Peru in the 1830s

Argentine President Juan Manuel de Rosas saw Santa Cruz as a dictator, forcing his way into Peru and forcing his way into Argentina. He said, “General Santa-Cruz has with the force under his command dilacerated Peru, and arrogated to himself an absolute power, sanctioned by diminutive and incompetent assemblies.”[2] They believed they entered this war to liberate Peru from Santa Cruz’s clutches. Argentina planned on taking the southernmost city of Bolivia, Tarija. This cause Santa Cruz to divert some of his troops from the Altiplano to defend the border with Argentina.[3] Santa Cruz had to protect his Federation, but he became spread too thin, and failed to answer the call of his people and sadly, his Confederation would eventually fall.

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Those against the Confederation took advantage of the surrounding countries discomfort with Peru and Bolivia’s combined power. Peru and Chile already had weak ties after Peru placed high tariffs on traded products in 1832, causing Peru to lose their flour supply from Chile and switching to flour from the United States. Chile stopped using Peruvian sugar and imported it from Brazil instead. When Peru and Bolivia joined forces, Chile did not approve, worried for its own trading interests. Santa Cruz had previously sent some foes to Chile, not wanting them to influence his government. These exiles opposed Santa Cruz and had no problem encouraging Chile’s hatred for the Peru-Bolivian Confederation. In August 1836, Chile made a move and captured the only three remaining Peruvian Navy ships, infuriating Santa Cruz. He allowed them to keep the ships, on the hopes to quiet any critics he had in Chile saying he planned to attack them.[4]

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Argentina followed Chile in declaring war on the Peru-Bolivian Confederation, arguing they feared an attack from this growing power because many of the political exiles in its borders could use it as a base to return to Argentina. In Argentina’s declaration of war, they claim “[T]hat the Argentine Confederation will refuse peace and any arrangements whatever with General Santa Cruz until it be well guaranteed against the ambition he has displayed, and until he evacuates the Peruvian Republic, leaving it entirely free to dispose of its own destiny. That the Argentine Confederation recognizes the rights of the Peruvian people, to preserve their original political organization.”[5] In writing, they do not want to hurt the people of Peru, they are only concerned with freeing them from Santa Cruz, viewing him as a dictator trying to take away the freedom of the citizens. Argentina wanted to liberate Peru, while they made it seem like it was for the better of the Peruvian people, they really wanted to get rid of their threat to stability and ensure the peace of their own country. Santa Cruz had no plans to extend the Bolivian border south, but that did not matter to Argentina, and Santa Cruz had to split his troops up to defend the Confederation from both countries now. He positioned troops on the coast of Peru to defend from Chilean troops, and placed others in Bolivia against Argentina’s soldiers.

 

Santa Cruz did all he could to keep the peace between the countries, but sadly failed.  In Chile, Portales controlled the press to hide these peace attempts from the civilians.  This paper later talks about the discomfort Chilean soldiers had while in Peru, showing the success of Portales strategy.  Many Chilean officers realized they were about to fight a war that formed out of hatred for just one man, a man who even offered peace. They worked together and killed Portales, hoping to diminish the hunger for war in their country, but it failed. Those who backed President Prieto rallied together and set of for Peru.[6] Admiral Manuel Blanco Encalada prepared to break the communication between the Altiplano and the coast. To do so they needed a joint attack from Argentina, separating Santa Cruz’s soldiers. Blanco Encalada choose Arequipa to attack, a province that strongly supported Santa Cruz. When they arrived in Arequipa they found a partly deserted city. The leader of the government in the city allowed people to leave with their valuable and needed possessions. The Chilean soldiers had no access to food or resources, their invasion had failed.

Santa Cruz wanted the invading troops to lose access to necessary goods, but did not approve of the soldiers abandoning their posts in Arequipa. Santa Cruz did not want his troops to attack, but allow the enemy soldiers to leave on their own, keep them from invading north. He offered them a place in the Confederation, a way to entice them over from the enemy. After the exhausting journey the Chilean soldiers had it was not difficult. They planned to gain supporters on their journey from the coast inland, but because they landed in a pro-Confederation area they had failed. After Chile’s dramatic failure of an invasion, Santa Cruz once again offered peace. He allowed for the troops to return home, he offered to pay the debt Peru owed to Chile, and agreed to not harm the few Peruvians who took arms with the invading soldiers.[7] Santa Cruz’s showed incredible generosity towards Chile that displayed his determination and love for the Peru-Bolivian Confederation.

 

Chile took Santa Cruz’s offer for peace, allowing Santa Cruz to reduce the number of soldiers he had and focus on reviving the economy. He failed to notice the growing unrest in Bolivia. Bolivia had always feared the Confederation would make Peru richer and more powerful. Eventually an uprising formed, but the local military contained it. Even with this uprising, Santa Cruz set his focus elsewhere. Argentina had started fighting along the border in August of 1837 and Santa Cruz did not offer them a peace treaty like he did Chile.  He planned to gain territory in this battle. Argentina planned to reach the Pacific coast and join Chile’s forces. Unfortunatuly for Santa Cruz, Chile failed to uphold their peace agreement and now he had uprisings in Northern Peru and Bolivia on top of the invasions.  The Confederation had held up for this long because of the internal support Santa Cruz had.  He lost it in Bolivia, perhaps if Peru gave Bolivia the port they requested prior to the formation of the Confederation, Santa Cruz could have been able to control the external forces tearing apart his Confederation. 

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Vice President of Bolivia, Mariano Calvo wanted a union of independent states that would retain their constitutions and laws…. all the power not conferred on the federal government would remain at the state level.[8] This request differed from the treaty formed by the Confederation, and instead of paying Bolivia attention, Santa Cruz focused on Peru.  By doing this, Santa Cruz set himself up for failure. He humored Bolivia, allowing them to debate and plan the best course of action for the Union. While that went on, he focused on restoring Peru after the attacks from Chile. Santa Cruz knew the importance of controlling Bolivia, too. He needed them both supporting him to counter attacks from his military enemies.[9] By this time, Bolivia was done being ignored by its Supreme Protector. He lost his position of power and had to flee in exile from the countries he had worked so hard for so long to join as one. 

 

When the Confederation ended, Peru had to rebuild. Agustín Gamarra had retaken power as President of Peru and wrote a new constitution. Many of the articles in the 1839 Constitution reflected the Constitution of the Peruvian Republic in 1834. The new Constitution allowed the president’s term to be six years long instead of four. The president would still be elected by Congress, but unlike Santa Cruz, it does not create this position a lifetime spot. In the post-Confederation constitution, the very first responsibility listed for the president is “1. To preserve the internal order and exterior security of the Republic.”[10] The constitution from 1834 never mentions something so blunt in regards to the president’s job. The past five years gave Peru a wakeup call on what to expect from their leaders. They want someone who will protect and defend them, they want it to be the president’s main goal. Their country had been unstable for so long, and just when it appeared someone would fix it, another war would break out.