Manuel Melitón Carvajal Ambulodegui (March 10, 1847 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 River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

– September 19, 1935 in Lima), was a Peruvian naval commander and government official who was part of the crew of the

ironclad An ironclad is a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by Wrought iron, iron or steel iron armor, armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships ...

Huáscar Huáscar Inca (; Quechua: ''Waskar Inka''; 1503–1532) also Guazcar was Sapa Inca of the Inca Empire from 1527 to 1532. He succeeded his father, Huayna Capac and his brother Ninan Cuyochi, both of whom died of smallpox while campaigning near Qui ...

'' during the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific ( es, link=no, Guerra del Pacífico), also known as the Saltpeter War ( es, link=no, Guerra del salitre) and by multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought ...

. He was wounded and taken prisoner at the

Battle of Angamos The Battle of Angamos ( es, Combate de Angamos) was a naval encounter of the War of the Pacific fought between the navies of Chile and Perú at Punta Angamos, on 8 October 1879. The battle was the culminating point of a naval campaign that las ...

and became a national hero. He later held numerous government posts and supervised the buildup of the

Peruvian Navy The Peruvian Navy ( es, link=no, Marina de Guerra del Perú, abbreviated MGP) is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with surveillance, patrol and defense on lakes, rivers and the Pacific Ocean up to from the Peruvian littoral. Addit ...

. Melitón Carvajal National College, located in

Lince District Lince is a district of the Lima Province in Peru. It is part of the city of Lima. Officially established as a district on May 29, 1936, the current mayor (''alcalde'') of Lince is Vicente Amable Escalante. The district's postal code is 14. Until ...

, was named in his honor.

Early career

He was the son of a Colombian doctor, Manuel Ignacio Carvajal, and his wife María del Pilar Ambulodegui. He studied at the College of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Lima, and entered the Naval College in 1860, where he graduated as an

Officer Cadet Officer Cadet is a rank held by military cadets during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by members of University Royal Naval Units, University Officer Training Corps and University Air ...

in 1863. He remained there as a professor of arithmetic and geography and, the following year, he was awarded the rank of

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

. He joined Colonel

Mariano Ignacio Prado Mariano Ignacio Prado Ochoa (December 18, 1825 – May 5, 1901) was a Peruvian army general who served as the 16th (1865 - 1868) and 21st (1876 - 1879) President of Peru. Biography Born in Huánuco on December 18, 1825, he studied in Huanuco an ...

's coup and fought at the

Battle of Callao The Battle of Callao (, as it is known in South America) occurred on May 2, 1866, between a Spanish fleet under the command of Admiral Casto Méndez Núñez and the fortified battery emplacements of the Peruvian port city of Callao during th ...

, after which he was promoted to

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

. Beginning in 1867, he served as Captain of the Port in several locations and explored the Marañón and Huallaga rivers on board the gunboat ''Napo'', conquering the treacherous

Pongo de Manseriche The Pongo de Manseriche is a gorge in northwest Peru. The Marañón River runs through this gorge (and water gap) before it reaches the Amazon Basin. The Pongo ('gate' in Quechua) de Manseriche is 3 miles (4.8 km) long, located at 4° 27� ...

. In 1872, he was one of the officers on board the frigate '' Apurímac'', when the naval commanders signed a manifesto declaring their opposition to the coup led by

Tomás Gutiérrez Tomás Francisco Gutiérrez Chávez (March 7, 1817 – July 26, 1872) was a Peruvian Colonel who, along with his brothers, led a coup against President José Balta Montero and served as the Supreme Leader of Peru for four days in July 1872. Fro ...

. During a term as Sub-director of the Naval College, he served on a commission to measure the depth of

guano Guano (Spanish from qu, wanu) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. G ...

deposits along the coast (1875-1876).

War of the Pacific

At the outbreak of the War of the Pacific in 1879, he was a

Frigate Captain Frigate captain is a naval rank in the naval forces of several countries. Corvette captain lies one level below frigate captain. It is usually equivalent to the Commonwealth/US Navy rank of commander. Countries using this rank include Argentina ...

