The end of Peru-Bolivia

From 1836-1839, the union of Peru and Bolivia was seen as a confederation. This occurrence came from the Andres Santa Cruz, Bolivia’s dictator, helping a rebellion against Peruvian president Luis Jose de Orbegoso in 1835. Santa Cruz divided Peru and declared the northern region to be Orbegoso’s and Ramon Herrera’s the south. This division followed to be a confederation given that the divided Peruvian states were joined to Bolivia.

On March 16, 1837 the United States recognized the Peru-Bolivian confederation. Great Britain also followed, yet other South American countries opposed the power of this “new state.” A year prior to the recognition of Peru-Bolivia, Chilean and Peruvian strained relations began one of the first fights between the confederation and other South American Countries like Argentina. Moreover, within Peru-Bolivia there were dislikes to Santa Cruz and his state. As a result, the Chileans, were supported by Peruvians against Santa Cruz and under Manuel Bulnes defeated the Confederation. This event was known as the Battle of Yungay. The battle’s repercussion included the Peru-Bolivia confederation end, and the exile of Santa Cruz. Whilts, attempts of Bolivian subjugation to Peru were made, this period of conflict ended in 1941 in the battle where Peru’s new president, Agustin Gamarra died.

Peru-Bolivia gives an insight to the disorder and conflicts brought by the newly found Latin American Independence. For this reason, one could consider the postcolonial blues of Bolivia and Peru, the event of this confederation.

Work Cited

Kuipers, Ludo. “Flags from Bolivia.” OzOutback. Accessed May 1, 2021. https://ozoutback.com.au/Bolivia/flags/index.html. 

U.S. Department of State. U.S. Department of State. Accessed May 1, 2021. https://history.state.gov/countries/bolivia. 

Wittum, Caleb Garret. “The Chasquis of Liberty: Revolutionary Messengers in the Bolivian Independence Era, 1808-1825.” University of South Carolina Scholar Commons. University of South Carolina. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6836&context=etd.