Nineteenth-Century Latin America Series

General Editor Eduardo Posada-Carbo.

The Institute's Nineteenth-Century Latin America series results from theannual workshop on nineteenth-century Latin American history held atthe Institute, and is aimed at encouraging the study of various aspects ofwhat has largely been a neglected period in the modern historiography ofthe region.

Publications in the Series

I Wars, Parties and Nationalism: Essays on the Politics andSociety ofNineteenth-Century Latin America

Eduardo Posada-Carbo (cd.) - 1995 (our of print).

2 In Search ofa New Order: Essays on the Politics andSociety ofNineteenth-Century Latin AmericaEduardo Posada-Carbo (ed.) - 1998

3 Independence and Revolution in Spanish America:Perspectives and Problems

Anthony McFarlane and Eduardo Posada-Carbo (eds) - 1999

4 judicial Institutions in Nineteenth-Century Latin AmericaEduardo Zimmermann (ed.) - 1999

The Politics ofReligion in an Age ofRevivalAusten Ivereigh (cd.) - 2000

6 Rumours ofWars: Civil Conflict inNineteenth-Century Latin America

Rebecca Eade (cd.) - 2000

Institute of Latin American StudiesSchool of Advanced Study

University of London

The European Revolutions of 1848and the Americas

Edited by

Guy Thomson

Institute of Latin American Studies

LONDON

Esto equivale a afirmar:1) Que esos episodios fueron mas importantes en su momento que 10

que nos han mostrado los autores recien aludidos, pero, paradojalmente,no algunos de liberales del siglo XIX, que los vivieron y tambien hicieronsu historia. Ademas de Vicuna Mackenna, Barros Arana e incluso literatoscoma Blest Gana 0 Daniel Riquelme, les concedieron mucha importancia.

2) Que dejaron un legado ideol6gico en la forma de un fortalecimi­ento del pensamiento 0, mejor dicho, una vision del mundo racionalista,liberal y progresivamente laicizante. Desde entonces, la idea de moderni­zar Chile adquirio dimensiones mucho mas vastas que el mero desarrolloeconomico y educacional coma fue concebida en los decenios de laRepublica Autoritaria (pelucona).

3) Que esta herencia se acrisolo - mas que entre los sectores populares- fundamentalmente entre grupos de clase media y de la alta burguesia 'deorigen no hispano' que se estaba consolidando y enriqueciendo entonces.Entre estos hombres nacieron y se consolidaron nuevas formas de socia­bilidad que tal coma habia sucedido en Europa, eran el correlato naturalde esa cultura 0 vision de mundo que hemos mencionado en el puntoanterior.

No parece coincidencia que tres de estas nuevas formas de sociabi­lidad, la Sociedad de la Igualdad, la Masonerfa y eI Cuerpo de BomberosVoluntarios nacieron el ano de 1850. Eso indica su vinculo directo 0

indirecto, pero indudable, con el espiritu del '48', que llego Chile desfasado,pero ya aqui, ayud6 a debilitar, hasta poner en jaque, a la Republicaautoritaria, que estaba experimentando (y siempre habia experimentado)tensiones. Su quiebre se harfa definitivo despues de ,870.

4) Que, en terminos generales, los hombres de la oligarquia tradi­cional y la nueva burguesia, que en su juventud participaron elllamado'48' chileno, llegaron, muchos de ellos, a ocupar los mas altos cargospublicos de la institucionalidad chilena; constituyendose en una verda­dera 'generacion' que transformo al Chile peluc6n en el liberal de lasegunda mitad del siglo XIX. .

5) Que las nuevas formas de sociabilidad que los agruparon; jerarqui­zadas y estructuradas en forma de una red de nucleos que progresiva­mente fue cubriendo el territorio nacional, cobraron extraordinariaimportancia entre el elemento burgues masculino chileno de la epoca ydecadas posteriores, cumpliendo una funci6n de pedagogia politico socialmodernizadora hasta el punto de influir decisivamente en eldesenvolvimiento historico del pais.

6) Que, de este modo, el proceso recien descrito constituye, indir­ectamente, uno de los pilares historicos del siglo XX chileno en suscaracteristicas polfticas, sociales y culturales.

'9° The European Revolutions ofI848 and the Americas

8

The Influence of the European 1848 Revolutionsin Peru'

NATALIA SOBREVILLA PEREA

A lthough in Peru there was no 'Cuarentaiocho', the ideas of 1848fuelled an already vigorous debate between liberals and conservatives

and were important in giving ideological support to the 1854 revolutionthat abolished both slavery and the Indian tribute.' As in the other LatinAmerican cases presented in this collection, the press, artisans and intel­lectuals played an important part in the diffusion of the new ideas importedfrom abroad. This chapter explores the impact of European ideas onideological debate in mid-nineteenth century Peru, and how ideas weretransmitted through the press, both in Lima and the provinces. Speci­fically, the chapter will analyse the 'democratisation' of politics - theparticipation of artisans and the appearance of the first organised politicalparty - in the presidential campaign of ,850, and assess how the quarantehuitard spirit influenced both the 1854 revolution liberal constitution of1856.

Peru in the nineteenth century is mostly known for its economichistory. The wealth that originated from guano, the bird dropping fertiliser,and how it was used and abused by the governing caudillos and elite, has~ttraete~ the attention of specialists. Until the 1990S, the politics andl~eologlCal debates of the period, and the important social changes ofnIneteenth-century Peru, had escaped modern historiography. This haschanged with a growing body of work looking at the national question,tribute, Indians and regional studies. 2 Compared to the more conspicuous

• This chaprer owes much to rhe comments of my colleagues in Lima and London,especially rhe editor, Guy Thomson, and rhe series ediwr, Eduardo l'osada-Carb6.

I In rhe 1920S, Jorge Guillermo Leguia wrote a seminal work on liberalism, andpublished an essay, 'Las ideas de 1848 en eI Peru,' in Estudios Historicos (Santiago,1939), pp. II3-44-

2 Recent regional studies include Sarah Chambers, From Subjects to Citizem, Honor.Gender. and Politics in Arequipa Peru, 17S(}-1SS4 (Philadelphia, 1999), and CharlesWalker, Smoldering Ashes, Cuzco and the Creation of Republican Peru, 17S(}-IS40(Durham, NC, 1999).

4 Paul Gootenberg, 'North-South: Trade Policy, Regionalism and Caudillismo inPost·lndependence Peru,' Journal ofLatin American StudieJ', vo!. 23, (1991), p. 303.

5 Peter Blanchard, 'The "Transitional Man" in Nine[eeIHh-Cenrury Latin America:The Case of Domingo Elias of Peru,' Bulletin ofLatin American Research, vo!. 15,(1996), p. 16I.

6 Michael Coste!oe, The Central Republic in Jvlexico, 18J)-[846: HombreJ tie Bien in theAge ofSanta Ana (Cambridge, 1993).

7 lorge Basadre 'Los hombres de traje negro,' Letriu, (Lima, (929), vo!. I, pp. 29-59.8 Fredrick Pike, 'Heresy, Real and Alleged in Peru: An Aspect ofC:onservative-l.iberal

Struggle, 183°-1875,' HiJpanic Amerimn HiJ"tl}riml Review, vol. 47, (19°7), pp. 54-5.

of the country remained restless, becoming a centre for Liberal conspiracy.Gamarra's chief aim in his second term was to annex Bolivia so as toensure Santa Cruz would never return to power. [n this endeavour he methis death in the battle of Ingavi, outside La Paz, in 1841. The Peruvianstate then disintegrated as rival regional caudillos competed for power.4

With the invasion of Bolivian troops the period known as the 'Anarchy'began. This lasted for more than three years, after which Raman Castilla,hero of both the campaign against the Spaniards and the Peru-BoliviaConfederation, defeated the forces of Manuellgnacio de Vivanco, the selfappointed Director of the country.

Returning to the 1839 Huancayo Charter, but without alienating theLiberals, Castilla emerged to revalidate Gamarra's legacy. Aided by therevenue generated by the export of guano to Great Britain, Castilla wasable to restore Peru's credit-worthiness and consolidate the country, aftermore than three decades of uncertainty and revolt.

193The Influence o/the European 1848 Revolutions in Peru

The Ideological Debate

Caudillos have often been seen as the only important forces operating inpost-independence hispanic America. However, as Paul Gootenbergreminds us, they did not operate in a vacuum: 'high-ranking figuresinfluenced and even determined government policy from the time ofindependence'.5 Described as hombres de bien6 or hombres de traje negro,7these men dominated the political debate as well as the middle and upperechelons of the government, which were split between liberals andconservatives. The death of Gamarra brought the rise of a Conservativewho was to dominate Peruvian politics for the next quarter of a century;Bartolome Herrera. Born in Lima in 1805, orphaned at the age of five,Herrera was raised by his uncle, a priest who provided him with the besteducation available. By the age of twenty he was a doctor in both law andtheology and soon after became a priest.s He lived in relative obscurity inhis parish of Lurin until 1842, when Francisco Vidal, the caudillo whobriefly held power before Vivanco, met him en route to Lima and became

3 Heraclio Bonilla, 'Peru and Bolivia from Independence (Q the Wat of the Pacific,' inLeslie Bethcll, Cambridge History of Latin America (Cambridge, 1985), vo!. Ill, p.248. Also significant is the Bolivian populat mobilisation known as 'the republic ofartisans', during the presidency of Manudl. Belzu (1848-1855), about which linlc yethas been wrinen.

