State of Lima....Expedition to Chile, under Colonel Gainsa....Exit
of....Regiment of Talavera arrives from Spain....Part of sent to
Huamanga....Revolution of Cusco and Arequipa....Death of Pumacagua,
and the Patriot Melgar....Arrival of Flags taken by Osoria in
Chile....Viceroy Abascal superseded by Pesuela....Character of the
former....Beginning of Pesuela's Administration....Arrival of La
Serna....State of Lima to 1817....Battle of Chacabuco in
Chile....Extract of a Journal....New Expedition to Chile under
Osoria....News of Battle of Maypu....Loss of the Spanish Frigate
Maria Isabel, and part of Convoy....Arrival of Lord Cochrane off
Callao.
The preceding manifest from Venezuela, shewing the principal grievances
of the Americans in that particular part of the country, was equally
applicable to the colonists in general; but many of the provinces
laboured under peculiar disadvantages and oppressions, particularly
those situated on the western side of the continent; nor were the
creoles the first nor the loudest in their clamours. The Spanish
merchants felt very severely the decrease of their monopoly, by the
non-arrival of vessels from Cadiz, as well as by the arrival of several
vessels, under Hamburgh colours, with British cargoes and masters,
under the protection of passports from the constituted sovereignties of
Spain; the large planters also felt the want of new importations of
slaves, and although the Creoles suffered equally with the Spaniards,
yet accustomed to suppress their feelings, they remained silent, while
the former were loud in their deprecations. The sugar planters began,
under the sanction of the new laws of the constitution and the cortes to
manufacture rum, to the detriment of the owners of vineyards at Pisco
and Cañete, many of whom were Spaniards. Secret meetings were held in
every part of the city; those of the Spaniards were permitted by the
government under the pretence that they were innocent or virtuous, while
those of the natives were called seditious and unwarrantable. Every
opportunity was taken to lull the people with stories of victories
obtained against the insurgents in Upper Peru, and the most tyrannical
espionage was set on foot by the government, for the purpose of
thwarting any communication of the true state of affairs in America,
when the government of Peru could only expect support from the native
troops. Every thing seemed to augur to the government in Lima the fate
of those of the other capitals of South America; indeed Mexico and Lima
were the only two capitals that preserved their ancient authorities;
the other two viceroyalties, Buenos Ayres and Santa Fé, and the
captain-generalships and presidencies of Chile, Chuquisaca, Quito and
Caracas, with the greater part of the governments of South America, were
under the protection of their own constituted authorities, and declared
by the Spanish Viceroys in open war with the mother country.
Colonel Gainsa was sent with an expedition against the revolted Chileans
in 1812, and having landed at Talcahuano, he marched towards the
capital: his successes were the continued boast of the Spaniards in
Lima, who insulted with taunts the creoles respecting their inferiority,
forgetting that the army of Gainsa was almost exclusively formed of
natives; however, in 1813 it was found that the career of Gainsa was at
an end, and that he had come to terms with the insurgents, the principal
import of which was, that things should remain as they then were, until
the decision of the cortes in Spain; for the purpose of obtaining which
the Chileans should send their deputies. This treaty was guaranteed by
Captain Hillyer, and sent to Lima for the ratification of the Viceroy,
who, expecting troops from Spain, deferred its signature. In April,
1813, the regiment of Talavera arrived, and Abascal followed the example
of the Count Ruis; he declared that Gainsa had no powers to capitulate,
and prepared another expedition against Chile.
The arrival of Spanish troops made the resident Spaniards more imperious
and insolent than ever; but they had soon cause to regret having
solicited the assistance of an armed force from Spain, for all the
expenses incurred in the equipment of the expedition at Cadiz were
ordered to be defrayed by the merchants of Lima. The officers and
soldiers were also of the worst character, the former having been
expelled from different corps in the mother country for crimes which
they had there committed, and the latter were taken from the common
gaols, places of exile, and the galleys. The insolence of these
protectors was not limited to any class of people in Lima: they had been
informed in Spain, that the booty or plunder of the insurgents in
America would make them as rich in the nineteenth century as that of the
indians had rendered their forefathers in the sixteenth; thus robberies
and even murders were committed under the sanction of rich promises; and
it was dreaded by the government, that the very force sent to protect
them would cause a revolution, or perhaps head one in Lima; however an
opportunity presented itself to dispose of two hundred of the nine that
had arrived. The Cacique Pucatoro revolted at Huamanga, deposed the
Spanish authorities, and declared himself in favour of the Buenos Ayres
army: this blow so near to Lima called for an immediate remedy. Two
hundred soldiers of Talavera were sent to quell the rebel Indian, who
led them into a narrow ravine, and ascended the mountains on each side,
where large piles of stones had been so artfully placed, that by
removing one, placed as a key-stone, the whole mass rolled down the
sides of the mountains, and not one of the Spaniards escaped. The
victorious indians then continued throwing and rolling down pieces of
rock till they had completely buried their enemies. This patriotic
Cacique was afterwards taken prisoner by a party of troops sent from
Cusco, and was hanged and quartered at Huamanga.
