The Peruvian civil war of 1884–1885 was an internal Peruvian conflict. It erupted as a result of the ratification of the

Treaty of Ancón The Treaty of Ancón was a peace treaty signed by Chile and Peru on 20 October 1883, in Ancón, near Lima. It was intended to settle the two nations' remaining territorial differences at the conclusion of their involvement in the War of the Paci ...

, which ceded the Arica and Tacna provinces to Chile after the lost

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 ...

Background

The rivalry between

Andrés Avelino Cáceres Andrés Avelino Cáceres Dorregaray (10 November 1836 – 10 October 1923) was a Peruvian politician and general who served as the President of Peru, from 1886 to 1890 as the 27th president, and again from 1894 to 1895 as the 30th. He is cons ...

and

Miguel Iglesias Miguel Iglesias Pino de Arce was born on 11 June 1830 in Cajamarca, Peru, and died on 7 November 1909 in Lima, Peru. He was a Peruvian soldier, general, and politician who served as the 26th President of Peru ( Regenerator President of the Repub ...

began in the middle of the war with Chile. Both were distinguished soldiers, IIglesias had fought in the

Lima campaign The Lima campaign is the third Land campaign of the War of the Pacific, land campaign of the War of the Pacific, carried out by Chile between December 1880 and January 1881. The campaign ended with the Chilean Occupation of Lima, occupation of th ...

and won the Battle of San Pablo. While Cáceres had been victorious in the

Battle of Tarapacá The Battle of Tarapacá occurred on 27 November 1879 during the Tarapacá Campaign of the War of the Pacific. Three Chilean columns of almost 3,900 soldiers attacked a numerically inferior Peruvian contingent of 3,046 troops at Tarapacá - 50 ...

and was the commander of the Peruvian

Breña campaign The Breña campaign, or Sierra campaign, was the last phase of the land campaigns of the War of the Pacific. This stage begins after the occupation of Lima, in February 1881, and extends until the consolidation of the Treaty of Ancón, betwee ...

. After several defeats, Iglesias signed the

with the Chilean government, which ended the war with the transfer of part of Southern Peru to Chile, and became president of Peru in 1883. Cáceres, although defeated by the Chileans in Huamachuco, kept resisting high in the central mountains, until the Chileans returned to their homeland. Cáceres ended up accepting peace with Chile as a fait accompli, but did not recognize the government of Iglesias, which he considered imposed by the invaders. The supporters of Cáceres were called the "reds" and those of Iglesias the "blues" because of the color of the military

kepi The kepi ( ) is a cap with a flat circular top and a peak, or visor. In English, the term is a loanword from , itself a re-spelled version of the , a diminutive form of , meaning . In Europe, the kepi is most commonly associated with French ...

. They were also known as Caceristas and Iglesistas, respectively. He began preparations for what he called the Constitutional Campaign, since he proposed to restore the Constitution of 1860. He organized his headquarters in

Huancayo Huancayo (; in , '(place) with a (sacred) rock', ) is the capital of the Junín Region and Huancayo Province, in the central highlands of Peru, in the Mantaro Valley and is crossed by the Shullcas, Chilca and Mantaro rivers. It was founded as a ...

History

First stages of the war

In the first campaign of the civil war, Cáceres and 800 of his Breñeros attacked Lima on 27 August 1884, managing to take some strategic positions. But since they did not have enough forces and military elements to face the well-equipped Iglesias' troops, they were repulsed by the division of Colonel José Rosas Gil, some 2,000 soldiers strong. Furthermore, the expected support by the people of Lima didn't materialise. In the north of the country, the city of Trujillo was occupied by Cacerist forces under the command of Captain Gregorio Miró Quesada, but then suffered an attack by superior Iglesias' forces on 8 October 1884. The combat lasted two days, ending with the defeat of the Cacerists and the death of Miró Quesada. Basadre 2005b p 23

Events arond Arequipa

After his defeats, Cáceres fled to

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), ...

, where he entered amidst the acclaim of the people. Here, he reorganized his forces and appointed General

César Canevaro César Canevaro Valega (January 19, 1846 – October 31, 1922) was a Peruvian General and politician. He fought in the war against Chile, using his own finances and personal relationships to fund the endeavor. At the end of the war, he became a ...

as Secretary General, who replaced the cabinet of ministers he had had since the beginning of his campaign. He received help from the President of Bolivia and his personal friend, General

Narciso Campero Narciso Campero Leyes (29 October 1813 – 12 August 1896) was a Bolivian general and politician who served as the 20th president of Bolivia from 1880 to 1884. He was a member of the Liberal Party. The Narciso Campero Province was named afte ...