The European Revolutions 0/1848 and the Americas

impact of the European Revolutions of1848 in north-eastern Brazil, Chileand New Granada, events in Peru do not seem as tightly linked. Yet,when these are examined more closely, it is evident that the ideas and newforms of political association accompanying the 'springtime of the people',and the sheer feeling that the world was changing, had a marked impactin Peru. These currents benefited Peru's Liberals, who gained importantpolitical victories between 1846 and 1856. The encouragement Liberalsderived from events in Europe also made Peru's Conservatives morecertain of the threat they were fighting against.

Peruvian independence from Spain was a protracted affair. The firstrebellions in 1812 in the south, sparked by Argentine influence, weredefeated by a strong viceroy who possessed the largest Spanish garrison ofthe continent. Peru became the centre of Spanish resistance until 182Iwhen General Jose de San Martin declared independence. The Royalistsmoved the viceregal government to highland Cuzco and fighting con­tinued. Lima was twice retaken and final victory was only attained withthe capitulation of the Spanish to BoHvar's forces after the Battle ofAyacucho in 1824.

The post-independence period was one of instability. BoHvar failed inhis attempt to establish the Federation of the Andes under his lifelongpresidency and Peru began its campaign to achieve what it considered itshistoric boundaries, which for many included Guayaquil and Bolivia.Peru fought wars over both territories. Civil strife then engulfed the countryin anarchy. Six constitutions were promulgated between Independenceand 1836, but none managed to provide the country with a durable insti­tutional framework. l Cuzco leader, Agustin Gamarra, emerged from thisfighting as the most powerful leader in Peru. His rivalry with Andres deSanta Cruz, the strongest man in Bolivia, ensured another two decades ofwar. Both men shared the vision of uniting Peru and Bolivia into a singlestate, but whereas Gamarra thought Bolivia should be annexed to Peru,Santa Cruz believed in a confederation of equal states. Between 1837 and1839 the Bolivian leader was able to put his vision into practise and a jointstate was established. However, this provoked the opposition of Chile,Argentina and the Peruvian emigres led by Gamarra.

After the defeat of Santa Cruz, and of the liberal forces that hadsupported him in Peru, Gamarra took power for a second period, backedby the 1839 conservative Constitution of Huancayo. However, the south

9 Jorge Guillermo Legu(a, 'Don Barcolome Herrera, su labor en el Convicrorio de SanCarlos,' Estudios Historicos (SalHiago. 1939), pp. 63-100.

10 Jorge Basadre. 'Los hombres de rrajc negro'. p. 46.11 Pike, 'Heresy. Real and Alleged', p. 55.12 Ricardo Cubas Ramacciotti, 'La propuesra nacional y educariva de Barrolome

Herrera: la reforma del Convicrorio de San Carlos 1842,' unpubl. BA rhesis, PUCP.Lima 1998. pp. 55, 56.

13 Hugo Garavico Amezaga, El Peru liberal: partidos e ideas politicas de la Ilustracion a laRepliblica Aristocrdtica (Lima, 1989), p. r70. Carmen McEvoy 'Formando la Naci6n.usos y abusos del paradigma republicano,' in Carmen McEvoy (ed.), Forjando laNacion (Lima, (999), p. 208.

14 Pike. 'Heresy, Real and Alleged', pp. 58-9.15 Jorge Guillermo Legu(a, 'El Aposrolado de Vigil,' in Estudios Historicos, p. 43.

interested in his ideas.9 Herrera was invited to deliver the sermon atGamarra's funeral and used this opportunity to call for order. 1D Heconsidered the country's political instability was caused by 'the loss of thehabit of obedience among citizens', asserting that political authorityderived from God and therefore should be obeyed." The sermon broughtHerrera to the attention of Conservatives and he was appointed Rector ofthe Colegio de San Carlos, the most important state-funded school.While the political situation worsened during the 'Anarchy', Herrerareorganised the college by including his favourite French authors ­Cousin, Constant and Guizot - in the curriculum. 12 His aim was to traina new generation that would 'dry out the tears in Peru.'l)

Ever since the defeat of the monarchism of San Martin in the 1820S

Liberals had dominated political debate, if not government. They hadwritten several constitutions. By appointing weak executives that could beled by congress, Liberals had tried, but failed, to restrict the power of thecaudillos. One of the most important exponents of liberalism in thecountry was Francisco de Paula Gonzilez Vigil. Born in Tacna in 1792,trained in the ideas of the Enlightenment at the seminary of Arequipa,

this priest was elected to congress in 1827. In 1832, Gonzilez Vigil roseagainst Gamarra's authoritarianism with what became a famous phrase: 'Imust accuse, therefore I accuse."4 During the 1840S, when most otherliberal priests had renounced their once heretical views of the state's domin­ance over the Church, Vigil dedicated himself to writing his 'Defence ofthe authority of governments and bishops against the pretensions of theRoman Curia'. The publication of the first volume 1848 earned Vigilexcommunication. Vulnerable after surviving the Roman Republic, PopePius IX is reputed to have lamented that 'Even in the land of Saint Rose, Iam persecuted."5

While the Liberal-Conservative debate dwelled mostly on the issue ofrelations between Church and state, a new group emerged to take oncaudillismo led by Domingo Elias, a rich and successful ~erchant and

r6 Blanchard, 'The "Transirional Man",' p. 168.

17 Vicror Peralla" 'El ~ico d~l Ci~dadano Armado, La "Semana Magna" y las c1eccionesde r844 en LIma, 111 Hdda Sabaro (ed.). Ciudadanf'l polftiCtl y flrmacion de IllS~aclOne~. Perspectivas hi"toricas de America Latina (Mexico CilY. 1999). pp. 231-)2.

18 Ellas HIed ro impose conditions to Caslilla and 10 be recognised as Ihe polilicalpower 111 Ihe nonh. InfOrme sobre IllS Ctlusales delftacllSo de las negociaciones entabladllSentre el Gral. Ramon Castilla y los miembro,. de la junta de Gobiemo de Jll presidenciaen ~reqlllpa, AgoslO 21 de 1844, DlO6r6 Manuscripl colleGion in Ihe BibliolecaNaclOnal (Peru). Failing al Ihis Cas[illa, Elias's chances in Ihe 1844 elec[ions dis­appeared. Peralra. 'El Miw', p. 247.

19 '[Para] evilar que sus hijos mendiguen en paises eXlraoos una mediana educaci<in', alener [() El Comercio wrinen upon [he opening of [he school on 9 Feb. 1841.

20 El ComerclO: 8 Feb. 1848, anide commenting on [he final exams presel1led in [heCollege of Guadalupe in Dee. 1847.

195The Influence ofthe European 1848 Revolutions in Peru

landowner. In 1844, in the midst of the 'Anarchy', Vivanco the'Director',had left Elfas in charge of the government of Lima while he travelled toArequipa to suppress Castilla's uprising. Blanchard observes that Elfaswas ~hosen precisely b~cause he was not a civilian without the militarybackLOg to challenge Vlvanco. 16 In spite of this, while the two caudillosprepared to fi?ht ,in th~ ~outh, Elfas pronounced against both, as expon­e~ts of authomanan mllttary tule. The Semana Magna (as this uprising inLl1na w~s called) favoured peace and civilian government. Inspired by theFrench .Idea o.f an armed ~itizenry, a National Guard organised alongocc~patl~~alltnesand barncades was established, reminiscent of the 1830Pans upnsLOg. Yet the language of fraternity was exclusive to 'the "decent"people preventing its extension to plebeian sectors.'l? Students at SanCarlos orga.nised a personal guard for Elias and the city prepared itsdefence agaLOst the forces of Jose Rufino Echenique, who threatened toreta~~ it for Vivanco. Echenique, the military commander in the region,reallslOg that the outcome of the civil war would depend on the battlebetween the two main caudillos, decided not to intervene. Elias andEchenique accepted Castilla's victory as an opportunity for peace. IS

Domingo Elias, who after these events became known as 'the man of~he people', had established the School of N uestra Senora de Guadalupe10 1841, for the education of his children and for the diffusion of liberalideas. 19 He appointed Sebastian Lorente, Spanish Liberal and doceaftisttlto direct i.t. ~mong the subjects taught were political economy, naturaian~ constitutional ~aw, c~assical. and modern history, calculus, physics,Latin, French, Engltsh, anrhmetlc and book-keeping.!l'

During the initial years of Castilla's government, Bartolome Herrerakept a low profile. But on 28 July 1846 Herrera asserted in a sermonco~~emoratingthe twenty-fifth anniversary of I ndependence that all thep'0llt~cal troubles of the Republic had been God's punishment for theImpIOUS and anti-social errors that were spread through the influence of

The European Revolutions of1848 and the Americas194

The European Revolutions of1848 and the Americas The Influence ofthe European 1848 Revolutions in Peru 197

the French Revolution'. ZI He claimed that 'the ruin of nations, as ofindividuals, is of their own making.' To prevent punishment, nationsshould respect God's will that legally constituted government be obeyed."Herrera also denied the existence of sovereignty of the people; sovereigntywas a quality possessed only by God. Vigil considered this sermon morein tune with the court of Isabel II than a commemoration the anniversaryof a free and democratic republic.'3

