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Peru-Bolivian Confederation
Flag of the Federation
Capital Tacna Created 1836 Dissolved 1839 Demonym Peru-bolivian

The Peru-Bolivian Confederation (or Confederacy) was a short-lived confederal state that existed in South America between the years 1836 and 1839. Its Head of State, titled Supreme Protector, was Marshal Andrés de Santa Cruz.

The Confederation was a loose union between the States of Peru (by this time divided into a Republic of North Peru and a Republic of South Peru which included the capital Tacna) and Bolivia. The Confederacy fell apart after being defeated by Chile in the War of the Confederation.

Antecedents

During the Colonial times, the territory comprising the Audiencia de Charcas, also known as the Alto Peru, now Bolivia, was an integral province of the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru since its creation. In 1776 it was administratively severed and became a province of the newly created Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. Still, due to geographical and historical reasons, it always remained closer to Lima than its administrative capital, Buenos Aires in present Argentina. The Peru-Bolivian Confederation was the only effective attempt to unite them.

This territory achieved independence in 1826. At this point in time a union with Peru was widely supported. Nonetheless Simón Bolívar, who had liberated the territory and destroyed the last remnants of the Spanish Army, did not approve of the union, and urged the creation of a separate and independent state. Thus the new Republic of Bolivia (named in his honor) was born, with Bolívar as its first President. Political unrest and turmoil forced Bolívar to return to Colombia very soon after, leaving Antonio José de Sucre in charge. Nevertheless, the plan for reuniting Peru and Bolivia didn't fade away.

Anarchy in Bolivia

Marshal Sucre was elected President of Bolivia in 1826, but political pressure from Peru and internal turmoil made it impossible for him to organize the new state. The very next year, an armed uprising in Chuquisaca was quickly used by Peru as an excuse to invade Bolivia. General Agustin Gamarra marched with an army of nearly 5,000 Peruvian soldiers. He had two clear orders: force the Colombian Army to withdraw and promote the creation of a new constitution for that country.

The Peruvian Army entered La Paz, Bolivia on May 28, 1828. Under these circumstances, Sucre was forced to resign in September, leaving the country forever. Marshal Andres de Santa Cruz was elected President of Bolivia in 1829 to replace him, a position that he would hold for the next 10 years. Both Gamarra and Santa Cruz agreed that the separation of Peru and Bolivia was a mistake that should be corrected. Their plan for a Federation or at least a Confederation was accepted by the legislative branches of both countries, but they personally disagreed on other issues. Gamarra was in favor of a Peruvian-led Union, while Santa Cruz wanted to give more political power to Bolivia.

War with Gran Colombia

Bolívar did not agree with either Gamarra or Santa Cruz, since the Gran Colombia was already his own project of Federation to unite most of the former Spanish Colonies. Furious about the news in Bolivia, he resolved to declare war against Peru on June 3, 1828. Marshal Sucre was appointed Commander of the Colombian Army but was soon after murdered. After Bolívar's death in 1830, the Colombian troops withdrew, and the war came to an end.

During the War, and with the Peruvian Army holding off the Colombian offensive, Gamarra deposed Peruvian President José de la Mar and prociamed himself as new Head os State, titled President. A Parliament was assembled, and with a majority of the members in favor of his government, he was able to legalize his position. His rule was difficult, since armed revolts all around the country challenged his authority.

Anarchy in Peru

A new Parliament was formed in 1833, but this time it was hostile towards Gamarra. Since his term as President was already over, and there was no time to call for elections, it was resolved to turn the presidency over to General Luis Orbegoso. Gamarra did not recognize the new government, and prepared himself to challenge Orbegoso. However, popular opinion and most of the Army rallied against him, and he was frustrated in his effort to seize power again.

Bolivian invasion

General Orbegoso also had to deal with General Felipe Salaverry, who rebelled and overthrew him in 1835. Orbegoso, however, did not loose the support of southern Peru and called in his help the President of Bolivia. It was the opportunity that Marshal Santa Cruz, himself a former President of Peru, was waiting for. The Bolivian army promptly procedeed to invade Peru.