This disgraceful expedition only tended to render the Spanish soldiers
more insolent; and it became a difficult matter to prevent an open
revolt.
Early in July, 1813, the transports for a new expedition to Chile were
ready, and, on the thirteenth, Colonel Maroto and the troops of Talavera
embarked for Talcahuano. Lima resumed her tranquillity, with what she
considered her safety, and the departure of the protecting force was
hailed as that of an insolent and oppressive enemy. But the calm was not
of long duration. The news from the north, of the conquests in Quito by
General Montes was accompanied by that of the revolution of Cusco in the
south, and the possession of Arequipa by the Cacique Pumacagua; this
threatened the most fatal consequences to Lima; however, General Ramires
was sent from Upper Peru with a division of the army, then under the
command of General Pesuela, and retook Cusco and Arequipa, where he put
the old Cacique and upwards of a hundred of his followers to death,
among whom was my particular friend, Jose Maria Melgar.
Friendship and admiration demand of me a short account of this virtuous
youth. He was a native of Arequipa, and educated for the bar at Lima: he
had retired to his native city, and was on the eve of marriage with a
female whom he loved. Pumacagua arrived at Arequipa, and took it; Melgar
was a patriot, he offered his services to the Cacique-general, they were
accepted, and he was appointed judge advocate to the army. On the
capture by Ramires, Melgar was apprehended, tried, and sentenced to be
shot. His parents, his relations, and his friends solicited his pardon,
which was promised, on condition that he would publicly recant: to this
he objected, and he was led to the place of execution.
The assisting priest seated himself on the stool, and Melgar knelt to
confess his sins, invoke a pardon, and receive absolution; but he
suddenly rose from his knees, and, in a state of agitation, said to his
confessor, "Is it possible that you should here speak to me of things of
this world! It was your duty to speak to me of those in the next, which
I am on the verge of witnessing: this world must soon cease to exist for
me, and I had hoped to have left it in peace; but your request and
promises have unsettled my mind, and agitated my soul. I took a part in
the cause of my country; I believed it to be my duty, I did it, I
considered it just; I embraced it, and I die for having done my duty,
and only regret at this moment that I shall not die so calmly as I
expected. You, father, who ought to have endeavoured to create
tranquillity in my soul in my last moments, have destroyed my
peace!"--He then asked the adjutant if he might be allowed to smoke a
segar, which being granted, he turned round and said, "will any one for
the love of God give me a segar?" A soldier handed him one; he sat down
on the stool, and smoked about half the segar, knocked off the ashes,
and threw it aside; he then thanked the adjutant and the soldier, and
said "thank heaven I am again calm and resigned; now, Sir, do your
duty." The bandage was ordered to be tied over his eyes, but he begged
that this ceremony might be omitted: "I am not afraid to die," said he,
and clasping his hands over his eyes, he exclaimed, "this will do!" The
fatal signal was then given--the soldiers fired, and the virtuous
patriot Melgar fell! The executioners muttered, "so may the enemies of
Spain perish;" but the genii of American liberty sang for joy, and the
response was--so may the sons of America evince to posterity, that no
sacrifice is too great for a true PATRIOT!
