Miguel Iglesias
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Miguel Iglesias Pino de Arce was born on 11 June 1830 in
Cajamarca Cajamarca (), also known by the Quechua name, ''Kashamarka'', is the capital and largest city of the Cajamarca Region as well as an important cultural and commercial center in the northern Andes. It is located in the northern highlands of Peru ...
,
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, and died on 7 November 1909 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 ...
,
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. He was a
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 ...
vian soldier, general, and politician who served as the 26th
President of Peru The president of Peru ( es, link=no, presidente del Perú), officially called the president of the Republic of Peru ( es, link=no, presidente de la República del Perú), is the head of state and head of government of Peru. The president is th ...
( Regenerator President of the Republic) from 1882 to 1885. The original name of his family was de la Iglesia. Their ancestor was Captain Álvaro de la Iglesia, who fought against the
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in Spain in the 8th century. Lorenzo Iglesias Espinach left his hometown of
Solivella Solivella is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Conca de Barberà in Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by ...
in
Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...
in the early 19th century to join three uncles on his mother's side who had founded the Chota silver mine, near the town of
Cajamarca Cajamarca (), also known by the Quechua name, ''Kashamarka'', is the capital and largest city of the Cajamarca Region as well as an important cultural and commercial center in the northern Andes. It is located in the northern highlands of Peru ...
, in the county of the same name, in northern Peru, in 1780. Lorenzo Iglesias Espinach became both the heir of his uncles and sub-Prefect of Cajamarca; he was a friend of Simón Bolívar, who stayed with him in Cajamarca and was one of the groups of dissident Spanish colonists who supported independence from Spain. In 1820 Lorenzo Iglesias married Rosa Pino, and their son, Miguel, was born ten years later. Miguel Iglesias Pino, later General and President, known to posterity as "El Pacificador", inherited a estate from his forebears as well as lucrative silver mines. His power in the town of Cajamarca and the surrounding area was that of a feudal magnate, and he had been recruiting troops with his own money—effectively a private army—since the 1866 war with Spain. He had been one of the senior army officers present at the Peruvian victory on the "Dos de mayo", was given the rank of Colonel, and was named Prefect of Cajamarca. In 1874, Iglesias initiated a revolution against the government of President Manuel Pardo and proclaimed himself the political and military Chief of the North. Even though Iglesias's rebellion was a failure, he was not brought to account because no one 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 ...
dared to confront the power of Iglesias in Cajamarca. Thus, Iglesias was able to consolidate his position in his northern Peruvian fiefdom. When war broke out in 1879, between a coalition 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 = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...
allied with
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, ranged against
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 ...
, Iglesias commenced raising a new private militia. The war, now known as 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 ...
, quickly began to go wrong for Peru. In the campaign of November 1879, the Peruvian Navy lost their two most important warships, the iron-clad ''Independencia'' was sunk by the corvette ''Covadonga'', and the iron-clad ''Huascar'' was captured by the iron-clads ''Cochrane'' and ''Blanco Encalada'', which had been supplied to Chile and Peru by British shipyards; the southern department of
Tarapacá San Lorenzo de Tarapacá, also known simply as Tarapacá, is a town in the region of the same name in Chile. History The town has likely been inhabited since the 12th century, when it formed part of the Inca trail. When Spanish explorer Diego ...
was overrun, and the professional Peruvian army was broken. Subsequently, Iglesias's friend,
Nicolás de Piérola Jose Nicolás Baltasar Fernández de Piérola y Villena (known as "''El Califa''" ("The Caliph"); January 5, 1839 – June 23, 1913) was a Peruvian politician and Minister of Finance of Peru, Minister of Finance who served as the 23rd and 31 ...
, launched a successful
coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
, declaring himself Supreme Commander in Chief. On 23 December 1879, he replaced President Prado, who was considered to have mismanaged the conduct of the war thus far. One of the battalions lending their armed support to Pierola was Iglesias's "Vencedores de Cajamarca", and Pierola appointed Iglesias as Secretary of War in his new government. Iglesias personally took charge of organizing the defense of the Peruvian capital city against the advancing Chileans in January 1881. Iglesias's principal defensive lines were at the Morro Solar, a hill south of Lima. He had 5000 men, mostly recruited from Cajamarca, who had been trained and armed by him at his own expense to defend Lima. After the Peruvian Second Division had been forced to retreat from San Juan, the battle for Lima concentrated on the Morro Solar. The first Chilean assault on the hill was repulsed, but Chilean reinforcements and artillery were brought up. Iglesias found himself surrounded and outnumbered by 9000 Chilean troops and came under a withering barrage. Because the professional Peruvian army had previously been decimated in the south, losing much of its most modern equipment in the process, Iglesias had only primitive, Peruvian-manufactured rifles that were without adequate sights and were inferior to the Chilean Krupps. Of the men who defended the Morro Solar, only 280 were taken prisoner. Among those killed was General Iglesias's son Alejandro, aged 22. Miguel Iglesias was taken prisoner along with Carlos de Pierola, the brother of the President, and
Guillermo Billinghurst Guillermo Enrique Billinghurst Angulo (ie. William Henry Billinghurst) (Arica, July 27, 1851 – Iquique, June 28, 1915) was a Peruvian politician of English descent who served as the 37th President of Peru. He succeeded Augusto B. Leguía, fro ...
