A congress known today as the Congress of Tacna was ordered to meet in

to establish the foundations of the confederation. The Pact of Tacna was signed without debate during the congress. It established the

legal framework A legal doctrine is a framework, set of rules, Procedural law, procedural steps, or Test (law), test, often established through precedent in the common law, through which judgments can be determined in a given legal case. For example, a doctrine ...

through which the state would operate, and also included the design of the Confederation's flag. Reactions to the pact were mixed event among its signatories, and disagreements led to the establishment of one constituent congress per member state. The act was later promulgated in 1837.

Development and dissolution

The Confederation generated resistance among several groups in both countries, which resented the dilution of national identities, and also among neighbouring countries. An important number of Peruvian politicians who opposed the Confederation, such as

and

Ramón Castilla Ramón Castilla y Marquesado (; 31 August 1797 – 30 May 1867) was a Peruvian ''caudillo'' who served as President of Peru three times as well as the Interim President of Peru (Revolution Self-proclaimed President) in 1863. His earliest p ...

, fled to Chile where they received support, leading to the

. After a trade war, the

Congress of Chile The National Congress of Chile () is the legislative branch of the Republic of Chile. According to the current Constitution (Chilean Constitution of 1980), it is a bicameral organ made up of a Chamber of Deputies and a Senate. Established by la ...

approved the declaration of war on December 26, 1836, claiming that Santa Cruz's rule over Peru was illegitimate, and that his influence threatened the integrity of other

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

n nations, as seen by Orbegoso's support for an attempted invasion of Chile by

Ramón Freire Ramón Saturnino Andrés Freire y Serrano (; November 29, 1787 – December 9, 1851) was a Chilean political figure. He was head of state on several occasions, and enjoyed a numerous following until the War of the Confederation. Ramón Fr ...

, specifically pointing out that it targeted then minister

Diego Portales Diego José Pedro Víctor Portales y Palazuelos (; June 16, 1793 – June 6, 1837) was a Chilean statesman and entrepreneur. As a minister of president José Joaquín Prieto's government, he played a pivotal role in shaping the state and po ...

followed suit after

Juan Manuel de Rosas Juan Manuel José Domingo Ortiz de Rozas y López de Osornio (30 March 1793 – 14 March 1877), nicknamed "Restorer of the Laws", was an Argentine politician and army officer who ruled Buenos Aires Province and briefly the Argentine Confedera ...

then

declared war A declaration of war is a formal act by which one state announces existing or impending war activity against another. The declaration is a performative speech act (or the public signing of a document) by an authorized party of a national govern ...

on the Confederation on May 19, 1837, after the escalation of a territorial conflict in its border, accusing Santa Cruz of harboring supporters of the

Unitarian Party The Unitarian Party was the political party who had proponents the concept of a unitary state (centralized government) in Buenos Aires during the Argentine Civil Wars, civil wars that shortly followed the Declaration of Independence of Argenti ...

. The accusations ended up being true, as Santa Cruz had financially supported the émigrés. South Peru was

invaded An invasion is a military offensive of combatants of one geopolitical entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory controlled by another similar entity, often involving acts of aggression. Generally, invasions have objectives of co ...

from October to November under the nominal leadership of

Antonio Gutiérrez de la Fuente Antonio Gutiérrez de la Fuente (8 September 1796 – 14 March 1878) was a Peruvian politician who also served in the Peruvian military. He briefly served as President of Peru from June 7 to September 1, 1829. Gutiérrez de la Fuente was born i ...

as Supreme Chief of Peru., with the occupants being surrounded and forced to sign the a

treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

, leaving the country shortly after. The treaty was declared null and void by Chile, and a second expedition headed by

Manuel Bulnes Manuel Bulnes Prieto (; December 25, 1799 – October 18, 1866) was a Chilean military and political figure who was President of Chile from 1841 to 1851. Born in Concepción, he served as the president of Chile between 1841 and 1851. At the ...

was organized, which left for Peru on July 19, 1838. Around the same time, North Peru seceded from the Confederation on July 30, but was nevertheless attacked and defeated by the second expedition in the Battle of Portada de Guías of August 21. During this time, the Confederation's stability collapsed. While

Pío de Tristán Juan Pío Camilo de Tristán y Moscoso (July 11, 1773, Arequipa – August 24, 1859, Lima) was a Peruvian general and politician who served as the second President of South Peru from October 12, 1838 to February 23, 1839. He was nominally t ...

continued to be president in South Peru and Santa Cruz continued to be the Supreme Protector, by September, they were two of other seven parallel presidents at one time: Gamara claimed to be the restorationist president, with his troops heading north; Orbegoso claimed the leadership of the secessionist North Peruvian state, now defeated;

José de la Riva Agüero José Mariano de la Cruz de la Riva Agüero y Sánchez Boquete (3 May 1783 – 21 May 1858) was a Peruvian soldier and politician who was the first president of Peru and the second president of North Peru, a constituent country of the Peru ...

was appointed by Santa Cruz as Orbegoso's successor;

Domingo Nieto Domingo Nieto (15 August 1803 – 17 February 1844) was a Peruvian Grand Marshal, forefather of the nation, and politician who served as the 19th President of Peru between 1843 and 1844, officially as the President of the Government Junta and G ...

claimed control in the north; and

Juan Francisco de Vidal Juan Francisco de Vidal La Hoz (April 2, 1800 in Lima, Viceroyalty of Peru – September 23, 1863 in Lima) served as the 8th President of Peru The president of Peru (), officially the constitutional president of the Republic of Peru (), is ...

claimed control in Huaylas. Santa Cruz headed for Lima, arriving on November 10, but left for the north, where the

restaurateurs A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspe ...

were located. He was defeated 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 ...

on January 20, 1839, and thus, the Confederation was dissolved, with Gamarra announcing its dissolution on August 25. The Confederate defeat led to the exile of Santa Cruz, first to

Guayaquil Guayaquil (), officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital (political), capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is ...

, in Ecuador, then to Chile, and finally to Europe, where he died.

Government

From 1837 to its dissolution were a ''Provisional President'' and a Congress, both with limited powers and under the control of Marshal

, who was styled the ''Supreme Protector''. * First President: General

Ramón Herrera y Rodado Ramón Herrera y Rodado (1799–1882) was a Chilean soldier who held important public positions in Peru during the government of José de la Riva Agüero and later during the Peru–Bolivian Confederation, being president of the South Peru and on ...

(September 17, 1837 – October 12, 1838.) * Second President: Juan Pío de Tristán y Moscoso (October 12, 1838 – February 23, 1839.)

Administrative divisions

South Peru was divided into five departments which in turn were divided into provinces, and these into districts. On its foundation it consisted of four departments with their capitals in the cities of the same name. A fifth, Litoral, was added in 1837 with its capital at

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

History of the Flag
*

Samuel Augustus Mitchell Samuel Augustus Mitchell (1790, Bristol, Connecticut – December 20, 1868, Philadelphia) was an American geographer. He was born in Connecticut. Mitchell worked as a teacher before turning to publishing geography textbooks and maps. He became ...

(1840)
Mitchell's geographical reader : a system of modern geography
p. 229f. {{DEFAULTSORT:South Peru, Republic of Peru–Bolivian Confederation 1836 establishments in South America 1839 disestablishments in South America South Peru States and territories established in 1836 States and territories disestablished in 1839 Autonomous republics of the Peru–Bolivian Confederation