The arrival of new troops from Spain in 1814, the defeat of the
Chileans, and the occupation of Santiago by General Osorio; the victory
of Vilcapugio in Upper Peru by Pesuela, all seemed to threaten American
independence, and the Spaniards grew more insolent and haughty. The
colours taken by Osorio in Chile were brought to Lima and carried in
procession to the church of Santo Domingo, where they were presented at
the altar of the Rosary, and there deposited. The new president and
captain-general of Chile, Don Casimiro Marcó arrived, and proceeded to
his presidency. The finances began to be insufficient for the payment of
the troops, and those from Spain marched from their barracks in la
Recoleta, and took possession of the citadel, Santa Catalina, where they
declared, that unless the government paid them their arrears, they would
pay themselves; assuring the natives at the same time, that no
hostilities should be committed against them. The alarm was so great,
that the Viceroy Abascal sent a message to the soldiers, declaring, that
their request should be complied with; but he received for answer, that
they would not alter their determination until the money due was
actually paid to them. The Viceroy then went in person, and harangued
the troops; but he received only a repetition of the former answer; nor
did they desist until their arrears were paid.
In 1815 the Viceroy Abascal was superseded by General Don Joaquin de la
Pesuela, when he immediately retired to Spain. On the arrival of the new
Viceroy, the city was entertained with the _entrada publica_, public
entry, balls, feasts, and bull-fights, with all of which his predecessor
Abascal, had dispensed on his arrival, not wishing to oppress the city
with such unnecessary expenses.
It is due to the Viceroy Abascal to say, that his prudence preserved
the capital to the crown of Spain; and although no Viceroy of Peru had
ever more accidental duties to attend to, or more critical affairs to
manage, yet Lima is indebted to him for the foundation of the college of
San Fernando, instituted for medicine and surgery; the pantheon or
general cemetery, and the absolute prohibition of burying within the
walls of the city; the rebuilding of the college del Principe, for the
study of Latin; the thorough repair of the city walls; as well as
several excellent police establishments; and notwithstanding the public
feeling at this time in Lima, he was accompanied to Callao by all the
respectable inhabitants, and his departure was a day of mourning in the
city: such are generally the sentiments, even towards an enemy, when
moderation has presided at his councils, and justice has guided his
actions.
Pesuela, the hero of Huiluma and Vilcapugio, on taking cognizance of the
treasury, discovered what was too well known to his predecessor--the low
state of the funds: many plans were proposed for replenishing them;
donations were at first solicited, and afterwards contributions were
exacted; but these were incompetent to support the expenses of the
government and the army, which, during the first years of warfare,
levied large sums of money, as well on friends as on enemies, and
derived some support from the different royal treasuries at Arequipa, at
Cusco, Charcas, and other cities in Upper Peru; but, notwithstanding
these temporary resources, the means continued to fail, and the
exigences continued to increase. The equipment of expeditions to Quito,
Upper Peru, and Chile; the demand of arrears by the troops that arrived
from Spain, and the necessary remittances for the support of the royal
armies, preyed heavily on the national funds, so much so, that the
treasury dreaded a bankruptcy. The pay of all civil officers was reduced
one-third, and at last a viceregal decree was issued, augmenting the
tithes from ten to fifteen per cent.: this impost caused the greatest
consternation throughout the country, and met with strong opposition
from the inhabitants; many of the provinces refused to pay, and the
governors were unable to exact it for want of an armed force to protect
them against the fury of the people.
General Ramires was left by Pesuela in the command of the army of Upper
Peru; but he was soon superseded by General Don Jose de la Serna, who
landed at Arica, and proceeded direct to head quarters. This general was
sent by the king to command the army, and with power to act
independently of the Viceroy, at a time when any change in the
established order of things was likely to be most productive of injury
to the Spanish cause, and to this may be attributed the inactivity of
the army under La Serna.
The tranquillity experienced in Lima till the beginning of 1817 induced
the Spaniards to believe that all was well: Chile was quiet, the enemy
made no advances in Upper Peru, Quito was under the dominion of Spain,
Morillo victorious in Venezuela and Santa Fé; the Mexican insurgent
chief, Morelos, had ceased to exist; Ferdinand was restored to his
throne; the constitution was abolished; the inquisition was
re-established, and monarchical despotism had resumed its seat; new
auxiliary troops were preparing in Spain to give the last blow to the
patriots in America, and the most sanguine American began to droop for
the cause of his country. But a change, unexpected by the Spaniards, and
unhoped for by the Americans, took place in Chile on the twelfth of
February, 1817, the news of which reached Lima on the ninth of March.
This was no less than the entire defeat of the Spanish army at
Chacabuco by General O'Higgins: the victory has generally been
attributed, but most unjustly, to General San Martin, who was not even
present in the action. The following is an extract from the journal of a
Spaniard with whom I was acquainted in Lima.
