Viceroyalty of Peru

After establishing the capital Lima in 1535 by Francisco Pizarro and Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, the region of Peru suffered internal power struggles between many of the Conquistadors. To end the internal conflict, King Charles I by royal decree, signed the New Laws which established the Kingdom of Peru, which would encompass most of South America, setting Blasco Núñez Vela as the first Viceroy. Peru would greatly contribute to the wealth of the region and to Spain, with the discovery of gold, silver, and mercury. Cerro Rico in Potosí became the largest silver mine in the world, which made Peru the greatest distributor of silver. Reforms carried out by Viceroy Francisco de Toledo greatly changed the political administration in South America and the economy, which also led to the exploitation of the indigenous peoples. These reforms would lead to many uprisings which aimed to overthrow Spanish control.

The Spanish did not resist the Portuguese expansion of Brazil across the meridian established by the Treaty of Tordesillas. The treaty was rendered meaningless between 1580 and 1640 while Spain controlled Portugal. The creation during the 18th century of the Viceroyalties of New Granada and Río de la Plata (at the expense of Peru's territory) reduced the importance of Lima and shifted the lucrative Andean trade to Buenos Aires, while the fall of the mining and textile production accelerated the progressive decay of the Viceroyalty of Peru. Despite territorial losses, at the beginning of the 19th century, the Viceroyalty of Peru was still the main possession of the Spanish Monarchy in South America, being one of its main sources of wealth. However, by the end of the viceregal period, almost eighty percent of all American wealth came from the Viceroyalty of New Spain.

The Spanish American wars of independence brought an end to the Viceroyalty of Peru. From the outset of the conflict, the viceroyalty maintained its commitment to the integrity of the Spanish Monarchy, sending expeditions to suppress the insurgent governing juntas that formed in its border territories. During this first stage, beginning in 1810, Peruvian conspiracies and autonomous uprisings occurred, which were suppressed by the Royal Army of Peru. In 1820, mutiny of the troops being sent from Spain halted reinforcements to the Viceroyalty.

The Capitulation of Ayacucho, signed on December 9, 1824, marked the end of the royalist military effort, by which the viceregal authorities recognized their defeat and the independence of Peru, as well as Chile, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina, at one point or another had constituted the Viceroyalty of Peru. However, isolated and without support, the last royalist strongholds, such as the Real Felipe Fortress in Callao and the Chiloé Archipelago, would finally fall in 1826.

History

Conquest of Peru

Francisco Pizarro and the conquistadors arrived in Peru in 1532, establishing the first city of San Miguel de Piura. Traditionally, the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire is considered to have begun on November 16, 1532, when the Inca army encountered the Spanish conquistadors in Cajamarca, shortly after the end of the civil war between the two heirs to the Inca throne, Huáscar and Atahualpa (sons of the Inca Huayna Capac). After the Battle of Cajamarca, Atahualpa was taken prisoner by the Spanish and executed months later, on July 26, 1533, and the conquest of Peru began.

The complete defeat of the Incas would not occur until 1572, thanks to the help of their indigenous allies. Charles V granted the conquistadors with adelantados, giving them the right to become governors and justices of the region they conquered. Prior to the establishment of the Viceroyalty of Peru, several major governorates formed from these grants, including the Governorate of New Castile (1529), Governorate of New Toledo (1534), Governorate of New Andalusia (1534), and Province of Tierra Firme (1539). However, many civil wars were fought between the conquerors of Peru regarding power of the region. These struggles lasted from 1537 to 1554, with periods of relative peace. They began with the capture of Cusco by Diego de Almagro and culminated with the suppression of the last rebellion of encomenderos, led by Francisco Hernández Girón. Shortly thereafter, Andrés Hurtado de Mendoza initiated the definitive pacification of Peru.

Creation of the Viceroyalty

During the process that led to the fall of the Inca Empire, a conflict erupted among the conquistadors. To bring it to a close, on 20 November 1542 , King Charles I of Spain signed the New Laws in Barcelona by Royal Decree. This legislative package for the Indies established the Viceroyalty of Peru, officially the Kingdom of Peru, replacing the former governorships of New Castile and New Toledo, and transferred the seat of the Royal Audiencia of Panama to Lima, the capital of the new viceroyalty.

