Manuel Melitón Carvajal Ambulodegui (March 10, 1847, in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

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

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

Huáscar Huáscar (; Quechua: ''Waskar Inka'') also Guazcar (before 15271532) 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 during the same year ...

'' during the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific (), also known by War of the Pacific#Etymology, multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Treaty of Defensive Alliance (Bolivia–Peru), Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought over Atacama Desert ...

. He was wounded and taken prisoner at the

Battle of Angamos The Battle of 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 lasted about five months i ...

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

Peruvian Navy The Peruvian Navy (, abbreviated MGP) is the branch of the Peruvian Military of Peru, Armed Forces tasked with surveillance, patrol and defense on lakes, rivers and the Pacific Ocean up to from the Peruvian littoral. Additional missions include ...

. Melitón Carvajal National College, located in

Lince District Lince is a district of 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 193 ...

, 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 The College of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a Secular education, secular public education school in Lima, Peru. Originally founded on Jirón Apurímac, Chacarilla Street in the Guadalupe neighbourhood on November 14, 1840, it moved in 1909 to its curr ...

in Lima, and entered the Naval College in 1860, where he graduated as an

Officer Cadet Officer cadet is a rank held by military personnel during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by personnel of University Service Units such as the University Officers' Training Corps. Th ...

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

Ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

. He joined Colonel

Mariano Ignacio Prado Mariano Ignacio Prado Ochoa (18 December 1825 – 5 May 1901) was a Peruvian army general who served as the 17th (1865 - 1868) and 21st (1876 - 1879) President of Peru. Biography Born in Huánuco on 18 December 1825, he studied in Huánuco and ...

'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 Empire, Spanish fleet under the command of Admiral Casto Méndez Núñez and the fortified battery emplacements of the Peruvian port city of Cal ...

, 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 se ...

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

guano Guano (Spanish from ) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. Guano is a highly effective fertiliser due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. Guano was also, to a le ...

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 Argenti ...

. 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 or exchanged may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * Exchange (film), or ''Deep Trap'', 2015 South Korean psychological thriller * Exchanged (film), 2019 Peruvian fantasy comedy * Exchange (TV program), 2021 Sou ...

. 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"), founded in 1533 as San Pedro de Andahuaylas «La Grande de la Corona» (Spanish for "The Grand ityof the Crown"), is a Peruvian city. It is the capital of the ...

, becoming part of the Congress that gathered in

Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara language, Aymara and ), also known by its nicknames of ''Ciudad Blanca'' (Spanish for "White City") and ''León del Sur'' (Spanish for "South's Lion"), is a city in Peru and the capital of the eponymous Arequipa (province), ...

, the seat of Admiral

Lizardo Montero Juan Lizardo Montero Flores (May 27, 1832 – February 2, 1905) was a Peruvian military officer and politician who held the provisional Presidency of Peru from 1881 to 1883, replacing President Francisco García Calderón, during the Chilean occ ...

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

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

to repatriate the remains of the Peruvians who had died there during the war. Towards the end of the Remigio Morales Bermúdez administration, he was named

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

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 may refer to: Places Argentina * Junín Partido **Junín, Buenos Aires ***Junín Airport *Junín Department, Mendoza ** Junín, Mendoza * Junín Department, San Luis * Junín de los Andes, Neuquén Colombia * Junín, Cundinamarca * Jun ...

(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 An admiral of the fleet or shortened to fleet admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to field marshal and marshal of the air force. An admiral of the fleet is typically senior to an admiral. It is also a generic ter ...

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 dea ...

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 Military personnel from Lima Vice presidents of Peru Ministers of economy and finance of Peru Peruvian Navy personnel of the War of the Pacific Peruvian Navy officers Peruvian people of Spanish descent College of Our Lady of Guadalupe alumni