The sermon caused uproar in Liberal circles, prompting high courtmagistrate, Benito Laso, a well-known Liberal who had supported BoHvar,to launch a polemic in the press. He argued that, once sovereignty wastaken away from the people, an absolutist government, as in Asia or inEurope of the Dark Ages, would be established.'4 Herrera replied byinviting Laso to prove that 'the people can be sovereign in the same sensethat kings have been called sovereign'.'5 Laso then defined sovereignty,cirizenship and liberty. Although respecting his opponent for the highlevel of the debate, Herrera admitted that further argument would befruitless, as he came from another generation. Laso would simply quoteRousseau's Social Contract, and he would do the same with the newPhilosophy ofLaw by Ahrens.,6

But this was not the end of the debate. A series of anonymous articlesappeared in the press during the following three months accusing Herreraof subversion and of defending absolutism. The main complaint was thatHerrera's ideas were endorsed by the government who allowed them to betaught in San Carlos, the most important state school. Polemicists arguedthat the debate on popul~r sovereignty could have been abandoned if itwere not the principle upon which the Nation itself was founded, andthat Herrera should explain his position.'7 Finally, by the end of October1846, the Rector of San Carlos declared that 'el pueblo', defined asindividuals of all age and condition, did not have the right to make lawssince they were based on eternal principles which only those accustomedto intellectual and scientific work were able to appreciate. 'The right tomake laws belongs to the most intelligent, to the aristocracy ofknowledge,created by nature', Herrera triumphantly asserted. ,8

21 Pike, 'Heresy, Real and Alleged,' 1'.55.22 Barwlome Herrera, Escritos y diswrsos (Lima, 1929), vo!. I, p. 71.

23 Legula, 'Don Bartolome Herrera,' p. 72.

24 Beniw Lam, arricle in El Correo Peruano, 29 de Julio 1846, published in Herrera,Escritos y Diswrsos, p. [04.

25 Herrera, Escritos y discursos, p. 106.26 Herrera, Escritos y discursos, p. Il!; Garaviro Amczaga, El Peru Liberal, p. 173.

27 'Un l'arriola,' El Comercio, 24 Aug. 1846, in Herrera, Escritos y discursos, p. 119.28 Hen'era, Escritos y discursos, p. 131. f'or an analysis of his idea of cirizenship see

McEvoy, finjando la nacion, pp, 2[5-[8.

Sovereignty of the people, as against intelligence, continued to bedebated by the self appointed 'Patriots', an anonymous group opposed toHerrera and the School of San Carlos well into January 1847. Whatbecame clear and public knowledge in these six months was how theschool's curriculum had dramatically changed from the days of the Liberalreform of Toribio Rodrfguez de Mendoza (1770-18'7). Herrera stressedthe importance ofscience, specially mathematics, physics and philosophy,and the st~dy oflaw. French and English were taught alongside Latin andHerrera hImself taught philosophy following the rationalist ideas ofCousin. '9 His writings demonstrate the influence of Fran<;ois Guizot'stheory of the sovereignty of intelligence that sought a balance between~emocracy and privilege. This had been adopted by the Orleanist restora­tion afte.r the July 1~3.0 revolution. In Peru Herrera used Guizot's theoryto sustarn the tradItIonal order and to maintain elite domination ofgovernmenr. 30

I~ 1849, a year ~fter the events in Europe, Herrera was elected deputyfor LIma and preSIded over the legislative chamber that was to discusschanges to the constitution.3! The debate began in 1847 when an alliancebetween Domingo Elias and Raman Castilla had added electoral reformto a ~roposal t? reform t~e .economy. Provincial electoral colleges wouldremall1 responsl~Ie for venfYrng congressional elections, but suffrage wouldbe extended to lI1~lude all taxpayersY This issue featured prominently in~h~ 1849 con?resslOnal debate, especially a proposal to extend the vote toIlliterate IndIans and mestizos until 1860. The Rector of San Carlos usedthis ?p~ortunity to promo~e the idea of the 'sovereignty of intelligence',contrnull1g to support the Ideas of French conservatives, even after theirdefeat in the 1848 revolution. Once again he argued that those who couldnot exercise a right properly should not possess that right. He consideredthat in a community of around one hundred, where only ten could read,the votes of the ninety illiterates should be appropriated by these ten. ForHerr.er~, the only. way to b~ fair to the Indian and the mestizo was byprovldrng them WIth educatlOn.J3 Pedro Gilvez, a young graduate of San

29 L,eguia, 'Don Barrolome Herrera,' pp. 73-+ 1.egllia revised all rhe documenrs of SanCarlos and nores all rhe changes Herrera made ro rhe curiculum in his derailed toor­nores

30 francisco Garcia Calden)n, 'La evolucion de !as ideas y los hechos,' in El Pert'Contempordneo (Lima, 1980).

31 Garaviro, El Pm; liberal, p. 177.

32 Vincenr Pcloso, 'Liberals, Elecroral Reform, and rhc Popular VOle in Mid-Nincrccnrh­Cenrury Peru,' Barbara Tencnbaum and Vincenr Pe/oso (eJs,), PolitiC>' and PowerState Formation in Nineteenth-Century Latin AmeriCtl (Arhens, CA, (996), p. 194. '

33 Jorge Basadre, ElecclOneJ y centralumo en el Peru, apuntes para un e"quema hiJtorico(Lima, (980), p. 39.

The Influence o/the European 1848 Revolutions in Peru

40 El Comercio, 9 May r848.4! El Comercio, between 1848 and 18 50.

4 2 C1audia Rosas Lauro, 'Los eo)s del "48" ten C'IZC() ' Y. I .' D' 1 1'. . " . • ne JilYUlib/ HeVlS'a tu' ltl

UnlVerJld"d N"clOfJtlI Federico Villllrelll 'El regreso de la historia p"I[lica,' (Cuzco)No. 7, (March 2(00), pp. 51-7.

199

bookshop of the Gallego Perez, to exchange books, talk politics and readaloud from the main newspapers.

News of the uprisi.n~ in Sicily, carried by El Comercio on 8 April IS4S,or a lette~ from Mazzll11 to the Pope, translated entirely by George Sandand repflnted fro~ ~ L~ndon newspaper, would have been eagerlycommented upon 111 Lima s cafes. A month later, on 8 May, news of theeven~s of February 1848 in Paris reached Lima. International news~om1l1ated EL Comercio for the rest of the week. The reaction of Peru'sllbe~als ,appeared. on the following day in a letter signed by the 'truepatriots , welcom~ng the events in Paris and warning Lima to be vigilantand to hold their government accountable: 'Patriots of Peru and ofeve~here, Gl~ry. to republican France! And if any stupid dejpot shouldhumIlrate you, Imitate the sublime example of the great civilising nationof the world.'~o

After the events in Paris the share of international news increasedBetween th~ eigh.th and tenth day of each month an eagerly awaitedpackage arnved via ~anam~. On the first day a summary of the mainevents w?~ld be publIshed, 1I1terlaced with speeches by the most impor­~ant partiCipants. Letters from the main European gazettes, from Peruvians111 Eu:ope, a~ well as the debates of the Assembly in Paris, would then becombllled with articles from other parts of America. The news coverageext~nded even to detailed debate of the new French and Prussian Consti­tUtlOl~S (bo~h published in their entirety). Events in France, Italy andPrussla ~eceIved most. coverage while events in Austria, Russia, Englandand Spalll. were also followed closely. Once all the interesting news hadbeen publrshed, and before the next package had arrived, editorials wouldanalyse the Europ~an situation, summarise the year's events and print thework of the most lInportant contemporary historians. The interest on theEuropean events ~im,inished slightly during the presidential campaign inl~te 1.849 .. Yet LlIna s newspapers never ceased covering the politicalSltuatlon 111 Europe. ~I

~ews of 1848 was not confined to Lima. Liberal newspapers in thep~ovll1ces also followe~ events in Europe closely. Cuzco's vigorous presswltne,ssed the fo~ndatlOn of two new liberal papers in this period, ElDemocrata Amerzca~o,. periodico politico, literario y rnercantil in 1846 andLos Intereses del PalS 111 1848" The editors of El D '. A .. ..' ernoC/{ltll merzatnoconSidered It thetr dury to 'co-operate in the diffusion of the enlighten-

The European Revolutions 0/1848 and the Americas

34 13asadre, 'Los Hombres,' p. 42.

35 Basadre, Elecciones, p. 40.36 His speeches againsr customs in Marseilles, and on rhe liberty of Iraly of [847, were

published in El Comercio, on rhe 12 and 13 of Feb. [848.37 El Comercio, '3 Jan. ,R4R, R March [R48, [7 March 184R.38 Ricardo l'alma, La bohemia de mi tiempo (Lima, [948).39 [lalma, La bohemia, p. r8.

The Influx ofIdeas

Intellectual debates in Europe were followed very closely in Peru where,as seen above, they were often mirrored. Not only were the main schoolsin Lima teaching the most fashionable European ideas, but a wide rangeof recent European books and news was available. Before 1848 El Comerciocarried articles on the main political events and even reproduced speechesby important leaders such as Lamartine.36 This newspaper also carriedadvertisements for the main bookstores in Lima that every other weekpublished lists of the recently arrived books. French authors such as Guizot,Dumas, Hugo and Lamartine were easily accessible both in translationand in their original language. Spanish and Italian conservative andreligious books were also quite popularY

A rich description of the culture of the tertuLia has been left byRicardo Palma in La bohemia de mi tiempo.38 Palma formed part of ageneration of Romantic poets, all born after independence, who tried tocreate a new style of literature appropriate for the Republic. They wereinspired by the classes in literature and history at the School' of NuestraSenora de Guadalupe given by its director, Sebastian Lorente, whom 'thenew generation followed and listened to as ifan apostle' .39 The 'Bohemians'flourished between 1848 and 1860, the period when the Liberal movementachieved its greatest advances in Peru. They would meet after five at the

Carlos, gave Herrera the grearest homage a student can give a formerteacher, by opposing his views and defending the right of all to vote. J4

Following French liberals, G<ilvez argued that a right could not be linkedto the capacity to exercise it, pointing out the absurdity of fearing that tenwould dominate the votes of ninety and not to fear when only these tencould vote. GaIvez, who ended his speech with a demand for the abolitionof slavery, obtained 96 votes, defeating Herrera who only obtained nine­teen.J\ Winning the vote extending suffrage was a great Liberal victory.