. He embarked on the ironclad ''Huáscar'' as Chief-of-Staff for the First Naval Division. He was present at all the battles fought by that vessel, under the command of Admiral Grau, including the Battle of Angamos, where he was wounded by an exploding grenade in the control tower. Because of this, he was unable to take command of the ''Huáscar'' after the deaths of Admiral Grau and his second-in-command, Captain Elias Aguirre Romero. Carvajal was taken prisoner and obtained his release through an

exchange Exchange may refer to: Physics *Gas exchange is the movement of oxygen and carbon dioxide molecules from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. Places United States * Exchange, Indiana, an unincorporated community * ...

. He was hailed as a hero throughout Peru.

Later career

In 1880, he was commissioned to visit Europe to obtain arms and supervise the construction of the gunboats ''Lima'' and ''Callao'' in England and, in 1883, was elected for congress representing

Andahuaylas Andahuaylas (Quechua Antawaylla, ''anta'' copper, ''waylla'' meadow, "copper meadow") is a Peruvian city. It is the capital of the Andahuaylas Province in the Apurímac Region. It is known as the ''pradera de los celajes'' (Spanish for "prairie of ...

, becoming part of the Congress that gathered in

Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara and qu, Ariqipa) is a city and capital of province and the eponymous department of Peru. It is the seat of the Constitutional Court of Peru and often dubbed the "legal capital of Peru". It is the second most populated city ...

, the seat of Admiral

Lizardo Montero Juan Lizardo Montero Flores (1832 in Piura, Peru – 1905) was a Peruvian soldier and politician who held the provisional Presidency of Peru from 1881 to 1883, replacing President Francisco García Calderón, during the Chilean occupation of Peru ...

's government. In 1890, he headed the mission that went to

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

to repatriate the remains of the Peruvians who had died there during the war. Towards the end of the

Remigio Morales Bermúdez Remigio Morales Bermúdez (30 September 1836 – 1 April 1894) served as the 28th President of Peru from 1890 to 1894. He died while still in office. He served as the first vice president from 1886 to 1890. His future grandson, whom he would n ...

administration, he was named

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

and Commerce, a position he held until Morales' death in 1894. Following the Pierolista coup he was placed on trial, but the case was dismissed. He was Director of the Military Preparatory School (1897-1898), Prefect of

Junín Province Junín Province is a province in northwestern Junín Region, in the central highlands of Peru. Its capital is the city of Junín. Geography The territory of the province is mountainous and it includes Lake Junin which is the largest lake entire ...

(1899), Director of the Military Academy (1900) and the Minister of War (1900). He was promoted to Admiral in 1901. Later, he was named President of the Navy's Board of Governors (1902). He made a trip to Europe (his fourth) to supervise construction of the cruisers ''Almirante Grau'' and ''Coronel Bolognesi'' in the English shipyards, and personally commanded their maiden voyages to Peru in 1907. In 1913, he was named Admiral of the Fleet and served another term as Minister of War (1913-1914). He became the Second

Vice President of Peru The Republic of Peru has two vice presidents, the First Vice President and the Second Vice President, who are elected along with the President in democratic elections. Their only constitutional mission is to replace the President in case of deat ...

during the second term of President José Pardo (1915-1919). He retired in 1927, after almost sixty years of public service.

References

* Basadre Grohmann, Jorge: ''Historia de la República del Perú (1822 - 1933)'', Tomo 8. Editada por la Empresa Editora El Comercio S. A. Lima, 2005. (V.8) * Ortiz Sotelo, Jorge - Castañeda Martos, Alicia: ''Diccionario Biográfico Marítimo Peruano''. Asociación de Historia Marítima y Naval Iberoamericana, Lima, 2007. Impreso por Jhire Grafel S.R.L. * Tauro del Pino, Alberto: ''Enciclopedia Ilustrada del Perú''. Tercera Edición. Tomo 4, CAN/CHO. Lima, PEISA, 2001. * Various authors: ''Grandes Forjadores del Perú''. Lima, Lexus Editores, 2000. {{DEFAULTSORT:Carvajal, Meliton 1847 births 1935 deaths People from Lima Vice presidents of Peru Peruvian Ministers of Economy and Finance Peruvian Navy personnel of the War of the Pacific Peruvian Navy officers Peruvian people of Spanish descent