"February 4th, Don Miguel Atero, chief of the staff, informed the
government of Santiago, that the enemy had surprised the guards of the
Andes, placed about twelve leagues in advance of Santa Rosa,
(twenty-five leagues from the capital) and that of seventy-five men,
thirteen only had escaped, bringing with them the news, that the enemy
was advancing; at the same time Major Vila reported to the government,
that the advanced guard at the paso de los Patos had reconnoitred the
enemy, and requested a reinforcement. Atero immediately sent a company
of Talavera infantry, and then retreated with the division of the army
stationed at Santa Rosa, to Chacabuco, leaving behind him two pieces of
artillery, ammunition, baggage, and warlike stores: the force stationed
at Santa Rosa amounted to about four hundred men.
"February 5th, the Captain-general Marcó ordered Colonel Quintanilla to
join the army at Chacabuco, with the battalion of carabiniers; they
arrived on the 6th, when Quintanilla immediately advanced to the convent
of Curimon to reconnoitre the enemy in Villa Vieja, and having reported
to Atero that their number did not exceed six hundred, an attack was
immediately ordered, which took place on the morning of the seventh.
"The cavalry engaged that of the enemy in a place called de las Comas;
the crafty enemy retired towards the Cordillera, and halted at Putendo,
where they were joined by an ambuscade of a hundred horse. Our infantry
did not advance with the cavalry, so that as soon as they were
overpowered by the enemy they fled in the greatest disorder towards our
infantry for support; on their return, to their great surprise they
found that the infantry also was in a disordered retreat, without having
taken part in the action, and also that the commander in chief, Atero,
had fled. Colonel Quintanilla now took the command, and collected the
dispersed soldiers; he placed the infantry in the centre, and flanked it
with the cavalry, although harrassed in the rear by the enemy in his
retreat. Having at length reached Villa Vieja, a council of war was held
by the officers, and it was resolved to continue their march to Curimon;
on their arrival they learnt that the enemy was about to renew the
attack; on hearing which, Colonel Marqueli, to whom Atero had given the
command, continued his march to Chacabuco. The victorious army took up
its quarters in Villa Vieja: our loss was about thirty carabiniers.
There is no doubt that the whole of our loss is to be attributed to
Atero, who, observing a party of the enemy's cavalry on an eminence to
the right, exclaimed, "we are cut off!" when he immediately mounted his
horse and fled. At ten o'clock at night the news arrived at Santiago,
and the greatest confusion began to prevail.
"On the morning of February 8th, the two judges, Pereyra and Caspi, and
the general of brigade, Olaguer Feliu, fled to Valparaiso.
"On the 9th, Colonel Barañao arrived at Santiago with Colonel Eloriga,
and 360 hussars.
"On the 10th, Lieutenant-colonel Morgado arrived with 450 dragoons; at
ten o'clock at night Brigadier-general Maroto was appointed by Marcó to
take the chief command: our whole force consisted of 1000 cavalry and
1100 infantry.
"On the 12th, at six o'clock in the afternoon, an officer arrived at
Santiago with a verbal communication from General Maroto, declaring,
that he had suffered a total defeat. This was confirmed on the 13th by
the arrival of Maroto and Quintanilla; Marcó had left the city with
about 1500 men, and resolved on renewing the attack; but after more
private conversation with Maroto, he returned to the capital, and
summoned a council of war. After a long conference nothing was
determined on, and the sub-inspector-general Bernedo, the judge advocate
Lescano, and the commandant of artillery, Cacho, fled to Valparaiso.
From the 13th at noon to the evening of the 14th, officers, soldiers and
civilians continued to arrive at Valparaiso, where they embarked on
board several vessels then at anchor in the bay, and fled to Lima; but
it was not known till our arrival at Callao, that the president Marcó
was left behind at the mercy of Bernardo O'Higgins, to whom the
insurgents owe their victory, and we our disgrace."
The most astonishing difference in the behaviour of the Spaniards was
now observable. The haughty Maroto, who, when in Lima with his regiment
of Talavera, despised and insulted every one, now that he had neither an
officer nor a soldier left, was humbled, and the bow of a negro or an
indian was most courteously answered by this vaunting coward.