Peruvian hombres de traje negro kept abreast of the latest intellectualdebates in Europe. The 1830 French revolution with its conservativethought influenced Herrera's adoption of Guizot. Moreover the enemiesof caudillismo were inspired by the myth of an armed citizenry, thebuilding of barricades, and a National Guard composed of citizens.

43 Democratil Americilno, no. 158,4 March 1848.

44 In 1847 rhe DerllliC/"(/{a Americano imervened in rhe debares on rhe press, on rhesovereigmy of rhe people and imelligence, Democmta Amerierzno, no. 158, 4 March1848.

45 Democratil Americano, no. 177, 21 July [848.46 Los Intereses del Pais, no. I, 4 July 1848.47 Ibid.48 Los Intereses del Pais, no. I, 2 Aug. 1848.

49 El Comercio, 10 July 1848 and selecred numbers berween 1848 and 1850.

50 The news reached Peru 011 10 July 1848, El Comercio.

ment' and to educate the people by providing them with foteign news.They considered events in Europe in 1848 to be so close to their realitythat the news they received seemed to be written for their own countryand province. 43 El Demoerata contrasted Herrera's conservative ideas withthose emanating from Europe, and concerning itself in particular withissues relating to artisans. 44 In July 1848 several articles in favour ofworkers' organisations were published, including a 'Catechism of theArtisan', written by Schemit, to inform 'compafieros' of their rights tofreedom of association.41

Los Intereses del Pais was created as a direct reaction to the events inEurope. It carried as its slogan a quote from E. de Girardin: 'When anation has come to know its rights, it can only be governed by theselessons, because there is no other way to prevent successive revolutionsand oppressive governments. '4

6 In the first number the editors explainedthat their newspaper was to be dedicated to 'spread some of the sparks ofthe enlightenment among the people to prepare the nation for necessarychanges.' They also considered that by learning from the example ofEurope they would 'save the country many tears'y Los Intereses was openlyprotectionist, in deference to its artisan readers, and also advocated therights of the Indians and equality of all.'18 It included an eclectic mix ofEuropean and local news as well as lengthy editorials. These newspapersdemonstrate how the ideas of 1848 had spread throughout the countryand had a real impact in areas far from the coast.

The events of 1848 also had an impact on Europeans living in Peru.The French consulate in Lima maintained an updated record of itscountrymen, who were expected to register upon arrival as well as toinscribe the rest of their families. 49 Once news of the abolition of slaveryin France had reached Peru, consular authorities could check up on theircompatriots, as French living abroad were forbidden from owning, buyingor selling slaves, or risk losing their citizenship.'o The Italian communityin Lima became involved in the events of 1848 too. A newspaper called LaItalia Libre, managed from the sweet shop of Mr Ghirardelli, was pub­lished in the capital, while letters from leading members of the Italian

community, exhorting their compatriots up and down the Pacific coast tosupport the Roman Republic, were printed in E/ Cort/ercio. " A section ofthe Giovane Ita/ia had been founded in Lima by the Republican leadersled by ?oct~r Manuel Solari, an exiled cousin of Giuseppe Mazzini.1'Re~ent I~m~grants also had a role in transmitting the radical socialphilosophies 111 vogue in Europe during the 1840S among Lima's artisans. 5!

201The Influence ofthe European I848 Revolutions in Peru

Artisan Participation in Politics

A measure of the influence of European events in Peru was the increasedimportance of artisans in politics. Just as in New Granada, artisansbecame crucial in the presidential campaign of mid-century as the consti­tuti~~al :eforms of ~847 and 1849 allowed them greater politicalpartiCipation. The gUlI~s had changed radically since independence:masters no longer exerCised the same power over their apprenrices andworkers, whose pos~ibilities of bargaining had increased with changes inthe structur~ of society. By 1848 18 per cent of artisans were foreigners,together takl~g 40 per cent of manufacturing profits (indicated by taxlevels). Despite the success of immigrant craftsmen, local artisans nevercam~aigne~ for their exclusion, as they had with foreign merchants.Forel~n artisans were welcome because locals felt they could learn their:echl1l~ues, as ~ell benefit from the prestige of having foreigners working111 their establishments as Lima consumers were ever more eager toembra.ce European tastes. A consequence of foreign intrusion inro Lima'scraft. life was that European ideas would be shared in workshops whererea~l.n? of newspapers and the discussion of news became importantactiVIties.

Paul Gootenberg has described the advenr of free trade to Peru andthe strength of protectionism in the early years of the Republic. He hasobserved that the fl~al offensi.ve against free trade occurred between 1848~nd 185~, after whICh the Liberal, guano-enriched elite triumphed in~mp!ant1l1g a,n ope~ economy. The campaign to obtain the passage of theArtisan Law, late 111 1849, shows how mobilised artisans could become infavour of protectionism. During congressional debates, artisans crowdedthe galleries 'to remind deputies that "they knew very well to whom theyowed the~e benefits".", Jose Maria Garcfa, a cigar maker, addressedCongress 111 October 1849 reading a long and impassioned plea by Lima's

51 El Comercio, 6 AuguSI 1848.

52 This group o~'g,mised collecrions [() SUPPOIT rhe fighring in Jraly. CiovanniBonfigllO, Lo,' Uilltal10S en la socialad peruana (Lima, 1994), pp. 1l4-2 0.

53 Paul Goorenherg, 'The Social Origins of Prorecrionism and Free Trade in

~Inereemh-~_e~[Ury Lima,' Journ~dofLatin American Studies, Vol. 14, (19H2), p. 342 .

54 Goorenberg, I he SOCIal Ol'lglllS, p. 349.

The European Revolutions ofI848 and the Americas200

Both Vivanco and Echenique, then, had artisans in the ranks of theirsupporters. Initially around October 1849, artisans seem to have joinedVivanco's side, publishing articles accusing Echenique not only of being

55 Ibid., p. HH.56 Ibid., p. 350, and Migud C;uzman, Triunfl de IOJ arteJanOJ, Peru libre; en JU progmo.

Viva elnombre de Garda y la,- leyeJ del Congreso in 'Colcccion de Volanres, 1849:Biblioceca Nacional, l.ima.

57 Paul C;ootenberg, Between Silver and Guano, p. 89.5H Gootenberg, 'The Social Origins', p. 350.

The Influence ofthe European 1848 Revolutions in Peru2°3

Bolivi.an .but also of trying to bully artisans into supporting him.59 Theech.emqulstas respon~ed on 12 December 1849, accusing the opposition oftrYing to buy the artisan vote. This arricle was considered subversive andthe anonymous a~nhor.' 'An artisan, friend of the one last night' claimedth~t he had. to feign SIckness to prevent being prosecuted. In a secondarticle, ~ubhshed 28 of December, the 'amigo' reminded the vivanquistasthat artl~ans would never vote for them because they could never forgethow then leader had neglected them during the 'Directorate' when hehad ordered all uniforms to be produced abroad.60 '

A1thou.gh both articles were anonymous, they are characteristic of the~tyle of Mlg~el Guzman, the 'r~dicalleader'and ardent echeniquista who,111 1850'.pubhshed coun tless artICles to convince his fellow artisans that hewas their b~st candidate. 6' In his article 'Seduction of Artisans', Guzmandefen~ed himself agai?st the di:ectoriales whom he accused of publishingan artlcl~ to offend artIsans, their laborious and honest work, and to makethem bel~eve that Echenique despised them. The author then asserted thatthe meetings of Echenique's opponents, the vivanquistas, could not 'evenreach te~ men, to do so they need to include eight jobless drunkards'.61

.The Influence of the events in France in 1848 is clear in Guzman'sarticle of 16 February 1850:

59 'Atentado Escandaloso and Senores Echeniquistas . in El Comercio 26 0 'clNov. 1849. " ) et. an 14

60 'Un Maestro de Anesano,' El Comercio, 12 and 28 Dee. IH49.61 El Comemo, 5 and 30 Jan., 16 Feh. 1850.62 El Comercio, 7 Jan. 1850.

