Pedro Antonio de Olañeta y Marquiegui (October 16, 1770 in Elgueta,

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa ( , ; ; ) 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 department of Pyrénées-Atlantiqu ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

– April 2, 1825 in Tumusla,

Potosí Department Potosí (; Southern Quechua, Quechua: ''P'utuqsi''; Aymara language, Aymara: ''Putusi'') is a Departments of Bolivia, department in southwestern Bolivia. Its area is 118,218 km2 and its population is 856,419 (2024 census). The capital is the ...

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

) was a Royalist commander in the army of the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

who fought against the South American insurgency led by

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24July 178317December 1830) was a Venezuelan statesman and military officer who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bol ...

. 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 Potosí, known as Villa Imperial de Potosí in the colonial period, is the capital city and a municipality of the Potosí Department, Department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the list of highest cities in the world, highest cities in the wo ...

and

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Salta Province, the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the List of cities in Argentina, 7th most-populous ...

, becoming a prosperous trader. In 1803 he became Sargent Mayor in the Cavalry of the urban militia of Santiago de Cotagaita, Potosi province. When the war of independence broke out he was promoted to Brigadier General.

Royalist commander

When the

May Revolution The May Revolution () was a week-long series of events that took place from 18 to 25 May 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the territories of present-day Argentina, ...

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. On 2 August 1822, he was awarded the Cross of San Fernando 3rd Class for his victory at the . 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

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

After the decisive defeat of the main royalist armies in the

Battle of Ayacucho The Battle of 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 belligerent South American states. In Peru it is conside ...

, Olañeta continued a hopeless resistance against

's forces in the Campaign of Sucre in Upper Peru (today's

). 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 considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. 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" (), was a Venezuelan general and politician who served as the president of Bolivia from 1825 to 1828. A close friend and associate ...

called a congress of Upper Peru and saw the creation of a new nation,

Early life

Royalist commander

Continuing resistance

References

Further reading