New insurrections in the provinces of Upper Peru began to break out;
the victories of General Bolivar in Colombia became known, and although
reports from the mother country were flattering, yet the repeated
requisitions for money were distressing.
Notwithstanding this state of affairs, the Viceroy Pesuela determined on
another expedition to Chile, the command of which was again given to
General Osorio. The Spanish troops consisted of a battalion of hussars
and the regiment of Burgos, the best troops that had arrived from
Europe. Their destination was to Talcahuano, which place, as it had been
fortified by the Spaniards, was still held by them, with the auxiliary
troops of Chile. For the equipment of this expedition, the Viceroy took
possession of the treasury belonging to the commissariat of the
crusades, money, which in the opinion of all the lower classes, could
only be appropriated to the support of war against Turks, Moors and
Infidels, and the greatest clamour was raised when it was applied to the
purpose of waging civil war with Christians. This treasure being
insufficient, that called of the holy places, _santos lugares_, at
Jerusalem, was also added to that of the bulls.
After many difficulties had been surmounted, the expedition left Callao
in October, 1817; and calculating on its success, the Spaniards again
resumed their arrogance, which in some was carried to such an extreme as
to enter into a bond with one another of two thousand dollars never
again to employ a creole. A Spaniard said to me one evening, that he had
six children, but if he thought that they would ever be insurgents, he
would go to their beds and smother them.
This chivalrous fanaticism had risen to such a height, that a Peruvian
officer, Landasuri, said, in the presence of Pesuela, that he hated his
father and mother, because he was born in America, and that if he knew
in what part of his body the American blood circulated, he would let it
out; however Pesuela reprimanded him severely for such unnatural
expressions.
Nothing but reports of victories arrived from Chile, the bells scarcely
ever ceased ringing in Lima, and the choristers were hoarse with
chanting Te Deums; the haughtiness of the Spaniards became
insupportable; they paraded the streets in triumph, and, forming
themselves into groups, insulted every creole who chanced to pass them.
But their insolence was at its highest pitch in April, 1818, when the
news of the victory over San Martin and O'Higgins at Cancha-rayada
arrived; they considered Osorio more than a human being; his wisdom and
valour were the theme of the pulpit, the palace, the coffee-house, and
the brothel. The hero Osorio was at Santiago; he would soon cross the
Andes, and release his virtuous and brave countrymen from their dungeons
at San Luis and las Bruscas, and with the reinforcements expected from
Spain, in a convoy under the protection of the Spanish frigate Maria
Isabel, he would conquer the Buenos Ayreans, and return to Lima with the
heads of San Martin, O'Higgins, and those of all the other chiefs of the
banditties.
This ferment of insolence and insults continually increased till the
evening of the fourth of May, when about ten o'clock at night a
_valancin_, post chaise, drove up to the gates of the viceregal palace,
bringing the hero Osorio, and the news of his total defeat at Maypu. On
the morning of the fifth a creole was allowed to pass the streets
unmolested, and might even presume to seat himself in a coffee-house at
the same table with a Spaniard. Confusion and dismay were visible in the
countenances of the royalists, the great Osorio suddenly became an
ignorant coward, who had sacrificed his countrymen, and indecently fled
to save his own life; even the Americans were now courted to join the
Spaniards in declamations against the late demi-god Osorio, and no hope
was left but that the arrival of the expedition from Spain would
retrieve the losses occasioned by the dastardly conduct of this chief.
The first news, however, which they obtained of the issue of the boasted
expedition was, that the soldiers of La Trinidad, one of the transports,
had murdered their officers, taken possession of the vessel, and carried
her to Buenos Ayres; this was seconded in November, 1818, with the news,
that the Maria Isabel and part of her convoy had been taken at
Talcahuano and the island of Santa Maria by the insurgents of Chile; and
this blow was aggravated with the abandonment of Talcahuano, the strong
hold of the Spaniards in Chile, by General Sanches, who took the command
after Osorio fled. Still there was gall in reserve for the humbled
Spaniards. The Chilean squadron, commanded by the Right Honourable Lord
Cochrane, made its appearance off Callao on the twenty-eighth of
February, 1819, his lordship's flag waving at the main of the
ex-Spanish frigate Maria Isabel, now the Chilean flag ship O'Higgins.
It became impossible for me to remain longer in Lima, so I left that
city for the Barranca, where I arrived on the first of March.