63 El Comercio, 16 Fen. 1850.

Ar.tis~~s! I~ the cultivated F.rance, only by willing it, has JUSt reconquered itSpflmltive fights, overthrowll1g the t~rone and crown that for so many yearshad become. a .tyranny and .a de~potlsm that reigned as the only master andow~er of thiS fortunate na.tlon, 111, the same way, and with the same feelingsofhberry, we shall teach thiS handful of men that have lost the path f" .,'d . . . ° Justice,c~nsl er~d thiS natlo~ their property and we their slaves, and, dominated uswith their brutal will. )

Paris.ian influence ~s evident not only in the rhetoric used during thesee1e~t~ons, but. ~so.1I1 the ad.option in Lima of the banquet as a form ofpolrtlcal moblhs~tlon. Detailed descriptions of one such evenr, held inhonour of Ec~enrque,were record~d by his opponenrs. According to thefollowers of VIvanco: those ~ttendJl1g the meeting were armed with gunsand daggers an~ their S?out1l1g in the streets was such that shopkeepershad to close theIr establIshments, Vivanquistas also claimed that after thebanquet, a group of drunkards attacked a pufperfa, hurring and robbing

The European Revolutions of1848 and the Americas202

guild in favour of protectionism. 55 A law giving unprecedented powers tothe guilds was finally passed unanimously on 21 of December 1849. Allimports of competing goods were liable to a 90 per cent duty based on theguilds' price evaluations. Artisans were delighted, as they felt that theirvoices had finally been heard. Miguel Guzman, described by Gootenbergas a 'radical leader' , published a pamphlet in verse, entitled 'Triumph ofthe artisans, Free Peru in its progress', celebrating the victory of 'law andreason' against the 'foreign usurper' who had kept Peruvians in poverty.56

Yet this was a Pyrrhic victory for Lima's artisans. 'Sensing the tideagainst them in 1850 and the betrayal of their old political-allies, Limaartisans,' asserts Paul Gootenberg, 'launched a series of bitter attacksagainst liberals, the Congress, and the guano elites ("aristocrats" all). Thiswas Peru's delayed and miniature "1848". In the early months of 1850Lima's popular ]acobins stridently demanded even more protectionismand an independent political mobilisation to get it.'57 This description ofa 'mini 1848' conjures up the idea of a mass protest movement, not foundin the accounts of the time. In 1850 Lima's artisans were still elated withthe passing of the import tax law in theit favour. At the start of the year,news and action were directed almost entirely at the presidential campaign.Artisans participated widely in the election, particularly in a press debatedefending the new protectionist law against Liberal opposition. This

, centred mainly around the 'students of political economy' who publishedarticles supporting free trade in El Comercio, and the Progresistas, a newpolitical group composed of businessmen, who had started a campaign infavour of pure liberalism in their weekly, El Progreso. The protectionistlaw was revoked only in 1852 by the newly elected administration.

Paul Gootenberg sees artisan mobilisation as an important part of thecontest for the presidency:

Artisans organised numerous meetings for the candidates and propagandaspread through the ranks. The most vocal came out as partisans ofVivanco, alimefzo with nationalistic pretensions, against Echenique whom ~hey vilifiedfor his allegedly hostile acts towards artisans. However, all contenders sought

. Id' cd" I' d ' 58artIsan votes, p e gll1g to saleguar natlona 111 ustry.

El Club Progresista

64 El Comercio, 15 Jan. 1850.65 El Comercio, 16 Jan. 1850.66 Jorge lbsadre, HiJtoria de la Republica del Peru (Lima, (961), vo!. 11, p. 915.

67 Archivo Departamencal de Arequipa, Prefectura 1848-49 leg. N°17.68 Archivo Depanamencal de Arequipa, Prefectura 1848-49 leg. N°17.6') El Progmo, 28 July 184').

On 28 July 1849, as a reaction to these massive demonstrations, a newplayer entered the political arena. The Club Progresista was the firstattempt to organise a political party that believed in reason and organiseddiscussion as the means to attain progress and democracy. Its president wasFrancisco Quir6s, Jose Sevilla and Pedro Gilvez its secretaries. Togetherthey edited El Progreso, a weekly published each Saturday, containing thepolitical and administrative programme they wished to see implementedin Peru. From the first issue the inspiration of European events wasevident: 'In France, after half a century of trials, confrontation and socialstransformations, an administrative system more complete and analogousto the progress of modern civilisation, has been proposed.'69 The Club, as

2°5The influence o/the European 1848 Revolutions in Peru

70 El ProgreJo, 13 Oct. 1849.

71 La A!ftrja, periddico eventual de AyacucIJo, 15 and I') Dee. 1849.7 2 El Progmo, 8 Dec. [849.

73 Although the franchise had been extended to nearly all adult males, elections stillwere indirect. Once the provincial electoral colleges were in place, they chose theirrepresencatives to Congress and their presidelHial candidate. Peralt<!, 'El Mito', p.249·

its members called themselves, presented itself as an impartial observer ofthe situation, whose only interest was the progress of the nation.

Resembling more a magazine than a newspaper, El Progreso containedlengthy articles on diverse matters, and analysis of the current nationaland international situations, advocating liberty, education and free trade.The Club criticised Herrera's opposition to allowing illiterate Indians thevote,. and, as ~art ofa campaign against unfair taxes, El Progreso publisheda senes of articles attacking the colonial Indian head tax that was still inplace. Indians, El Progreso asserted, were living under worse conditionsthan i~ t~e colonial period: 'When our forefathers oppressed the Indian,they did It openly; they did not give them rights on paper to then takethem away in reality.'70 This denunciation of the situation of the Indianstruck a chord in other regions of the country, and these articles werereprinted in La AlfOrja, a local paper in Ayacucho'?'

On 8 December 1849 the Club presented its political programme. Itargued that for Peru to progress, the political state and resources of thecountry must be studied with 'impartiality and true patriotism'. TheProgresistas considered that a change ofgovernment was the ideal momentfor analysing the work of the outgoing administration, as a lesson for thenext. They stressed their independence from the existing political partiesand announced they would only chose between the candidates after theirprogrammes for government had been presented, as, on the base on per­sonal attacks, they had found no difference between the candidates.!' Inthe next number they reasserted these principles and began what theycalled t.h~ 'tria! of the parties'. Their critics accused them of being unableto partiCipate 111 the elections as they had no candidate and therefore nohead.

. The Club criticised the campaigns both of Vivanco and Echenique foruSing e~ery possible means to win, and, especially, for supporting theeco.nomlcally u~sound 'Law of the Artisans'. They abhorred the way inwhIch both parties abused the democratic system by using violence at thepolls. The da~ ~fter.the ballots had been cast for the electoral colleges, theProgmzstas, dISIllUSIOned by the way in which supporters of both candi­dates.had acted, pres~nted t~e idea of a third candidate. 7J They did notmention any person 111 particular, but of the possibility of there beingsomeone else who could be a better president. They asked newspapers in

The European Revolutions 0/1848 and the Americas

its owner. 61 The following day an article denying vivanquista accusationsappeared, signed by the supposed ring leader, Manuel de Soto, whoclaimed that 'It is good that a man says what he wants, even if it is onlyfounded on conjectures, but to openly lie without remorse is the warst.'65Historian, Jarge Basadre, describes another public demonstration in favourof Vivanco in which a crowd of around four thousand, wearing redbuttons, met near the bullring to see huge kites painted with the emblemsofliberty and the republic as well as a big balloon from which flowers andverses were thrown to the masses.66

In Arequipa, where the presidential campaign was as hotly contestedas in Lima, artisans were also divided between the echeniquistas and vivan­quisttts. On more than one occasion the parades in favour of one or theother candidate ended in stone throwing at the houses of politicalopponents. One of the most visible leaders of these public confrontationswas Diego Masfas, a small landowner and local politician. He was accusedof having organised the stone throwing against the house of Marshall BiasCcrdefia. 67 In the file of the proceedings we find a rich description of themeetings organised by the artisans, which usually comprised betweeneighty to a hundred people, and were mainly to talk and drink chicha.They got out of hand when some well-known member of the oppositionwould appear and not cheer the candidate of the group's choice. 69 Elitegroups found these public displays very threatening and were opposed towhat they considered was the manipulation of artisans.

2°4

The European Revolutions 0/1848 and the Americas

79 Garibaldi travelled in a Peruvian guano-loaded ship bound for Chin,] 1;)1' mOSl of18

52

but was politically active during his stay in Lima. Bonfiglio, Lo,' italianoJ, pp. 120-4.

80 AJbeno J. Varona, FmnciJco Bilbao, revolucionllrio de America (Bucnos Aires, 1\173),1',42 .

SI David SobrcviHa AJcazar, 'Francisco Bilbao y eI Peru. El inicio del radicalismo en eIPen. y su apone a la abolici<Jn de la esclavitud,' Repemllndo III tmdicirfn dl' NlIe,'trllAmerim, £Studio>, wbre la filosofla en America Llltina (Lima, 1999), pp.

123-4.

2°7The Influence o/the European 1848 Revolutions in Peru

Echenique sGovernment

Th~ tran~fer of power .was not entirely peaceful as Arequipa rose upbeh1l1d Vlvanco. Echemque finally asserted his authority and peace wasestablished by his moderately conservative governmem. Lima soon becamea hub for exiled thinkers, both radical and conservative. The former camemainly from Chile after the failed uprising of 18sr, and the latter fromColombia after the radical liberal movement took power there. Radicalideas were put forward by leaders such as Francisco Bilbao, Pedro FeJixVicuna, Victorino Lastarria and Federico Erdzuriz from Chile. Conser­vatives included ]ulio and Sergio Arboleda, Manuel Mada Mallarino andViceme Cirdenas from Colombia. After the liberal governmem had beenestablished in Colombia, many conservatives came ro Peru ro strengthenthe already powerful group led by Herrera, who by then was a minister ofEchenique's government. Italian intellectuals also arrived in Lima afterthe defeat of the Roman Republic, among them Amonio Raimondi andGiusseppe Garibaldi. The former never participated in politics again butthe latter was active from his arrival in 1851 umil his final departure inr8?3, main.ly within the Italian community.79 The presence of so manythll1kers stimulated the debate in Peru even further.

