Pedro Antonio Olañeta
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Pedro Antonio de Olañeta y Marquiegui (1774 in Elgueta,
Gipuzkoa 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 depa ...
,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
– April 2, 1825 in Tumusla,
Potosí Department Potosí (; Aymara: ''Putusi''; qu, P'utuqsi) is a department in southwestern Bolivia. It comprises 118,218 km2 with 823,517 inhabitants (2012 census). The capital is the city of Potosí. It is mostly a barren, mountainous region with on ...
, Bolivia) was a Royalist commander in the army of the
Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
who fought against the South American insurgency led by Simón Bolívar. His support for Spanish absolutism and rebellion against the moderate Royalists created conflicts within the Royalist army that aided the rebels. After the defeat of the main Royalist armies, he continued the resistance, becoming one of the last Royalist commanders to hold out. Olañeta was the last Viceroy of the Río de la Plata.


Early life

Olañeta was born in a small mountain village in the Biscay province, Spain. His family actively engaged in the colonial trade, and several of his uncles and cousins established themselves in Chuquisaca, Tupiza and Cusco, creating a vast trade network. In 1789 he emigrated to South America with his uncle Pedro Marquegui, a merchant trading the route between Cádiz and La Plata via Buenos Aires. Olañeta settled in the area of Potosí and
Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Argentine province of the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the 7th most-populous city in Argentina. The city serves as the cultural and economic ce ...
, becoming a prosperous trader. In 1803 he became Sargent Mayor in the Cavallry of the urban militia of Santiago de Cotagaita, Potosi province. When the war of independence broke out he was ascended to Brigadier General.


Royalist commander

When the
May Revolution The May Revolution ( es, Revolución de Mayo) was a week-long series of events that took place from May 18 to 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the terri ...
occurred in 1810 he sided with the Royalists, commanded by General José Manuel de Goyeneche, and fought as an officer in campaigns against the rebels. He was promoted to colonel under the command of Joaquín Pezuela, then to brigadier general under Viceroy José de la Serna e Hinojosa in 1821. After the liberal revolution in Spain under Fernando VII, Olañeta rejected the authority of La Serna and proclaimed himself "the only defender of throne and altar". Olañeta then ordered an attack of the Upper Peruvian royalists on the constitutionalists in the Peruvian viceroyalty.Jaime E. Rodríguez O
The Independence of Spanish America
(1998), 231.
The Viceroy de La Serna was forced to change his plans of going down to the coast to fight Bolívar and sent Jerónimo Valdés with a force of 5,000 veterans to cross the Desaguadero River, which took place on January 22, 1824, in order to drive them to Potosí against his former subordinate "because there are indications of a meditated treason, joining the dissidents of Buenos Aires". ''Memorias para la historia de las armas españolas en el Perú'' ("Memories for the history of the Spanish armies in Peru") by peninsular official Andrés García Camba (1846) detailed the radical change that the events in Upper Peru produced in the viceroy's defensive plans. After a long campaign in the battles of Tarabuquillo, Sala, Cotagaita, and finally La Lava on August 17, 1824, both royalists forces of Viceroyalty Peru (liberals) and of the provinces of Upper Peru (absolutists) were decimated.


Continuing resistance

Bolivar, having news of Olañeta's actions, took advantage of the dismantling of the royalist defensive system so that he "moved the whole month of May to Jauja", and faced José de Canterac, who was isolated in Junín on August 6 of 1824. Unrelenting prosecution of the war started, with the consequent desertion of 2700 royalists, who immediately went over to the independentists. Finally, October 7 of 1824, having his troops right in front of the doors of Cusco, Bolívar gave general Sucre the command of the new battle front, which followed the course of the
Apurímac River The Apurímac River ( que, Apurimaq mayu; es, Río Apurímac, ; from Quechua ''apu'' 'divinity' and ''rimaq'' 'oracle, talker') rises from glacial meltwater of the ridge of the Mismi, a mountain in the Arequipa Province in the south-western ...
, and he withdrew to Lima in order to negotiate more loans to keep the war going in Peru, and to receive a Colombian division of 4000 men provided by Páez, which arrived after the Battle of Ayacucho, where the patriot forces won the day.Bolívar After the decisive defeat of the main royalist armies in the
Battle of Ayacucho The Battle of Ayacucho ( es, Batalla de Ayacucho, ) was a decisive military encounter during the Peruvian War of Independence. This battle secured the independence of Peru and ensured independence for the rest of South America. In Peru it is co ...
, Olañeta continued a hopeless resistance against Simón Bolívar's forces in the Campaign of Sucre in Upper Peru (today's Bolivia). On April 2, 1825, after a desperate fight, Olañeta was mortally wounded in the Battle of Tumusla, fighting with a few hundred men against many of his own ex-troops led by Colonel Carlos Medinaceli, who had defected to the patriots. He died the following day. This battle of the war of independence was the last engagement in an open field by regular armies in
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
. Unaware of his death, Fernando VII appointed him Viceroy of the Rio de la Plata. After the battle
Antonio José de Sucre Antonio José de Sucre y Alcalá (; 3 February 1795 – 4 June 1830), known as the "Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho" ( en, "Grand Marshal of Ayacucho"), was a Venezuelan independence leader who served as the president of Peru and as the second p ...
called a congress of Upper Peru and saw the creation of a new nation, Bolivia.


References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Olaneta, Pedro Antonio 1770 births 1825 deaths Royalists in the Hispanic American Revolution People of the Peruvian War of Independence Spanish military personnel killed in action People from Debagoiena Spanish army officers