Joaquín González de la Pezuela Griñán y Sánchez de Aragón Muñoz de Velasco, 1st Marquess of Viluma, (May 21, 1761–1830) was a Spanish military officer and viceroy of

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

during 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 ...

Background

Pezuela was born into a hidalgo family originally from Santander. He attended the Artillery College in

Segovia Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia. Segovia is in the Inner Plateau ('' Meseta central''), near the northern slopes of t ...

. In the army, he fought in the

siege of Gibraltar There have been fourteen recorded sieges of Gibraltar. Although the peninsula of Gibraltar is only long and wide, it occupies an extremely strategic location on the southern Iberian coast at the western entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. It ...

, and later against the French in

Guipúzcoa Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French de ...

and

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

, in 1793 and 1794. In 1805 he went to America as head of the army in Alto Perú (now

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

). From there he went to Peru, when Viceroy José Fernando de Abascal y Sousa named him directory of the Royal Artillery. He reorganized the artillery, with emphasis on its modernization and technical aspects. In 1813 he was promoted to brigadier.

Viceroy of Peru

A defender of the Spanish Crown in South America, Pezuela fought the insurgents. He defeated

Manuel Belgrano Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano y González (3 June 1770 – 20 June 1820), usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano (), was an Argentine public servant, economist, lawyer, politician, journalist, and military leader. He ...

on October 19, 1813, in the

Battle of Vilcapugio The Battle of Vilcapugio ( qu, Sacred Well) was a major battle fought on October 1, 1813, during the second Campaign of Upper Peru in the Argentine War of Independence, where the United Provinces forces led by General Manuel Belgrano were defeate ...

and again on November 14, 1813, in the

Battle of Ayohuma The Battle of Ayohuma ("dead man's head" in Quechua) was a military action fought on 14 November 1813 during the Spanish American wars of independence. The forces of the Royal Army of Viceroyalty of Peru, commanded by Spaniard General Joaquín de ...

(in present-day Bolivia). After these victories he advanced to the south, occupying the cities of

Jujuy San Salvador de Jujuy (), commonly known as Jujuy and locally often referred to as San Salvador, is the capital and largest city of Jujuy Province in northwest Argentina. Also, it is the seat of the Doctor Manuel Belgrano Department. It lies ne ...

(northern Argentina) on May 27, 1814, and Salta on July 25, 1814. However, he was forced to withdraw under continuing harassment by General

Martín Miguel de Güemes Martín Miguel de Güemes (8 February 1785 – 17 June 1821) was a military leader and popular caudillo who defended northwestern Argentina from the Spain, Spanish royalist army during the Argentine War of Independence. Biography Güemes was bor ...

gaucho A gaucho () or gaúcho () is a skilled horseman, reputed to be brave and unruly. The figure of the gaucho is a folk symbol of Argentina, Uruguay, Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, and the south of Chilean Patagonia. Gauchos became greatly admired and ...

s. He lost 1,200 men on the retreat back to Jujuy without having fought a single major battle. In 1815 he fought José Rondeau, whom he defeated in the

Battle of Sipe-Sipe The Battle of Viluma, also known as Battle of Sipe-Sipe, was a major battle in the South American wars of independence in which the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (formerly the Spanish Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata) were decisi ...

or Viluma. This battle took place on November 29, 1815, near

Cochabamba Cochabamba ( ay, Quchapampa; qu, Quchapampa) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and the fourth largest city in Bolivia, with a population of 630 ...

, Alto Perú. It is said to be one of the most serious defeats suffered by the insurgents in the

Spanish American wars of independence The Spanish American wars of independence (25 September 1808 – 29 September 1833; es, Guerras de independencia hispanoamericanas) were numerous wars in Spanish America with the aim of political independence from Spanish rule during the early ...

. The insurgents lost 2,000 men and all their artillery. For his success, in 1816 Pezuela was promoted to lieutenant general and given the title ''marqués de Viluma''. By royal order dated October 15, 1815, he was named interim viceroy of Peru to replace Abascal. The following year he also became captain general of Peru. In 1819 he was attacked in

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and 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 of the whole Cal ...

by the squadron of Thomas Cochrane, and was forced to flee the port.

Coup and deposition

Relations between Viceroy de la Pezuela and his second in command, Lieutenant General José de la Serna deteriorated fast because De la Pezuela was an absolutist while de la Serna a liberal. De la Serna finally asked to be relieved of command so that he could retire to Spain. Permission was received in May 1819, and in September, de la Serna resigned the command of the army to General José Canterac. De la Serna had partisans in

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...

, and upon his arrival there they demonstrated in favor of his remaining in Peru to face the threatened invasion of General

José de San Martín José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras (25 February 177817 August 1850), known simply as José de San Martín () or '' the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru'', was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and centr ...

from Chile. De la Pezuela agreed to promote de la Serna to lieutenant general and name him president of a council of war. San Martin landed in

Pisco Pisco is a colorless or yellowish-to-amber colored brandy produced in winemaking regions of Peru and Chile. Made by distilling fermented grape juice into a high-proof spirit, it was developed by 16th-century Spanish settlers as an alternative ...

, on September 8, 1820. De la Serna, through secret negotiations, was named commander-in-chief of the army gathered at Aznapuquio to protect the capital against San Martin's advance. He was ordered by the viceroy to march to

Chancay Chancay is a small city located north of Lima. Its population is 63,378. The Chancay culture was a pre-Columbian archaeological culture, later part of the Inca Empire. History It was founded in 1562 under the name of Villa de Arnedo. The ma ...

. On January 29, 1821, the principal officers of the camp, partisans of de la Serna, petitioned Viceroy de la Pezuela to resign in favor of de la Serna. De la Pezuela refused and ordered de la Serna to subdue the mutiny, but de la Serna claimed to be unable to do so. The viceroy, seeing his authority evaporate, turned over the executive power on the evening of the same day. Later, the results of this coup were recognized by Spain.

Later life

Pezuela returned to Spain in 1825, where he was captain general of New Castile. He died in Madrid in 1830. His eldest son was Manuel de la Pezuela, 2nd Marquess of Viluma, and his second son Juan de la Pezuela y Cevallos. His nephew was Manuel de la Pezuela y Lobo-Cabrilla, a conservative politician, who was minister of the navy and of commerce in the Spanish cabinet, and later a senator. As minister of the navy, he developed the concept of an ocean-going torpedo gunboat. As a result, naval officer

Fernando Villaamil Fernando Villaamil Fernández-Cueto (November 23, 1845 – July 3, 1898) was a Spanish naval officer, remembered for his internationally recognized professionalism, for being the inventor of the destroyer warship and for his death in action during ...

conceived the ocean going

torpedo gunboat In late 19th-century naval terminology, torpedo gunboats were a form of gunboat armed with torpedoes and designed for hunting and destroying smaller torpedo boats. By the end of the 1890s torpedo gunboats were superseded by their more successful ...

'' Destructor'', built in 1885 in Britain and a precursor of the modern

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed ...

s. He also approved the funds for

Isaac Peral Isaac Peral y Caballero (1 June 1851, in Cartagena – 22 May 1895, in Berlin), was a Spanish engineer, naval officer and designer of the Peral Submarine. He joined the Spanish navy in 1866, and developed the first electric-powered submarine whi ...

's project of an

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

-powered submarine, the first of its kind.

Additional information

External links