, who, recognizing him as the legitimate president of Peru, sent him 2,000 rifles. By the end of March 1885, Cáceres had built and equipped a brand new army of some 4,000 men, with Colonel

Remigio Morales Bermúdez Remigio Morales Bermúdez (30 September 1836 – 1 April 1894) served as the 28th President of Peru from 1890 to 1894. He died while still in office. He served as the first vice president from 1886 to 1890. His future grandson, whom he would n ...

as its commander.Markham p.352 The army left Arequipa heading to

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 ...

and then continued to

Ayacucho Ayacucho (, , derived from the words ''aya'' ("death" or "soul") and ''k'uchu'' ("corner") in honour of the battle of Ayacucho), founded in 1540 as San Juan de la Frontera de Huamanga and known simply as Huamanga (Quechua: Wamanga) until 1825, i ...

, a city where it arrived on 30 April. Iglesias, confident in his superiority of his forces, decided to undertake the offensive. He sent an army of 4,000 men against Cáceres under the command of Colonel Gregorio Relayze. They advanced to the region of

La Oroya La Oroya is a city on the River Mantaro and capital of the Yauli Province, located in the Department of Junin in central Peru. It is situated on the eastern watershed of the Andes at an altitude of 3,745 m, some 176 km east-north-east of t ...

in the central mountains, an area where Cáceres had won several battles against the Chilean invaders.
Cáceres selected around 2,000 men from his army, whom he ordered to engage the Iglesias' forces in a delaying combat in the vicinity of

Jauja Jauja (Shawsha Wanka Quechua: , or , formerly in Spanish , with pronunciation of "x" as "sh") is a city and capital of Jauja Province in Peru. It is situated in the fertile Mantaro Valley, to the northwest of Huancayo (the capital of Junín ...

. Immediately afterwards, they had to withdraw, pretending to be defeated. This battle took place on 13 November 1885, and indeed, the Iglesistas, convinced of their triumph, reported their victory to Lima by telegraph and advanced to

.
However, Cáceres had installed the best of his forces in Huaripampa on the right bank of the

Mantaro River The Mantaro River (, ) is a long river running through the central region of Peru. Its Quechua name means "great river". The word "Mantaro" may be a word originally from the Asháninka language, who live downstream along the Ene River. The Mantar ...

, 4 km southeast of Jauja. From there they marched along rough terrain towards La Oroya, where they surprised the garrison defending that railway center and cut all bridges over the Mantaro. Relayze and his army were thus isolated in the Mantaro Valley, unable to leave the department of Junín, as all routes to the coast had been cut. Cáceres now launched his surprise attack towards Lima, using the railway lines as transport. A Cacerist detachment, under the command of frigate captain

José Gálvez Moreno José Miguel Gálvez Moreno (Tarma, February 17, 1850 — Lima, April 29, 1894), was a Peruvian sailor and politician considered a war hero in Peru for his actions during the War of the Pacific. He was a son of José Gálvez Egúsquiza, who die ...

, captured a train loaded with weapons, ammunition and supplies in Chicla, which thus passed into the hands of the Cáceres army.

Battle of Lima (1885)

On 28 November 1885, Cáceres and his forces appeared outside Lima and launched their final assault. By this time, the people of Lima welcomed Cáceres and joined him. Fighting between Cáceres' and Iglesias' forces continued into 29 and 30 November. On 3 December 1885, with his control of Lima reduced to only the Government Palace, Iglesias resigned and went into exile. Basadre 2005b p 25

References

Bibliography

* Basadre Grohmann, Jorge: ''Historia de la Republic of Peru. 1822 - 1933'', Octava Edición, corregida y aumentada. Tomo 8. Editada por el Diario "La República" de Lima y la Universidad "Ricardo Palma". Impreso en Santiago de Chile, 1998. * Basadre, Jorge (2005a). Historia de la República del Perú. 4.º periodo: La guerra con Chile (1879-1883) 9 (9.ª edición). Lima: Empresa Editora El Comercio S. A. ISBN 9972-205-71-1. * Basadre, Jorge (2005b). Historia de la República del Perú. 5.º periodo: El comienzo de la Reconstrucción (1884-1895) 10 (9.ª edición). Lima: Empresa Editora El Comercio S. A. ISBN 9972-205-72-X. * : ''Historia de la Republic (1821-1930)''. Tomo I. Lima, AFA Editores Importadores S.A., 1985. * Guerra, Margarita: ''Historia General del Peru''. La República Aristocrática. Tomo XI. Primera Edición. Editor Carlos Milla Batres. Lima, Peru, 1984. Depósito Legal: B. 22436-84 (XI). * Tauro del Pino, Alberto: ''Enciclopedia Ilustrada del Peru''. Tercera Edición. Tomo 8, HAB/IZQ. Artículo: HUARIPAMPA. Lima, PEISA, 2001. *

Clements Markham Sir Clements Robert Markham (20 July 1830 – 30 January 1916) was an English geographer, explorer and writer. He was secretary of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) between 1863 and 1888, and later served as the Society's president fo ...

(1892). ''A history of Peru''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Peruvian civil war of 1884-1885 Wars involving Peru Conflicts in 1884 Conflicts in 1885 1880s in Peru 1884 in South America 1885 in South America Rebellions in Peru