The most influenrial thinker to come ro Peru in this period was theradical Chilean leader Francisco Bilbao. Not only had Bilbao been inEu~ope in 1848 and r849, but he had tried and failed to implemenr aradical revolution in Chile. Bilbao had spem part of his childhood inLima when his father had been exiled by Diego Portales. After his return~o Chile, he studied in the Instituto Nacional. 80 He was influcnced by theIdeas of ]ean-Marie Lamennais, and in 1843 he translated La EscltlvitudModerna. In the following year, Bilbao published La Sociabilidtld Chi/enain whic~ h~ argued that Chile had inherited the Middle Ages from Spain.<?~ly wI~h 1I1d~pendence had ideas of the liberty of man and equality ofcitizenship arnved in Chile; ideas that he believed would become a~niversa~ religion. For his efforts, Bilbao was tried and found guilty ofImmoralrry and blasphemy but innocent of sedition. He left Chile there­after to conrinue his studies in the College de Fmnce where he becameclose friends with his teachers, ]ules Michelet and Edgar Quinet, as wellas of Lamennais, the author he had admired since his youth. 81 He travelled74 El Pl'ogl'eJo, 18 feb. 185°· b' I'

75 Lllanchard uses this term to describe thc way in which. Elfas m.anagcd to corn 11l~ ;ISpolitical liberalism with othcr more conservatIve traits, Blanchard, r le"Transitional Man",' pp. 168-70. . . . '

76 Juan l.llis On'ego, 'Domingo Elfas y cl Club Progresista: los CIVIles y cl podel h~cla

1850,' HistrJl'icil, Lima, Vol. XIV (1990), pp. 337-8.

77 El Progreso, 9 Ocr. 1850. " . lfi "78 Basadre, Historill de III Reptiblica, p. 920; El Comemo, Jan. and I'eb. 1851, LII A 01]11,

11 Jan. 1851.

206

the rest of thc country to react to the idea.?4 A leng.thy ~ebate foll~we~.

While many papers from the provinces were open to this opt1~n, E~hemque snewspaper, El Rimae, led the opposition. During the followmg SIX .monthsthe discussion grew ever more fierce. The main accus~tion aga1l1st theClub was its refusal to announce a candidate, because It feared the truecharacter of the person becoming known to the press. .

The idea of a third candidate continued to be debated and It was notuntil two months before the electoral colleges were to m~et that the Clubpresented its candidate: Domingo Elfas, founder of the liberal Gua~alupeschool and leader of the Semana Magna uprising. A well-known Iib~ral,

reputedly one of the richest men in Peru, Peter Blanchard has descnbedElias as the 'Transitional Man' for mid-century Peru.?1 In 1845 he hadbeen elected deputy for Ica and, later that yea~, councill~rof tate. Fromthis position, he questioned the government s economic managementand in 1849 called for an extraordinary Congress to assess the govern­me~t's respo'nse to the problem of the devalued Bolivia~ currency thatwas entering the country,76 In October 185~ there .was a failed attempt t~

assassinate him. It was in this context that hiS candidacy was announced.The electoral colleges met in late December 1850 and, by ~he fi.rst

week ofJanuary, it was clear that Echenique had won by a landslid~ With2,590 votes. Elfas fared much better than expected wi.th 775 v?tes. Vlva~cowas the real loser as a result of the appearance of a third candidate, obtam­ing only 368 votes. Other candidates included San Roman, a general ~romPuno with indigenous support, who obtained 268 votes,. al~d Berm.udez,

h I t er who had become Ramon Castllla s candIdate,allot er a e-com .obtained only 59 votes. Initially the president had favoured Eche~lque,

but later decided to back Bermudez, and was therefore accused of trymg todisrupt the elections. Three other candidates obtained 36 votes betw~en

them. Of the 154 remaining votes, many were no~ counted for bem~

spoiled with inscriptions for and against Elfas, as an hombre del ~ueblo

or an 'hombre de frac'.?8 Castilla was not eager to leave the presl~ency.

Although his period lasted only until April 1851, he awarded himselfextension until July.

208 The European Revolutions of1848 and the Americas The Influence ofthe European 1848 Revolutions in Peru 2°9

extensively across Europe and participated in the June days in Paris,defending barricades with Quinet. After the victory of the reaction, Bilbaoremained in France until the end of 1849 when he returned to Chile.82

There, with Santiago Arcos, he founded La Socieclad de la Igualdad, anassociation of artisans and intellectuals that was viewed with great sus­picion by the government. After the abortive rebellion in Santiago in April1851 against president Bulnes, when Bilbao had tried to build barricades,he was exiled to Peru. 8

)

Once established in Lima Bilbao began to organise the SociedadRepublicana which he described as: 'a society of youths to abolish slaveryand strengthen rationalism.'s4 He also published an article in El Comercioarguing that slavery was incompatible with Catholicism on a rationalbasis and that it should therefore be abolished. Pursued by the Echeniquegovernment, especially by Herrera, Bilbao spent the next three months inthe sanctuary of the French legation. After a warning from the presidentthat to speak against slavery would be to drag the country in disorder andchaos, Bilbao promised not to become involved in the politics of Peruand was allowed to stay. He dedicated his time to writing a life of SaintRosa of Lima, in which he stressed the saint's concern with the Indianand the slave, rebuking Peruvian society for allowing these unjust systemsto remain.sl Separated from politics, Bilbao drew close to the youth that,under the influence of Spanish liberals Sebastian Lorente and Jose JoaqulnMora, were developing Peruvian romanticism. Bilbao contributed, alongwith members of this group - Ricardo Palma, Manuel Nicolas Corpancho,Jose Casimiro Ulloa and Clemente Althaus - to the Revista Independiente(18 53-1854). Mr.

After the slave uprising in T rujillo early in 1851, the issue of abolitionbecame more pressing. Also, as a consequence of campaigning by French­influenced liberals, abolition became a more widely accepted issue.Although the revolt in Trujillo was localised and bloodless, the injustice­even the illegality - of the system became more apparent. The reasonsgiven by the slaves in support of their bid for freedom were; first, SanMartin's decree of 1821 that had freed all children born to slaves, and,secondly, the terrible conditions existing on the haciendas. FernandoCasos, a young liberal and romantic writer, in his partly autobiographicalnovel Los amigos de Elena, presents the best-known account of the uprising.

82 Sobrevilla Alcazar, 'Francisco Bilbao', p. 124­

83 Ibid., 1'.125.84 A. Donoso, El pens'lmiento villo de Fra;'cisco Bilbao, quoled in Sobrevilla Alcazar,

'Francisco Bilbao', p. 127.

85 Varona, Francisco Bilbao, p. 144.Hr, Varona, Francisco Bilbao, pp. 145-6.

~he narrator accepts the responsibility for the uprising in his preaching oflIberty to a black sacristan of the convent of Santa Clam who thenpop~larised the idea through his singing. M? According to this account,Casos was the author of the slaves' demands for freedom, based upontheir constitutional rights. S8 However, Peter Blanchard doubts Casos'sparticipation and points instead to two mixed-race tailors, Gregorio Tejaday Olaya and Valentfn Baca, who were approached by eight blacks in themarket for help with composition of the petition. 8Y

These tailors must have already acquired a reputation for abolitionistsentin:en~, for they were involved in an uprising with a high degree oforga~lsatIon. Some IS0 blacks from the surrounding valleys travelled tothe city to demand their freedom, carrying the petition. The prefect fled,and as the slaves faced no resistance, they decided to take the local garrison,free the prisoners and declare themselves free men. When the blacksreturned to Trujillo the next day, citizens awaited them in shock and fearin the c~t!~ convinced that they had come to loot and kill. But by now, alocal mJilt1a had been organised. Shots were fired in the air in the mainsquare: frightening the slaves who fled in panic. During the followingdays ~lIlery-seven slaves were recaptured, and their liberty was rescinded.The nngleaders wer~ put on trial. The mulatto tailor, Gregorio Olayadeclare? that he was Just a follower of Elfas whose struggle was liberty forall. .ThiS was a very generous interpretation of the Progresisttl doctrine,whICh although promoting freedom never directly called for the freedomof slaves. Indeed, Ellas was the largest slave owner in the country. Theevents de~onstrate, however, how Lima newspapers such as El Progreso,El ComerclO, and local ones such as La AljOrja in Ayacucho, the DemocrtlttlAmericano and Los Intereses del Pais in Cuzco, had provided a medium forthe diffusion among Peru's artisans of the ideas of 1848, such as theabolition of slavery. Blanchard suspected that the mulatto tailors mighthave had political linkages, as only Olaya and Baca were sentenced to

death. Two years later, even they were amnestied.90The issue of slavery remained in the public imagination with El

Cornercio's publication of Uncle Toms Cabin in 1852.y, With the arrival ofChinese bonded workers, the need for slaves to work in plantations

87 Fernando Cas6s, Los amigos de Elena 0 diez anos anteJ (Paris, 1874).

88 Hector Centurion Vallejo, £"c/avitudy manumisidn de negro,' (Trujillo, 1954), pp. 16­17·

89 Pele~ Blanchard's analysis of lhe Trujillo uprising is based upon research in Trujillo'sarclllves, Peler BlancharJ, Slavery and Abolition in Early Republican Peru (Delaware,(99 2 ), pp. [[4-19.

90 Blanchard, Slavery, pp. [[4-19.

91 More on lhe dismanding of slavery as an inslitlllion see Crislinc Hiinefeldl Payingthe Prrce ofFreedom, Fanuly and Lllbor llI1JOng Lima J SI,llJes /800--/8)4 Werkcley, (994).