Blasco Núñez Vela was Peru's first viceroy, appointed by royal decree on 1 March 1543. However, he was unable to exercise royal authority due to the clashes between the supporters of Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro, for control of Peru, and he was assassinated by Gonzalo Pizarro. The murder of the king's highest authority caused great consternation in Spain; the Crown resolved to severely punish whoever had attempted to assassinate the viceroy, the king's representative in conquered territories. To this end, Charles I sent Pedro de la Gasca with the title of Pacifier to resolve the situation. Once in Peru, La Gasca, confident that he had sown the seeds of treachery among Gonzalo Pizarro's supporters, confronted the conquistador near Cusco in 1548. Gonzalo Pizarro saw his captains defect to La Gasca's side, and his defeat was crushing. Taken to Cusco, he was executed for high treason against the king. A few years later, in 1551, Antonio de Mendoza was appointed viceroy, after having served in that position in the Viceroyalty of New Spain.

Toledo Reforms (1559–1581)

After almost forty years of administrative disorder, the Peruvian Viceroyalty found an efficient leader in Viceroy Francisco de Toledo, who, between 1569 and 1581, managed to establish the political-administrative framework that governed for many years in viceregal Peru.

Upon arriving in Peru, Francisco Álvarez de Toledo immediately gathered information about everything that had transpired in the viceroyalty and the policies implemented up to that point. He recognized the lack of an adequate tax system, as there was no record of the viceroyalty's total population. Francisco de Toledo, "one of the great administrators of human times," established the Inquisition in the viceroyalty and promulgated laws that applied to Indians and Spanish alike, breaking the power of the encomenderos and reducing the old system of mita (the Incan system of mandatory labor tribute). He personally conducted several extensive general inspections of different parts of the viceroyalty, and for the first time, a record was kept of Peru's human and natural resources. After determining the number of potential taxpayers, he established the reducciones, indigenous settlements where approximately five hundred families were grouped together. This allowed for a precise understanding of the amount of tribute they were required to pay.

Viceroy Francisco de Toledo promoted the distribution of indigenous labor through the Mita system. This system provided labor for the rich mines of Potosí, in the province of Charcas, which produced immense quantities of silver ore, and for Huancavelica, from which mercury was extracted, necessary for silver refining. This system helped to make Peru one of the most important silver-producing centers in the world. He also improved the defensibility of the viceroyalty with fortifications, bridges, and la Armada del Mar del Sur (the Southern Fleet) against pirates. He ended the indigenous Neo-Inca State in Vilcabamba, executing the last Sapa Inca Túpac Amaru, and promoted economic development from the commercial monopoly and mineral extraction, mainly from silver mines in Potosí.

Exploration and settlement

The Amazon Basin and some large adjoining regions had been considered Spanish territory since the Treaty of Tordesillas and explorations such as that by Francisco de Orellana, but Portugal fell under Spanish control between 1580 and 1640. During this time, Portuguese territories in Brazil were controlled by the Spanish crown, which did object to the spread of Portuguese settlement into parts of the Amazon Basin that the treaty had awarded to Spain. Still, Luis Jerónimo de Cabrera, 4th Count of Chinchón sent out a third expedition to explore the Amazon River, under Cristóbal de Acuña; this was part of the return leg of the expedition of Pedro Teixeira.

Some Pacific islands and archipelagoes were visited by Spanish ships in the sixteenth century, but they made no effort to trade with or colonize them. These included New Guinea (by Ýñigo Ortiz de Retez in 1545), the Solomon Islands (in 1568), and the Marquesas Islands (in 1595) by Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira.

The first Jesuit reduction to Christianize the indigenous population was founded in 1609, but some areas occupied by Brazilians as bandeirantes gradually extended their activities through much of the basin and adjoining Mato Grosso in the 17th and 18th centuries. These groups had the advantage of remote geography and river access from the mouth of the Amazon, which was in Portuguese territory. Meanwhile, the Spanish were barred by their laws from enslaving indigenous people, leaving them without a commercial interest deep in the interior of the basin.

A famous attack upon a Spanish mission in 1628 resulted in the enslavement of 60,000 indigenous people. As time passed, they were used as a self-funding occupation force by the Portuguese authorities in what was effectively a low-level war of territorial conquest.

In 1617, viceroy Francisco de Borja y Aragón divided the government of Río de la Plata in two, Buenos Aires and Paraguay, both dependencies of the Viceroyalty of Peru. He established the Tribunal del Consulado, a court and administrative body for commercial affairs in the viceroyalty. Diego Fernández de Córdoba, Marquis of Guadalcázar, reformed the fiscal system and stopped the interfamily rivalry that was bloodying the domain.