With Bolivian help, General Orbegoso quickly regained his leadership throughout the country and had Salaverry executed. In retribution to the support he received from Santa Cruz, he acceeded to the formation of the new Peru-Bolivian Confederation. Santa Cruz assumed the Supreme Protectorship of the confederation and Orbegoso maintained only the presidency of the newly created Nor-Peruvian State.

Birth of the Confederation

Marshal Andrés de Santa Cruz promoted an ambitious proyect to reunite this two territories on the basis of a confederacy. The Peru-Bolivian Confederation was a plan that attempted to reunite the Alto Peru ("Upper Peru", now Bolivia) and Bajo Peru ("Lower Peru", now simply Peru) into a single political and economic entity. This integration was based not only on historical, cultural and ethnic reasons, but also on sound economic motives. The union was trying to restore the ancient commercial routes and promote a policy of open markets.

In Peru, he began by having an Assembly proclaim on March 17, 1836 the Republic of South Peru, followed on August 11, 1836 by a similar proclamation of the Republic of North of Peru, in each case he became the new state's Supreme Protector (see protector (title) for similar titles), a President with full powers.

After the preceding period of intense political unrest, the Peru-Bolivian Confederation was proclaimed on October 28, 1836. Marshal Santa Cruz became its Supreme Protector as well as Supreme Protector of each of the Peruvian States and President of the Bolivian Republic. The new confederation was thus conformed by 3 states: Nor-Peru, South-Peru and Bolivia, and its capital was the city of Tacna, in southern Peru. The creation of this new nation was very well received in the south of Peru that was able to fully benefit from the lifting of the previous commercial restrictions, but was bitterly resented by the elite of Lima and the north of Peru, that traditionally had benefitted from a closed commercial relationship with Chile.

Structure of the Confederation

In each of the Confederate States there was, from 1837 until the dissolution, a Provisional President under Marshal Andrés de Santa Cruz who was styled the Supreme Protector and was also President of Bolivia.

  • North Peru (also known as Republic of the North of Peru, or North-Peruvian Republic)

  • South Peru (also known as Republic of the South of Peru, or South-Peruvian Republic)

Conflicts and International Situation

The creation of the Peru-Bolivian Confederation by Marshal Andrés de Santa Cruz caused great alarm in the neighbouring countries. The potential power of this confederation aroused the opposition of Argentina and, above all, Chile, due not only to its great territorial expanse but also to the perceived threat that such a rich state signified for the area. Diego Portales, arguably the most important Chilean statement of the XIX century, who at the time was the power behind president José Joaquín Prieto, was very concerned that the new Confederacy would break the regional balance of power and even be a threat to Chilean independence, and so became inmediately its enemy.

But that was just one of the reasons behind the war. On a more deep level, both countries were in a heated competition for the control of the commercial routes on the Pacific; and for the Chileans specially, whose relations with independent Peru had already been strained by economic problems centring on rivalry between their ports of Callao and Valparaíso. For the nor-Peruvians also, the Confederacy was viewed as a most serious threat to their economic interests.

The direct conflict between the Confederation and Chile started with a tariff disagreement, and continued when former Chilean president General Ramón Freire managed to obtain a small subsidy from the Confederate government to equip a frigate and try to wrestle power from the Prieto administration. After the failure of the expedition, the Chilean government became openly hostile towards the Confederation.

Raid on Callao and Chilean Declaration of War

After the Freire Expedition, Portales decided to take the offensive and staged a surprise raid to prevent further interference by the Confederate govermment in Chilean internal affairs. He ordered a raid of the Confederate fleet that was stationed in the port of Callao. During a silent attack on the night of August 21, 1836, the Chileans managed to capture 3 confederate ships: the Santa Cruz, Arequipeño and Peruviana.

