Peruvian Struggle for Independence
The nation now known as Peru has a long history, which begins before the arrival of the Europeans to the New World. The geography of the land, as always, played a major role in the development of the new nation. The indigenous peoples molded their existence according to the land, and the conquistadors from Spain would have to deal with the often times treacherous terrain in many parts of Peru. Political upheaval and dissatisfaction would give way to a new form of rule in Peru, but the struggle would be long and bloody and often times uncertain of the direction in which the forming nation was to turn. The movement towards independence was not a cohesive movement but instead fragmented. How then did Peru come to be an independent nation?When discussing Peru one must discuss the unique geography within this nation's boundaries. The fourth largest country in size in Latin America, ranking after Brazil, Argentina and Mexico, Peru encompasses approximately one half million square miles of land. Within this vast stretch of real estate, Peru is divided into three regions; the Sierra, the Montaņa, and the Costa.1 Half of Peru's current population resides in the Sierra, which is also called the Andean Highlands. This region incl
hip and cohesion to challenge these changes for a while. The mere presence of well-trained troops prevented the organization of a similar rebellion to that of Amaru. Werlich, David P. Peru, A Short History. Southern Illinois University Press, London and Amsterdam; 1978. s the practice of using Indian labor as a form of government tax. A certain number of the natives had to be sent off to work at prescribed job sites outlined by the government; usually mining silver or working haciendas or other such tasks. The length of time typically turned out to be 3 to 6 months of work. This uprising sparked reforms from the crown in Europe, which were not necessarily an attempt to appease Peruvian grievances. Peruvians were not too enthusiastic about the idea of Bolivar's apparent rise of an Andean Federation9. The presence of Colombian troops in Peru created resentment; however, Bolivar was elected president in 1826. Political strife requiring the presence of Bolivar in the north prevented him from serving more than one month as president and Bolivar appointed General Andres Santa Cruz to replace him. Santa Cruz was the rival to Agustin Gamarra, a man whom Bolivar promoted to General after the battle of Ayacucho and also placed in charge as the first prefect of Cuzco. Santa Cruz and Gamarra would create "the complete history of Peru from 1820 until 1841; there is not a single page and perhaps even a single scene in which these two do not appear"10. Walker, Charles F. Smoldering Ashes, Cuzco and the Creation of Republican Peru. Duke University Press, Durham, NC and London; 1999. rding to the Consultado in Lima, when Spain re-organized the viceroyalty in South America. Through Bourbon reforms the viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata was formed and the area known as Upper Peru (today Bolivia) became part of this new territory, with Buenos Aires as its capital. The trade that had been generated from Upper Peru now moved through Buenos Aires and consequently set Lima, as a trading port, in motion to decline. Amidst the gloomy forecast of the already sluggish Peruvian economy, many merchants began to consider the ideas of free market activity that had already begun to work itself into the scheme of other Latin American countries. www.Peru.com, March 30- April 12 2001 hose aim was to rid the Spanish yoke over South America in order to guarantee peace and hegemony in their respective lands. Peru was the bastion of Spanish rule until finally broken by two men, San Martin and Simon Bolivar. These two liberators almost dual handedly expunged Spain's grasp over the colonies in South America and in the process forged a new country known as Peru. The throne of Spain wanted to consolidate its hold on the Peruvian estate by demobilizing the Creole and Mestizo populace, change out the corrupted leadership of the corrigedores and set up more permanent garrisons, with better trained regular soldiers. After 1784, militias were restricted to the coastal areas. In contrast to other nations in the Americas, the regular army in Peru was positioned to be dispatched not against outside forces, but against the lower class rebellion threat within it's own borders.5 The appeasement of the Amaru uprising by these policy changes actually may have e
Some common words found in the essay are:
Buenos Aires, Rafael Carrera, Cuzco Creoles, Furthermore Amaru, San Martin, Creole Mestizo, Andean Highlands, Peru Political, Crown Viceroyalty, Costa Costa, san martin, santa cruz, buenos aires, upper peru, la serna, university press, south america, vice regal government, amaru uprising, climate region, real threat, movement towards independence,
Approximate Word count = 2199
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