Other viceroys, such as Fernando Torres, Fernández de Cabrera, and Fernández Córdoba expanded the royal navy and fortified the ports to resist foreign incursions, such as those led by privateer Thomas Cavendish. Fernández de Cabrera also suppressed an insurrection of the Uru and Mapuche Indians.

Economic boom

Between 1580 and 1650, the mercantilist economic system was definitively established in Peru with the emergence of large-scale mining thanks to the exploitation of the silver veins of Potosí through amalgamation with the mercury from Huancavelica.

The balance between the economic agents of Huancavelica was going through a delicate juncture at the beginning of 1660. To help the mercury miners, the viceroy Luis Enríquez de Guzmán and the Count of Santisteban, sent them a substantial aid of 232,000 pesos, but the person in charge of its management, the corregidor Tomás Berjón de Caviedes, did not know how to distribute it as expected; the money was lost in an intricate labyrinth of miners, merchants, and Crown employees, and it took almost two decades to clarify what had happened.

In military terms, the Viceroyalty of Peru financed and provided military support, through the royal subsidy and the dispatch of soldiers and supplies from Peru, to the campaigns against the Mapuche in the Arauco War, which extended throughout much of the viceregal period. In 1662 alone, 950 soldiers and 300,000 pesos were sent for war expenses. Similarly, the general directives for conducting the campaign originated from the Peruvian Viceroyalty, such as the one sent by Viceroy Francisco de Borja y Aragón ordering a defensive war against the Native Americans and prohibiting their personal service.

The last Spanish Habsburgs (1643–1713)

Viceroys had to protect the Pacific coast from French contraband and English and Dutch pirates and privateers. They expanded the naval forces, fortified the ports of Valdivia, Valparaíso, Arica and Callao and constructed city walls in Lima and Trujillo. Nevertheless, the famous Welsh privateer Henry Morgan took Chagres and captured and sacked the city of Panama in the early part of 1670. Also Peruvian forces repelled the attacks by Edward David in 1684 and 1686, Charles Wager and Thomas Colb in 1708. The Peace of Utrecht allowed the British to send ships and merchandise to the fair at Portobello.

In this period, revolts were common. Around 1656, Pedro Bohórquez crowned himself Inca (emperor) of the Calchaquí Indians, inciting the indigenous population to revolt. From 1665 until 1668, the rich mineowners José and Gaspar Salcedo revolted against the colonial government. The clergy were opposed to the nomination of prelates from Spain. Viceroy Diego Ladrón de Guevara had to take measures against an uprising of slaves at the hacienda of Huachipa de Lima. There were terrible earthquakes in 1656 and 1687, along with epidemics, too.

During Baltasar de la Cueva Enríquez's administration, the laws of the Indies were compiled. Diego de Benavides y de la Cueva issued the Ordenanza de Obrajes (Ordenance of Manufactures) in 1664 and Pedro Álvarez de Toledo y Leiva introduced the papel sellado (literally, sealed paper). In 1683 Melchor de Navarra y Rocafull reestablished the Lima mint, which had been closed since 1572. Viceroy Diego Ladrón de Guevara increased the production of silver in the mines of Potosí, and stimulated production in other mines at San Nicolás, Cajatambo and Huancavelica. He limited the manufacture of aguardiente from sugar cane to authorized factories, which he taxed heavily.

The Churches of Los Desamparados (1672), La Buena Muerte and the convent of Mínimos de San Francisco de Paula were finished and opened. The Hospital of Espiritu Santo in Lima and San Bartolomé hospital were built. By the end of the 16th and 17th century, the Viceroyalty of Peru became an economically welcoming place for immigrants.

The Bourbon Reforms (1713–1806)

In 1717, the Viceroyalty of New Granada was created from the northern territories, the Audiencias of Bogotá, Quito and Panama. This viceroyalty initially lasted only until 1724, but was reestablished permanently in 1740. With the creation of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata from southern areas that are now Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay in 1776, the Charcas and Buenos Aires audiencias were similarly lost. These losses of territory meant the loss of prominence of the Viceroyalty of Peru as the economic center of Spain in South America, although it continued to be the most valuable asset of the Crown, due to its political, social and cultural power.

