2024 © Maxim Tabachnik
Only a few artists, among them Peruvians Pedro Rojas and José Gil de Castro, had the chance to portray General Simón Bolívar from life. His aide Daniel Florencio O’Leary described him in detail: a high, lined forehead; thick, well-shaped brows; dark, penetrating eyes; a rather long but well-formed nose marked by a small wart; prominent cheekbones and hollow cheeks; an unattractive mouth with thick, uneven lips but straight, white teeth; a strong jaw and chin; large ears; and extremely black, curly hair worn long, with lighter sideburns and moustache. Bolívar’s figure was thin, his skin dark and rough, and his hands and feet strikingly small.
On 16 December 1810, Dionisio Inca Yupanqui, a deputy to the Cortes of Cádiz and direct descendant of the Inca Huayna Capac, declared: A people that oppresses another cannot be free. Having lived in Spain from a young age, he was elected to represent the Viceroyalty of Peru. He became known as an eloquent orator who defended equality between Spaniards and Americans in general, as well as the rights of Indigenous peoples.
The Enlightenment and the American and French Revolutions provoked sharply different views of Spanish rule in America. Intellectuals split between those who wanted reforms without breaking with Spain and those who favored separation. The imprisonment of Ferdinand VII, the French invasion of Spain, and the liberal Constitution of Cádiz of 1812 intensified pro-independence ideas.In this context, governing juntas emerged in several viceregal cities. Initially loyal to the Crown, they gradually became separatist. Viceroy Abascal fought them outside the Peruvian viceroyalty: his troops restored monarchical order in Quito (1809–1810) and Chile (1814), and waged a long war in Upper Peru against the forces of the Buenos Aires junta.
To secure the independence of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (present-day Argentina) and Chile, it was necessary to defeat the main royalist stronghold in South America. Three early land expeditions from Buenos Aires to Upper Peru all failed, convincing the Liberation Army to launch a maritime campaign instead.The government of O’Higgins acquired ships and hired the prominent British naval officer Lord Thomas Cochrane, whose actions opened the way for the first operations on Peruvian territory
José de San Martín was born in 1778 in Yapeyú, in the Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata. Educated in Spain, he joined the army and fought against the French. Back in Buenos Aires, he distinguished himself at the Battle of San Lorenzo (1813). As governor of Cuyo (1814), he helped O’Higgins reorganize the Chilean forces defeated at Rancagua and, leading the Army of the Andes, liberated Chile in 1817. After the victory of Maipú (1818), he formed the Liberation Army and from 1820 led the Peruvian independence campaign, occupying territories with the support of soldiers and montoneros. As Peru’s ruler (1821–1822), he created key public institutions, promoted a constitutional monarchy, and left the country in September 1822.
Simón Bolívar was born in Caracas in 1781 and lost his father at an early age. Taught in childhood by Simón Rodríguez, he travelled to Spain in 1799 and later visited France and Italy, where he became convinced of the need for American independence. He returned to Caracas in 1805 and, five years later, joined Francisco de Miranda’s forces. After their defeat he took refuge in Haiti, from where he relaunched the struggle, defeating royalist armies and securing New Granada’s independence. Following his victory at Carabobo (1821), he turned his efforts southward; after meeting San Martín in Guayaquil, he arrived in Peru to complete its liberation.
José de San Martín began organizing the Peruvian state, creating the first ministries, institutions, and national symbols. After his departure in September 1822, power passed to a Supreme Governing Board and the first Constituent Congress convened. By late February 1823, José de la Riva-Agüero was elected president of Peru.The new president soon clashed with Congress, which removed him and named José Bernardo de Tagle as his successor. After a military setback for the patriots in September 1823, Congress invited Simón Bolívar to assume political and military command of Peru.
The Wari Presence in the RegionFrom the 7th c., the central Andes entered a period of profound change. The expansion of the Wari state from Ayacucho, apparently through alliances rather than open violence, reshaped the economy, society, culture, and belief systems. In Lima ceremonial centers such as Pucllana and Catalina Huanca, Wari funerary customs became dominant, and mortuary architecture changed as upper building levels were turned into tombs and mausoleums, forming large cemeteries.
Wari architecture and iconography are also visible at sites like Socos and Cajamarquilla, and even more clearly in the Painted Temple of Pachacamac, which gained prestige through the presence of the region’s most important coastal oracle. Wari influence likewise transformed pottery, as seen in the Nievería style: finely made, richly decorated vessels with modeled figures in daily activities and designs of fish and mythical beings linked to the sea.
At the dawn of the second millennium, coastal lords consolidated their authority over various regions in a political organization known as Ychsma. A key strategy was the management of irrigation: intakes and canals formed a complex hydraulic network that made agriculture possible, marked territorial boundaries, and supplied resources to communities. During this period the ceremonial center of Pachacamac became the Ychsma capital, linked to administrative-ceremonial centers such as Armatambo, Puruchuco, Mateo Salado, and Huallamarca, some decorated with standardized fish and bird motifs.Ceramic production increased, with face-neck jars, painted or relief-decorated pots, and numerous vessels used as storage, tableware, and ritual offerings. In funerary practice, the Ychsma wrapped their dead in bundles, flexed and tied the bodies, and placed offerings such as food and coca leaves. Sometimes they added false heads or wooden masks as representations of the deceased.
Proclamation of Independence PaintingJuan Botaro Lepiani
Juan Botaro Lepiani’s 1904 oil painting captures Peru’s independence proclamation in Lima’s Plaza Mayor. The 303 x 445 cm canvas immortalizes the fervor of a nation breaking free from colonial rule. The Plaza Mayor, a central hub of political and social life, symbolizes Peruvian identity and sovereignty. Lepiani’s work reflects the transformative power of independence in shaping national consciousness.
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