210 The European Revolutions of1848 and the Americas The Influence ofthe European 1848 Revolutions in Peru 2II

decreased.9' Slavery had ceased to be an important part of coastal agri­culture and it was only maintained in two departments, Lima and Trujillo.On the other hand, the civil code recognised a series of rights far slaves.All those born after 1821 were libertos who, after a certain age, wereconsidered free and were to be paid a wage. All children born to libertoswere immediately free.

The 1854 Revolution

Slavery was not the issue that generated most debate and criticism of theEchenique regime. More controvetsial was the consolidation of theinternal debt. This process had started during Castilla's presidency andwas the repayment of the old debt generated during the process ofindependence and the initial years of the republic. The measure had beenconceived as a way to channel earnings from guano into the local economy,as well as to help build local capital that had been destroyed. Initially, theconsolidation had been seen as a positive measure, but during the presi­dency of Echenique the number of recognised consolidation bondsincreased exponentially and there was a feeling that corruption had takenover and that those surrounding the president were the only ones profiting.A second measure that angered the opposition was the conversion of theinternal debt bonds to the external debt. Although a plausible economicexplanation was later given by Echenique in his memoirs, his politicalopponents saw it merely as a way to ensure the payment of the debt nomatter how the economy developed.9J

Liberals, who had prepared a plan for government in 1850, but hadbeen defeated in the elections, now believed that force was the only wayto implement the ideas emanating from the 1848 European revolutions.On 12 August 1853, El Comercio published an open letter to the presidentby Domingo Elfas, denouncing Echenique's government and especiallythe way in which the consolidation was being carried out. Elias warnedhim that guano was running out and that the country would b'e in severecrisis if the falsified bonds continued to be accepted as real. The next daythe president assured readers that Elfas's real motive for the attack wasthat he had not been allowed to present some bonds to the consolidationboard and that he had even tried to bribe him. It must be noted thatEchenique had taken from Elias the profitable guano-loading contract.Elias denied charges of bribery and denounced the office where the fake

92 Domingo Elias had held the monopoly of imponation of chinese coolies (0 Trujilloand Lima since 1849.

93 Jose Rufino Echenique, Memorim pII1'II11l historit/ del Peru (Lima, [952), p. 205.

bonds .we~e prepared. 94 Public opinion was incensed. Anger about theco.nsolIdanon and conversion of the internal debt fuelled the generalgnevance at the devalued Bolivian currency continuing to enter thecoun~ry. It was further fuelled by the generalised rejection of the govern­ment s support for the conservative expedition led by Juan Jose Flaresthat .left Peru for Ecuador to fight the liberal regime. Echenique wasconsld~r~d a corrupt conservative leader lacking the courage declare waron BoliVia and stop the devalued currency entering the COUntry.

On 16 Augu~t 1853, Elfas ~as arrested, but freed on the guaranteeoffer~d by some ,.mportant buslllessmen that he not intervene in politics.Seeklllg asylum III the French legation, Elfas fled under the cover ofdarkness to Ecuador. From Guayaquil, he organised an unsuccessfulexpedition to Tumbes in October of 1853. Once again, the 'hombre delpueblo' escaped prison and landed in lea, his home turf, from where heonce again rebelled early in 1854. By now, Elias had contacted Castillawho, feeling ignored by the government, agreed to support the rebellionand trav~lIe~ south.. On the 7 January 1853, Elfas was defeated at Saraja.Meanwhile III AreqUlpa, a group ofartisans led by two well-known liberalsI?iego Masias and Domingo Gamio, assuming that the entire north hadnsen, and unaware of Elfas's defeat, rebelled. With the arrival of Castillato le~d the rebellion, and with no echeniquista leader daring to face thecaudlllo, all of southern Peru fell into his hands.95

In the central Andes a middle ranking leader, Fermin del Castillo rosewith the backing of liberals, Jose G:ilvez and Sebastian Lorente 'bothteachers in the Guadalupe School, who had waited until the end 'of theschool year to join the rebelsY In February 1854, Indian tribute wasabolished in this region of the revolt. Five months later, Castilla and hissecretary Pedro Gilvez decreed the abolition of tribute throughout thecountry. After five years of campaigning - in Congress, El Progreso, andf:om the Guadalupe School - this represented a great victory for theliberals. Recent historiography has shown, however, that the liberals didnot understand how tribute had continued to bee seen by Indians as aguarantee to access village commons.97 Initially, ending tribute helped the

94 El Comercio, 12, 13 and [6 Aug. 1853. According to B1anchard Elias reaction was the oncof a ,~pical caudillo, that when dueatened, attacked. Blanchard, 'The "TransitionalMan, P.170.

95 Juan Gualberro Valdivia, LaJ revolucloneJ de Arequipa (Arequipa, 1958), vo!. 11, p. 123.96 Jose ,:as !'edro Gavez's younger - and even more liberal - brother, who rose to

promlllence during this campaign.

97 Vic~or Peralra, En pos del tributo. Burocrllcia eJtlltal, elite regional y comunidade,'md/genaJ en ,el CUJCO ruml (1826--1854) (euseo, 1991), pp. 130-5. Mark Thurner, FromTwo RepubllCJ to One Divided. Contradictiom ofPOJtcolonill1 Nationmaking in AndeanPeru (Durham, NC, 1997), pp. 44-53. Florencia Mallon, PeIlJl//lt IInd Nation: TheMaking ofPOJ/-coloniill Mexico and Peru (Berkcley, 1995), pp. 180-1.

98 Liberals considered that tribute should be changed [0 a poll tax paid by all citizens.This measure was unenforcable and in many regions local authorities continued to

charge tribute.99 Thurner, From Two RepublicJ, p. 47.

100 Basadre, HiJtoria de la Republica, pp. 1085-8.

101 Blanchard, Slavery, p. 193.102 Carlos Agllirre, AgenteJ de JU propialibertad, 10J eJclavOJ de Lima y la deJintegmcion de

la CJcltlviturl f82l-f8H (L.ima, 1993), p. 298.

revolutionary forces as they gained the support of the Indian populationwho did not yet understand the repercussions of the abolition.98 Echenique,however, still had a very loyal army that had vowed to defend the consti­tution and that could be paid promptly. He did face opposition in someareas due to the unpopularity of force conscription.9? The governmentforces marched to the Andes in July where they met the rebels. The twoarmies stood face to face at the bridge of lzcuchaca, some shots were fired,but there was no battle. The armies remained camped the following twomonths, no one daring to make the first move. In October, Castillaresolved to march towards Lima but stopped half way. Unaware of thismanoeuvre until too late, Echenique was left no option but to follow,losing many of his troops during exhausting marches and countermarches. Eventually he decided to cut his losses and return to Lima, leavingCastilla in charge of most of the country. 100

In November 1854, once in the capital, Echenique took a desperatemeasure to try to gain some popular support. He passed a decree offeringliberty to all the slaves that enlisted in the army for two years. Hisgovernment had believed in a progressive dismantling of slavery and hehimself declared in his memoirs that he believed slaves should be free, notbecause that state was prejudicial to them, but because it was inappro­priate for human dignity.101 Some slaves enrolled in the army but demandedguarantees for their liberty. As a counter measure, Castilla decided tocompletely abolish slavery, causing Echenique's newly gained supportdissolve. Many have interpreted this event as a proof that Castilla was aborn-again liberal. Others have seen it purely as a cunning measure todefeat Echenique. The 'liberator', as Castilla became know after aboli­tion, ensured that the owners were not alienated by including in thedecree assurances that the state would reimburse them for all the slavesthey owned. Moreover, ex-slaves would not be allowed to leave their ex­masters immediately, so to prevent a crisis. How opportunistic Castillawas is demonstrated by the provision that slaves fighting with the enemywould not be liberated. Castilla's Iibt;ral secretaries, Jose and PedroGalvez and Manuel Toribio Ureta, who had been campaigning for theabolition of slavery for many years, must have had an influence uponCastilla's change of heart. 102

The Influence ofthe European 1848 Revolutions in Peru21 3

Slave support was the key to Castilla's flnal victory over Echenique inth~ flrst days of 1855. Both armies had been camped between Lima andMI~af1ores for nearly six weeks. Finally, on 5 of January 1854, they bothdeCIded t~. attack. Echenique was unable to take advantageous of hisbetter posl~lOn because Castilla had the better intelligence, obtained fromthe blacks m the area. IQ) While the battle was raging at La Palma to thesourh of the city, th~ bells. in the church of San Pedro in Lima began tot~l~,. rang by FranCISco BIlbao who took over this church with someclY1!Ian groups that rose in support of Castilla.