The 256-year-old Treaty of Tordesillas was superseded by the 1750 Treaty of Madrid which granted Portugal control of the lands it had occupied in South America in the intervening centuries. This Portuguese occupation led to the Guaraní War of 1756. Amazonas is named after the Amazon River, and was formerly part of the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru, a region called Spanish Guyana. It was settled by the Portuguese in the early 18th century and incorporated into the Portuguese Empire after the Treaty of Madrid in 1750. It became a state of the Brazilian Republic in 1889.

Several viceroys had scientific, political and economic impact on the Viceroyalty. Manuel de Amat y Juniet organized an expedition to Tahiti. Viceroy Teodoro de Croix also decentralized the government through the creation of eight intendencias in the area of the Audiencia of Lima, and two in the Captaincy General of Chile. Francisco Gil de Taboada reincorporated the region of Puno into the Viceroyalty of Peru. José de Armendáriz stimulated the production of silver and took steps against fraud, corruption and smuggling. Amat y Juniet established the first Regulation of Commerce and Organization of Customs rules, which led to the building of the customshouse in Callao. Teodoro de Croix collaborated in the creation of the Junta Superior de Comercio and the Tribunal de Minería (1786).

War between Spain and Britain again broke out, the War of Jenkins' Ear, taking place from 1739–1748. The port of Paita was captured and burned by British Admiral, George Anson, in 1741. His fleet would continue to attack the Viceroyalty along the coast of modern-day Chile and Peru. Amat y Juniet constructed the fortress of Real Felipe Fortress in Callao in 1774 in response.

An earthquake demolished Lima and Callao, in 1746. Viceroy Amat y Juniet constructed various public works in Lima, including the first bull ring. Manuel de Guirior also improved the medical care at ten hospitals in Lima and established a foundling home. The city of Lima, once the main city of South America and possessing a courtly and commercial life comparable to that of Madrid itself, lost much of its former wealth in the second half of the 18th century. This was compounded by the continued depletion of the rich silver deposits of Potosí, which had sustained the viceroyalty's economy for two centuries, until the entire territory of Charcas, also known as Upper Peru (present-day Bolivia), was united with the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata in 1776. The last years of that century, while generating a more efficient administration and better management of the viceroyalty's resources for the benefit of Spain, showed a serious decline in the overall wealth of the Peruvian Viceroyalty.

The expulsion of the Jesuits in 1768 led to the near abandonment of the territory of the General Command of Maynas, belonging to the Viceroyalty of New Granada, due to its difficult access. This caused the Crown to fear its loss because of the Portuguese expansionist policies in the Amazon basin. The king commissioned the former governor of Maynas, Francisco Requena, to prepare a report on the situation in the territory. Requena reported that the civil and ecclesiastical officials of Quito and Bogotá were unable to manage the region, and therefore suggested that it be reincorporated into the Viceroyalty of Peru along with the Government of Quijos, and that a missionary bishopric be established there.

The indigenous rebellions of the 18th century, which numbered over a hundred in the territory of the viceroyalty, were framed by the revival of Andean culture, especially the messianic ideals prevalent in the popular mindset that "the return of the Inca would bring about a better future", based on the Inkarri legend. This idea was clearly seen in the rebellion of Juan Santos Atahualpa in the central jungle in 1742, who incited the indigenous people to rebel against the Franciscan missions in the area. It was then that the viceroyalty began to militarize, and the viceroys prepared to face the difficult times of independence.

The implementation of reforms in the Americas was carried out through general inspections. José Antonio de Areche was sent to Peru as the "inspector ." He quickly tackled the fiscal problem and raised the sales tax to 6%. He established internal customs offices to increase revenue and had to contend with the discontent of almost the entire population, especially when the curaca Túpac Amaru II, a descendant of the Incas of Vilcabamba, began the Rebellion of Túpac Amaru II in 1780, which began the largest uprising in Spanish colonial America. The rebellion, which cooperated of the rebellions of Túpac Katari and Tomás Katari, lasted until 1783 and extended throughout the Viceroyalty, from Peru to Upper Peru and northern Argentina, involving the death of over 100,000 people. The rebellion severely affected royalists affiliation towards Spain to the upcoming War of Independence, and led to the destruction of the kuraka and corregidor system and increased security on the indigenous peoples.

End of the Viceroyalty (1806–1824)

Viceroy José Fernando de Abascal y Sousa promoted educational reforms, reorganized the army, and stamped out local rebellions. During his administration, the Inquisition of Lima was temporarily abolished as a result of the reforms taken by the Cortes in Spain.