Instead of inmediately going to war, Marshal Andrés de Santa Cruz tried to negotiate with Chile. The Chilean Congress sent Mariano Egaña as plenipotentiary to negotiate a treaty based on several points: the payments of the outstanding international debts owed by Peru to Chile, the limitation of the outstanding armies, commercial agreements, indemnization to Chile for the Freire Expedition and the dissolution of the Confederation. Santa Cruz agreed to everything but the dissolution. Chile responded by declaring war on December 28, 1836.

International situation and Argentinian Declaration of War

The international situation was not favorable to the Chilean interests. Marshal Santa Cruz and the Confederation had been diplomatically recognized by the principal world powers with interests in the region (Great Britain, France and the United States), while the Chilean allies (Argentina and Ecuador) had decided to remain neutral in the conflict.

Nonetheless, the continued interference of Santa Cruz in Argentina's internal affairs moved this country to also declare war on May 9, 1837. Even though Chile and Argentina were acting against the same perceived threat, both countries went to war separatedly and were going to act separatedly during the whole course of it. In 1837 Santa Cruz's forces defeated an Argentine army sent to topple him. To aggravate further the Chilean position, Chilean public opinion was totally opposed to a war they did not understand.

Assassination of Portales

The Chilean government, in order to bolster its standing, inmediately imposed martial law and asked for (and obtained) extraordinary legislative powers from Congress. Early in 1837 a Court Martial Law was approved and given jurisdiction over all citizens for the duration of the war. The opposition to the Prieto administration inmediately accused Portales of tiranny, and started a heated press campaing against him personally and the impopular war in general.

Political and public opposition to war inmediately affected the army, fresh from the purges of the civil war of 1830. On June 4, 1837, Coronel José Antonio Vidaurre, commander of the Maipo regiment, captured and imprisoned Portales while he was reviewing troops at the army barracks in Quillota. He inmediately procedeed to attack Valparaíso on the mistaken belief that public opinion opposed to the war would support him and topple the government. Admiral Manuel Blanco Encalada, in charge of the defense defeated him right outside the port. Captain Santiago Florín, who was in charge of Portales, had him shot when he heard of the news, on June 6, 1837. Most of the conspirators were subsequently captured and executed. This murder was perceived as having been orchestrated by Marshal Santa Cruz and turned the tide of public opinion. The war became a holy cause and Portales its martyr.

Aftermath and Dissolution

Invested with considerable powers, Santa Cruz endeavoured to establish in Peru the same type of authoritarian order he had imposed in Bolivia. He issued a Civil Code, a Penal Code, a Trade Regulation, a Customs Regulation and reorganized tax collection procedures allowing an increase in state revenues while restraining expenditures.

However, the Confederation generated resistances among several groups in both countries, which resented the dilution of national identities, and also among neighbouring countries. An important number of Peruvian politicians opposed to the idea of the Confederation fled to Chile where they received support and this led to the War of the Confederation.

The first Chilean military expedition against Santa Cruz, led by Vice Admiral Manuel Blanco Encalada failed and had to submit to the signature of the Treaty of Paucarpata, on November 17, 1837. The Chilean government then organized a second expedition, which defeated the Supreme Protector at the Battle of Yungay on January 20, 1839 and forced the dissolution of the Confederation. On August 25, 1839 General Agustín Gamarra after assuming as president of Peru, officially declared the dissolution of the Confederation and of the merging of the Nor and Sud-Peruvian Republics into one to be called again Peru, and separated from Bolivia.

The Confederate defeat led to the exile of Santa Cruz, first to Guayaquil, in Ecuador, then to Chile and finally to Europe, where he died.

See also

Sources and references

(incomplete)

1836 establishments | Former countries in South America | Short-lived states | History of Peru | History of Bolivia | War of the Confederation

Peruanisch-Bolivianischer Konföderationskrieg | Confederación Perú-Boliviana | Confederatie van Peru en Bolivia | Confederação Peru-Boliviana

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Peru-Bolivian Confederation".

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