The Chilean exile was instrumental in Echenique's downfall. OnceElias's letters were published in 1853, Bilbao was deported to Guayaquilwhere ~e wrote ~a Revolucion de la honradez attacking the president,under sIege..In thIS pamphlet,. published in the Castillista newspaper of~uzco I!I TrlUr~ft del P~ebl~, B~lbao used all his skill to destroy an alreadydls~redIted regIme, whIle pmnmg all his hopes upon Castilla, whom hepraIsed as a protector of freedom of the press and the best administratorin Peruvi~n history.lO'! Bilbao returned to Peru in late 1854 and lived undercover. After Echenique promised liberty to those slaves who enrolled inthe arI~Y, the .Chilean exile ~ubli~hed a furious public letter denouncingthe polICY as sIgn of the preSident s fear and desperation.,u5

On 15 January 1855 Bilbao published the Noticitt de la Victoria in ElC.0mercio, in which he described the rebellion and analysed the reasons forVICtory. ~ provisio?a.l government was formed with Castilla as president,Pedro Galvez as mmlster ofJustice, Manuel Toribio Ureta as Minister of~overnmentand Foreign Affairs, and Domingo Elias, as Finance Minister.LIberals dominated the cabinet and elections for a National Conventionthat would draft a new constitution were called for. The elections werethe flrst ever to be based upon direct and universal male suffrage for allexce~t those. who had fought with Echenique. Many conservativesconSIdered thIS the worst of all worlds, as newly manumitted blacks wereenfranchised, ~hjle those who had supported the previous regime, manyof whom were Important members of society, could not vote. A flood ofgazettes, papers and pamphlets were issued by both sides. The officialpaper, La Voz del Pueblo, was edited by Sebastian Lorente, and, BartolomeHerrera, now out of power, edited El Cat6lico.

. In February 1855 Bilbao published El Gobierno de la Libertad, his mostImportant wo~k on political and constitutional theory ill which heproposed a serIes of advanced democratic ideas for the new charter thatwas to be drafted by the National Convention elected that same month. J06

103 Blanchard, SltlVery, p. 197.

1°4 El TriunjO del Pueblo. C:uzco, 24 May 18 54.1°5 Sobrevilla Alcazar, 'Francisco Bilbao'. pp. 128, 129.

106 Sobrevilla Aldzar, 'hancisco Bilbao'. pp. 129. 130.

The European Revolutions of1848 and the Americas212

214 The European Revolutions of1848 and the Americas The Influence ofthe European 1848 Revolutions in Peru 21 5

These ideas were not adopted by the new assembly installed in July1855.107 During the discussions for the new constitution, Bilbao enteredthe debate on religious freedom, which became very incensed. Herrera ledthe campaign against him from his newspaper, publishing public peti­tions in defence of Catholicism against other religions, from all theprovinces of Peru, mostly by women. Such was the opposition to Bilbao'santi-religious ideas from the most conservative sectors of society that theChilean was jailed and public processions held against him. Herrerapublished an article accusing his liberal enemy of corrupting the 'simplesouls' of Peruvians and of trying through this to destroy the country, butadvocating release from prison and exile. 108 Bilbao's disciple EnriqueAlvarado defended his mentor's ideas but found so little space for radicalliberal debate in Peru that he finally left for Europe never to return. 109

The new constitution designed by the liberals followed many of theproposals presented by the progresistas. It abolished the Council of State,replacing it with two vice-presidents. The presidential term was cut fromsix to four years. The system of regional government through prefects wasmaintained, but greater autonomy was granted to municipalities, withcommittees formed in each district to arrange local affairs and take chargeof local funds."o The new constitution also prohibited the state collectionof Church tithes, and abolished military and ecclesiastic fiteros. Liberalsfailed, however, to separate Church and state. Though they did manageto give the legislature more power than the executive, it still had lesscontrol over the military.1II The president also established a Junta deExamen Fiscal to review all the debts recognised by Echenique's govern­ment.'"

The new constitution was a great victory of Peru's liberals. FinallyPeruvians possessed a written charter that contained most of the idealsthey had been advocating for a decade. However, their victory proved tobe shortlived. It did not take long for Castilla to become weary of hisliberal ministers, who only lasted in power until August 1855. The newconstitution was never implemented. Castilla managed to stay in powerby manipulating a conservative uprising in Arequipa in 1856, enablinghim to discard the liberal constitution and to direct a new Congress ledby Bartolome Herrera to write a new one. The 1860 constitution was notas conservative as the 1839 Huancayo charter it replaced. And some of the

107 Basadre, Historia de la Republica, p. 1104.108 El Cat6lico, Lima, 23 May 1855.109 Sobrevilla Aldzar, 'Francisco Bilbao', p. IJO.

110 elements Markham, A History ofPeru (repr. Chicago, 1992), p. 349.III Frederick Pike, The Modern History ofPeru (London, (967), p. 106.112 Valdivia, LllS revoluciones de Arequipa, p. 152.

innovations introduced in the 1856 constitution were retained, in spite ofHerrera's protests. This would be the enduring constitution in PeruvianHistory.

Conclusions

The impact of the European Revolutions of 1848 in Peru can be found inthe way the news from Europe influenced intellectual and politicaldebates and nourished currents of romanticism. The press was crucial as achannel for the diffusion of ideas both in Lima and the provinces, allow­ing issues to be more widely discussed. As a result Liberalism emerged tobecome a powerful political force in the decade between 1846 and 1856.The Guadalupe School played a very important part in the developmentof liberalism in Peru as it provided an opposing view to the evermoreconservative College of San Carlos under Herrera. The teachers anddirector of the Guadalupe School participated in the main debates of theperiod and even in the civil war of 1854.

Artisans participated in politics in a more direct way, first by pressingf~r more protection for their trades through a law and later by supportingdifferent presidential campaigns. The extension of voter qualifications in1849.brought a d,emocratisation of the country, evidenced in the 1850 -51electIOns. New forms of political mobilisation imported from Europe,such as the banquet and the political club, were also brought into use.The progresistas, a party embodying most of the principles of 1848, had aclear plan for government but lost the election. After democratic meansfor implement their plans had failed, liberals promoted Peru's firstrevolution that involved mass mobilisation.

The presence of Francisco Bilbao in Peru in the early 1850S was acrucial link to the events of the European 1848. The Chilean intellectualhad not only participated in the barricade building in Paris but hadbrought European ideas and practices to Latin America, first to Chilewhere he created the Sociedad de la Igualdad, and then to Peru where hetried to set up the Sociedad Republicana to fight slavery. As an exiledthinker Bilbao had the opportunity to share his ideas with local intellec­tuals as he did by collaborating in the local romanticist publication. Healso participated in the agitation that led to the 1854 liberal revolution andwas instrumental in writing against the Echenique regime.

?lavery was a d.ecay.ing institution in Peru by 1848. Yet the quickeningof IJberal debate II1spned by the European revolutions redoubled theefforts towards abolition, ensuring that it would come sooner rather thandying the slow death to which it had been destined. The radical liberalambience encouraged by 1848 eased the efforts of the slaves themselves toundermine the system, and facilitated the legal changes introduced in the

216 The European Revolutions ofI848 and the Americas

Civil Code of 1852. Although it can be argued that abolition was a resultof the particular interests of caudillos competing for power in a civil war,the impact of ideas and example of the European revolutions of 1848cannot be denied.

What did become clear with both the abolition of slavery and theIndian head tax was that elite and masses in Peru continued to be deeplydivided. Even progressive liberals were unable to connect to a widerconstituency. It was impossible for elite intellectuals to agree with artisansdue to differences in political economy as it was impossible for bothgroups to connect with Indians because of the cultural, spatial andpolitical gulf that separated them. The abolition of tribute is the primeexample of that division. Liberals regarded it as the most important steptowards the incorporation of Indians as citizens. For Indians the end oftribute signalled the loss of control over village commons, resulting inhaciendas taking their land and appropriating their labour.

The triumph of the liberals was enshrined in the new constitution of1855, a direct heir to the ideas of 1848. But, just when everything seemedprepared for a more democratic Peru, reaction gained the upper hand.The same caudillo who had led the liberals to power destroyed this optionby choosing more moderate and conservative supporters, who, alsoinfluenced by the events in Europe, had decided that the country was notready for such radical change.

9

New Granada and theEuropean Revolutions of1948*

EDUARDO POSADA-CARB6

O n 7 March 1849, congressmen of New Granada (Colombia today). gathered in the Santa Domingo Church in Bogota to select the new

preSident of the republic. As none of the three major candidates hadman~ged to attract an absolute majority of the electoral colleges, asrequlfed by the constitution, it was then up to Congress to settle thedispute. This was far from being a simple matter. The divisions amongthe electorate were also reflected in the composition of Congress. Andcongressmen were not left on their own to choose the president. Insidethe church building the 84 members of Congress were surrounded by alarge crowd - estimates vary between 1,500 and 4,000 people - most ofthe~ artisan~, craftsmen and students largely in support of the progresisttlcandIdate (LIberal), General Jose Hilario L6pez. Only after the fourthround of votes, and in the middle of allegations that some of them hadbee~ intimidated by the crowd, congressmen finally elected L6pez as thePreSident of New Granada. Following the news, the crowd went on tocelebrate in the streets - 'music, fireworks and cheers were heard every­where: the people of Bogota seemed overjoyed by the victory of theprogresista party." According to a contemporary witness of the events, 'apatr!o.tic feeling had just been awakened ... from a long dream, afterreceiVIng encouraging energies from the immense European revolution'.'

There is little doubt that the 1849 presidential election developed inan atmosphere that echoed the spirit of the 1848 European revolutions.This was a major landmark in the history of Colombia. It unfolded aperi~~ of rapid economic, social and political reforms, including the finalabolItIon of slavery, the introduction for the first time of direct elections

* I would like to rhank Guy Thomson for his encouragement and observarions. I amalso grareful to Malcolm Deas and Gusravo Bell, who gave me access w valuabledocuments. Research for rhis chaprer was also possible rhanks [() rhe kind assisranceofGilma Rodriguez ar rhe Banco de la Republica in Bogod.

I J:M: Resrrepo, Historia de fa Nueva Granada (Bogota, (963), vol. 11, p. 106.

2 S. Camacho Roldan, Escritos vm'ios (Bogora, 1H95), p. 347.