José Silverio Olaya Balandra (1789 – June 29, 1823) was a Peruvian hero in the

Peruvian War of Independence The Peruvian War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia del Perú, links=no) consisted in a series of military conflicts in Peru beginning with viceroy Abascal military victories in the south frontier in 1809, in La Paz revolution an ...

Biography

The son of Jose Apolinario Olaya and Cordoba and doña Melchora Balandra.Pons 1981, pg. 129 He had 11 siblings. In the struggle for the independence of Peru, the hero acted as secret emissary carrying messages between the Government of

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists o ...

and Lima Patriots by swimming. He was discovered, arrested and subjected to torture and sentenced to death. Despite the torture, he never revealed his mission and willingly swallowed the letters assigned to the mission. The independence of Peru, first declared in Huaura in November 1820 and July 28, 1821 in Lima, had become effective only in Lima and in the north, but Cuzco, the central highlands and south were still under the rule of the royal army. When José de San Martín recognized the little support given to political and military forces, he resigned from the

Constituent Congress of Peru, 1822 The Constituent Congress of Peru, 1822 was the first democratically elected institution in Peru. Its members, called deputies, were appointed by popular election called by the liberator José de San Martín, who then exercised power as Protector of ...

. The congress appointed José de la Riva Agüero as President of the Republic and

Francisco Xavier de Luna Pizarro Francisco Xavier de Luna Pizarro (November 3, 1780 – February 2, 1855) was a Peruvian priest, politician and lawyer. He served as Archbishop of Lima from 1846 to 1855, deputy for Cusco and Arequipa, and President of the Constituent Congresses of ...

as Congress President. The royal army, taking advantage of the fact that the patriotic troops were far away, took Lima and members of Congress took refuge in the

Real Felipe Fortress The Real Felipe Fortress was built to defend the main Peruvian port and the city of Lima from pirates and corsairs during colonial times. The fortress was pivotal in the 1866 naval battle between a Spanish fleet sent to South America to "reclaim" ...

in Callao. It is at this stage that José Olaya, a fisherman by trade, did not hesitate to serve as a link between the ships of the squadron Liberator (formed by units of the Republic of Chile) and the soldiers of the patriotic forces (

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

) located in Lima, even if it meant walking across fields and swimming in the sea. Imprisoned by the royal army, he was tortured in order to obtain information about the patriotic forces. José Olaya Balandra was not frightened of pain. He suffered two hundred lashes of the whip and two hundred beatings with sticks, not yielding even after they tore out his nails. Finally, on the morning of June 29, 1823 he uttered the phrase:

References

People from Lima 1823 deaths 1782 births People of the Peruvian War of Independence Executed revolutionaries {{Peru-mil-bio-stub