Peruvian War of Independence
| Peruvian War of Independence | |||||||||
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| Part of the Spanish American wars of independence | |||||||||
Clockwise, left to right: José de San Martín's landing in Paracas, the declaration of independence in Lima, the Battle of Camino Real in Ecuador, the Battle of Junín, and the Battle of Ayacucho. | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
Patriot forces:
| Royalists: | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | |||||||||
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105,000—180,000 killed 6,000 civilians killed in Second siege of Callao 11,400 Spaniards left Lima | |||||||||
The Peruvian War of Independence (Spanish: Guerra de Independencia del Perú) was a series of military conflicts in Peru from 1809 to 1826 that resulted in the country's independence from the Spanish Empire. Part of the broader Spanish American wars of independence, it led to the dissolution of the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru.
French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte's 1808 invasion of Spain resulted in the abdications of Charles IV and Ferdinand VII in favour of Joseph Bonaparte. In Spanish America, autonomous governments arose in the power vacuum.
Initially Peru was a stronghold for royalists, with Viceroy José Fernando de Abascal y Sousa using Peru as a base for counterrevolutionary forces.
In 1820, the Liberating Expedition of Peru, under the command of Argentine General San Martín forced the viceroyalty to abandon Lima and fortify itself in Cusco. But conflict between San Martin and Simón Bolívar at the Guayaquil Conference divided patriot forces.
Aided by Bolivar fighting continued with the definitive defeat of the Spanish Army in 1824, with the surrender of the last major Spanish strongholds in 1826.