From the beginning of the 19th century, revolutionary uprisings erupted in Spanish America. Viceroy José Fernando de Abascal y Sousa made the Viceroyalty of Peru the stronghold, redoubt, and center of the counter-revolution in favor of the monarchy; from this viceroyalty, the advance of the Argentine War of Independence was contained, Chile was reconquered, and the uprisings in Quito were suppressed. All revolutionary attempts, particularly the Cuzco Rebellion of 1814, and any manifestation of independence movements within the viceroyalty itself were also repressed. However, Guayaquil proclaimed itself an independent state in 1820 and received support from Gran Colombia under General Simón Bolívar.

Abascal reincorporated the provinces of Córdoba, Potosí, La Paz, Charcas, Rancagua and Quito into the Viceroyalty of Peru. The Royal Army of Peru during 14 years defeated the patriots armies of Argentinians and Chileans, turning Peru into the last royal bastion in South America. Additionally, in 1812, a large fire in Guayaquil destroyed approximately half of the city.

Lord Cochrane unsuccessfully attacked Guayaquil and Callao, but on 4 February he captured Valdivia, called at the time The Key of the South Seas and the Gibraltar of the Pacific, due to its huge fortifications. The viceroyalty managed to defend Chiloé Island until 1826.

On September 8, 1820, the Expedición Libertadora of Peru, organized mainly by the Chilean government with the objective of executing previous plans laid out by Argentine libertador José de San Martín, landed on the beach at Paracas Bay near the city of Pisco, with the land army under the command of José de San Martín and the navy under the command of Thomas Cochrane. After Cochrane's navy defeated the Spanish navy on the Peruvian coasts, the expedition secured the surrender of Callao. After fruitless negotiations with the viceroy, the expedition occupied the Peruvian capital of Lima on July 21, 1821. The independence of Peru was proclaimed on July 28, 1821. Viceroy José de la Serna e Hinojosa, still in command of a sizable military force, retired to Jauja, and later to Cusco.

On July 26, 1822, San Martín and Simón Bolívar met in Guayaquil to define a strategy for the liberation of the rest of Peru. The meeting was secret, and exactly what occurred is not known. However, afterwards San Martín returned to Argentina while Bolívar prepared to launch an offensive against the remaining royalist forces in Peru and Upper Peru (modern-day Bolivia). In September 1823 Bolívar arrived in Lima with Antonio José de Sucre to plan the offensive.

In February 1824 the royalists briefly regained control of Lima. Olañeta's Rebellion started by surprise and the entire royalist army of Upper Peru (today's Bolivia) revolted, led by the royalist commander Pedro Antonio Olañeta against José de la Serna, the liberal viceroy of Peru. This broke the royal army and started a civil war in Upper Peru. Having regrouped in Trujillo, Bolívar in June led his rebel forces South to confront the Spanish under Field Marshal José de Canterac. The two armies met on the plains of Junín on August 6, 1824, and the Peruvians were victorious in a battle fought entirely without firearms. The Spanish troops subsequently evacuated Lima for a second time. As a result of a decree of the Congress of Gran Colombia, Bolívar turned over command of the rebel troops to Sucre on October 7, 1824.

At this point, royalist control was reduced to Cusco in the south-central highlands. The viceroy launched a counter-offensive over Ayacucho, and on 9 December 1824. The Battle of Ayacucho (also known as the Battle of La Quinua), took place between royalist Spanish and nationalist (republican) troops at Pampa de La Quinua, a few kilometers away from Ayacucho, near the town of Quinua.

This battle, led by Bolívar's lieutenant Antonio José de Sucre, sealed the independence of Peru and South America. During this battle, the losing Spanish army sustained 2,000 dead and wounded and lost 3,000 prisoners, with the remainder of the army entirely dispersed. During the battle, Viceroy Serna was wounded and taken prisoner, where he signed the final capitulation whereby the Spaniards agreed to leave Peru. Serna was released soon afterwards and sailed for Europe.

Spain made futile attempts to retain its former territories, such as at the Siege of Callao (1826), but after death of King Ferdinand VII of Spain in 1836, the government of Spain renounced its territorial and sovereignty claims over all of continental America. In 1867, Spain signed a peace treaty with Peru and in 1879 it signed a treaty recognizing Peru's independence.