Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
INDEPENDENCE
By the early 19th century,
criollos
in many Spanish colonies had grown increasingly dissat-
isfied with their lack of administrative power and the crown's heavy taxes - leading to re-
volutions all over the continent. In Peru, the winds of change arrived from two directions.
Argentine revolutionary José de San Martín led independence campaigns in Argentina and
Chile, before entering Peru by sea at the port of Pisco, in 1820. With San Martín's arrival,
royalist forces retreated into the highlands, allowing him to ride into Lima unobstructed.
On July 28, 1821, independence was declared. But real independence wouldn't materialize
for another three years. With Spanish forces still at large in the interior, San Martín would
need more men to fully defeat the Spanish.
Enter Simón Bolívar, the Venezuelan revolutionary who had been leading independence
fights in Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador. In 1823, the Peruvians gave Bolívar dictatorial
powers (an honor that had been bestowed on him in other countries). By the latter half of
1824, he and his lieutenant, Antonio José de Sucre, had routed the Spanish in decisive
battles at Junín and Ayacucho. The revolutionaries had faced staggering odds, but nonethe-
less managed to capture the viceroy and negotiate a surrender. As part of the deal, the
Spanish would retire all of their forces from Peru and Bolivia.