, Secretary of State. These three men and other critical Peruvian notables were about to be shot by a firing squad on the orders of a Chilean sergeant who did not believe in keeping prisoners alive. Just in time, Billinghurst stepped out of the execution line and persuaded the sergeant that he would do better to take them as prisoners to the Chilean commander, General Baquedano. Billinghurst and Iglesias were later Presidents of Peru, instead of corpses—such as Providence. After the defeat of the Morro Solar, Chile did not recognize Pierola as President and replaced him with a puppet in Lima's presidential palace. Having escaped back to Cajamarca, Iglesias continued the war against Chile in the north of Peru, while General Andrés Avelino Cáceres fought on against the Chileans in the Andes. On the Morro Solar, Iglesias had declared "I will not give in; I will fight while I can" and now saw his mission as "to search out and defeat the enemy wherever we meet him". He achieved a victory over the Chileans at
San Pablo, Cajamarca San Pablo is a town in Northern Peru, capital of the province San Pablo Province, San Pablo in the region Cajamarca Region, Cajamarca. Instituto Nacional de Estadística e InformáticaBanco de Información Digital, Retrieved June 12, 2008 Referenc ...
, on 13 July 1882, but soon afterward, a Chilean force reoccupied the region and carried out brutal reprisals. Following this, Iglesias became convinced that the war had to be brought to an end if Peru was not to be completely devastated. Peruvian historians have severely judged Iglesias because he represented blunt reality as he saw the fundamental question was whether Peru would exist as a nation. Iglesias saw that a few more years of prolonged occupation of Peru by Chile would render Peru a colony of Chile rather than a sovereign nation. Because he saw this clearly, he decided to convene a congress of the northern departments of Peru to proclaim him President of the whole country and empower him with authority to negotiate with the Chileans. With this claim to the presidency recognized by
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 ...
, Iglesias proceeded to the small seaside resort of Ancón, a short distance from Lima, to fulfill his grim mission of statesmanship. On 23 October 1883, Iglesias signed the
Treaty of Ancón The Treaty of Ancón was a peace treaty signed by Chile and Peru on 20 October 1883, in Ancón District, Ancón, near Lima. It was intended to settle the two nations' remaining territorial differences at the conclusion of their involvement in the ...
on behalf of Peru, thereby ending the hostilities. The Treaty had fourteen clauses. Peru paid with
Tarapacá San Lorenzo de Tarapacá, also known simply as Tarapacá, is a town in the region of the same name in Chile. History The town has likely been inhabited since the 12th century, when it formed part of the Inca trail. When Spanish explorer Diego ...
as war reparations while the southern department of
Arica Arica ( ; ) is a Communes of Chile, commune and a port city with a population of 222,619 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica y Parinacota Region. It is Chile's northernmost city, being located only south of the border with Peru. The ...
and
Tacna Tacna was known for its mining industry; it had significant deposits of sodium nitrate and other resources. Its economic prosperity attracted a wave of immigrants from Italy. Today, their Italian Peruvian descendants live in the city and many of t ...
was to decide in a referendum, to be held ten years hence, whether it wanted to join Chile or remain part of Peru. When he signed the Treaty of Ancón, Miguel Iglesias expected that his efforts to spare Peru further suffering, in a lost cause, would be rewarded with popular gratitude. It took him almost two years to understand that most Peruvians could not admire the man who had made himself the symbol of their resounding defeat. Iglesias initiated the restoration of the national library, which the Chileans had sacked, but he did not discover a formula for rebuilding Peru's political institutions. Unable to win allies through the judicious use of money because of the depleted state of the national treasury, Iglesias turned to increasingly repressive measures to silence the opposition, and his opponents fought back. On 27 August 1884, guerrilla fighters launched an armed assault against Lima and almost managed to fight their way into the presidential palace. The tenacious defense of Iglesias threw back the attackers at the last barricade, but they returned to the outskirts of Lima just over a year later. This time large numbers of the ordinary citizens of Lima decided to throw in their lot with the guerrillas, and Iglesias realized the full degree to which he lacked popular support. Choosing to avoid further bloodshed, Iglesias renounced the presidency in December 1885, took refuge on an Italian ship, and eventually reached his estate of Udima in Cajamarca. Iglesias had decided to retire from political life and dedicate himself to farming. However, the new Peruvian government wanted to see him out of the country and thereby severed from the Cajamarca power base from which Iglesias had been able repeatedly to relaunch himself in the past. It was insinuated that Iglesias should leave Peru, and in 1886 he and his wife Maria (daughter of Manuel Alonso de Posadas) went into exile in Europe. They took a retinue of servants and socialized for two years in
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and Paris. In 1888 the ban against Iglesias was lifted, and he and his wife were able to return to Peru. President Caceres reinstated Iglesias as a General with full pay and sent the news to him by special messenger. However, in general terms, Peru remained impoverished by its defeat in war. It could only afford to give Iglesias a small engraved wooden box from the Peruvian nation by way of thanks for all the troops that he had paid for in the War of the Pacific. A few years later, in 1895, the people of Cajamarca voted Iglesias in as their Senator in an uncontested election. Iglesias and his wife had eleven children, and 1895 was also the year that the General's youngest daughter, Gaudencia, married a Scot named Edgar Fraser Luckie, who had made a fortune from gold mining in
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and then bought the Andahuasi sugar farming estate near Sayan, north of Lima.


Exhumation and reburial to Peruvian Crypt of Heroes in 2011

Forgiven and admired, Iglesias's memory was resurrected in Peru, on 20 July 2011, after 102 years at rest; President and General Iglesias Pino de Arce was exhumed to a new coffin and subsequently moved and reinterred in the Cripta de Los Heroes in Lima.


See also

* List of presidents of Peru


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iglesias Pino De Arce, Miguel 1830 births 1909 deaths Presidents of Peru Peruvian military personnel of the War of the Pacific