Juan Pío Camilo de Tristán y Moscoso (July 11, 1773, Arequipa – August 24, 1860,

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 ...

) was a

Peruvian Peruvians ( es, peruanos) are the citizens of Peru. There were Andean and coastal ancient civilizations like Caral, which inhabited what is now Peruvian territory for several millennia before the Spanish conquest of Peru, Spanish conquest in th ...

general and politician who served as the second President of

South Peru The Republic of South Peru ( es, República Sud-Peruana) was one of the three constituent Republics of the short-lived Peru–Bolivian Confederation of 1836–39. South Peru was formed from the division of the Republic of Peru into the Republic ...

from October 12, 1838 to February 23, 1839. He was nominally the last

viceroy of Peru The viceroys of Peru ruled the Viceroyalty of Peru from 1544 to 1824 in the name of the monarch of Spain. The territories under ''de jure'' rule by the viceroys included in the 16th and 17th century almost all of South America except eastern Braz ...

, serving in that capacity from December 9 to December 30, 1824, but not exercising power.

Biography

Early career

Tristán was born in Arequipa to a wealthy family descended from the

House of Borgia The House of Borgia ( , ; Spanish and an, Borja ; ca-valencia, Borja ) was an Italian-Aragonese Spanish noble family, which rose to prominence during the Italian Renaissance. They were from Valencia, the surname being a toponymic from the town ...

, something which he felt proud of. Later in life, Tristán y Moscoso went to

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 ...

, where he fought the French in the War of the Convention (1793–1795). On his return to Peru he was elected ''alcalde'' (mayor) of Arequipa (1808). He was a general in the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...

army in Peru. In June 1811 he fought as part of the victorious Royalist forces in the Battle of Guaqui.

Battle of Salta

He led a Royalist force into the territory of present-day

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 ...

after the Battle of Guaqui. He was defeated at Tucumán and again at Salta, by one of his classmates at

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Herit ...

, rebel General

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 ...

. The

Battle of Salta The Battle of Salta took place on February 20, 1813 on the plains of Castañares, north of the present-day Argentine city of Salta, during the Argentine War of Independence. The Army of the North, under the command of general Manuel Belgrano, ...

took place on February20, 1813. Belgrano had been sent by the Second Triumvirate (of insurgents in Buenos Aires) to attack the city, at the northern extremity of the old Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata. This he did, completely defeating the troops of Tristán. It was the first military victory achieved under the flag of Argentina. After his defeat, Tristán signed a 40-day truce and returned to Peru. The defeat of the Royalists at Salta gave the insurgents domination over the northern part of the old viceroyalty and also led to revolts against the Spanish in Charcas, Potosí and, later,

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 (now Bolivia). At the expiration of the truce, General Belgrano followed Tristán into Alto Perú, entering the territory of Charcas on May7, 1813. However, Belgrano was defeated at Vilcapugio on November1, and again at Ayohuma on November14.

Political career

The December 1824 defeat of Viceroy

José de la Serna José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

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 ...

effectively ended Spanish power in Peru. Tristán was the most senior Spanish military officer in the colony, and as such he assumed the office of provisional viceroy, solely for the purpose of transferring power to the nationalists. After this, he chose to stay in Peru, and was active in Peruvian politics. He exercised the functions of prefect and commander in Arequipa. Then he was Peruvian minister of war and marine. He was

Minister of Finance of Peru The Ministry of Economy and Finance of Peru is the government ministry responsible for the planning and execution of economic policies of the Peruvian Government with the goal of optimizing the economic and financial activities of the state, est ...

in 1836. He participated in the creation of the Peruvian-Bolivian Confederation and served as its foreign minister. From October12, 1838 to February23, 1839 he was president of the state of

within the Confederation. He died in Lima in1860. He later lived in the Tristán del Pozo House, formerly owned by some relatives, and is described, by his niece,

Flora Tristan Flore Célestine Thérèse Henriette Tristán y Moscoso better known as Flora Tristan (7 April 1803 – 14 November 1844) was a French-Peruvian socialist writer and activist. She made important contributions to early feminist theory, and argued ...

, in her travel book ''Pérégrinations d'une paria'' (''Peregrinations of a Pariah'', 1838). Flora Tristan was a feminist and socialist writer, and, incidentally, the maternal grandmother of French painter

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...

References

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