PUNCHAUCA CONFERENCES: ENCOUNTERS AND CONSEQUENCES - HISTORY - 2025

The Punchauca Conferences were a series of meetings held between the Viceroyalty of Peru and representatives of the rebels seeking the independence of the territory. The negotiations took place between May May 1821 and June of the same year.

After several years of armed confrontations between royalists and independentists, San Martín landed in Peru in 1820. In a few months, he had managed to defeat the bulk of the royalist troops and prepared to negotiate with the viceroyalty.

José de San Martín interview with Viceroy José de la Serna in 1820 - Source: Juan Lepiani. Uploaded by: Fernando murillo gallegos, undefined

The first meetings were called the Miraflores Conference. The conversations between San Martín and Viceroy Pezuela were settled without an agreement, so the conflict continued. The Spanish Crown, before the push of the independentistas, reacted by replacing the Viceroy and requesting new negotiations.

These took place in Punchauca, a farm near Lima. San Martín's proposal, basically declaring independence under a monarchy ruled by a Bourbon, was rejected by the authorities. After this, the patriot army took the capital and declared independence, although the war would continue for several more years.

Background

As in other parts of Latin America, the Napoleonic invasion of Spain and the forced resignation of the throne of Fernando VII caused concern in Peru. One of the consequences was the creation of autonomous boards that demanded self-government, although maintaining fidelity to the Spanish kings.

Viceroy Abascal responded to the uprisings that took place in Upper Peru, Quito, Chile and Argentina through arms. From that moment, the insurrections led to wars of independence.

Liberating Expedition

By 1820, the situation was very favorable for the supporters of independence. That year, the Liberating Expedition of San Martín landed in Peru from Chile.

The rebel leader's purpose was to convince the population to join his army. At first, he avoided confronting the royalist troops, far superior in numbers and weapons. The tactic was a success, achieving that between the end of 1820 and the beginning of 1821, almost all of northern Peru was de facto independent.

In order to end the conflict in a bloodless way, San Martín accepted the call of Viceroy Joaquín de la Pezuela to negotiate.

Miraflores Conference

The initiative to hold the Miraflores Conference came from Viceroy Pezuela. On behalf of the Spanish Crown, he tried to convince San Martín to desist from his independence efforts. The positions were far apart and the talks ended in failure.

The impossibility of reaching any agreement led San Martín to continue the war. His plans were to blockade Lima, both by sea and by land. His troops did not stop growing in number, while the royalists decreased due to the desertion of many soldiers.

Viceroy Pezuela ended up losing the support of his generals. On January 29, 1821, a rebellion led by these, called the Aznapuquio mutiny, meant the removal of Pezuela. His replacement was José de la Serna, who was confirmed as the new Viceroy by the crown.

New negotiations

The Spanish authorities sent Manuel Abreu to Peru, with new instructions to try to reach a peaceful agreement with the independentistas. This provision was due to the change of government in the metropolis, which began the so-called Liberal Triennium.

La Serna contacted San Martín in April of that year to hold new conversations. The independence leader accepted and they agreed that the venue for the meetings would be the Punchauca farm house, about 25 kilometers from Lima.

First meeting in Punchauca

The first meetings in Punchauca were held by Tomás Guido, Juan García del Rio and José Ignacio de la Roza, as representatives of San Martín, and Manuel Abreu, Manuel de Llano, José María Galdeano, on behalf of the Viceroyalty. These encounters began on May 4, 1821.

The position of those sent by San Martín was to request the independence of the United Provinces of Río de la Plata, Chile and Peru. The Spanish, for their part, totally refused to grant that request.

Given this absolute disparity, the meetings only served to declare a 20-day ceasefire and to schedule a personal meeting between San Martín himself and Viceroy La Serna.

Meeting between San Martín and La Serna

The meeting between La Serna and San Martín took place on June 2. According to the chroniclers of the time, the atmosphere was very friendly and relaxed.

Proposals

Abreu, also present at the meeting, related that San Martín's proposal consisted of starting by installing a regency, with a presidency occupied by La Serna. The government would be completed with two members, each one representing one of the parties.

Similarly, San Martín sought the unification of the two fighting armies. After this, independence would be declared. San Martín himself, according to his proposal, would travel to Spain to ask the Cortes to elect a Bourbon prince to proclaim him King of Peru.

Historians point out that San Martín's plan seemed to convince the viceroy and the rest of his delegation. They even declared that the independence leader's intention to travel to Spain was a gesture that showed his good will.

La Serna requested two days to consult with his officers. According to experts, two of the most important generals, Canterac and Valdés, strongly opposed San Martín's plan.

For them, it was just a move to buy time. The viceroy, before this, affirmed that he needed instructions from the Crown to accept the proposal.

Transfer of meetings

Despite the lack of response, the meetings between the delegates continued. The new meetings took place in Miraflores due to the bad weather in Punchauca.

The result of these negotiations was rather scarce: the armistice was only extended for another 12 days, without advancing on the merits of the matter.

The meetings continued on board a neutral ship, the Cleopatra, without achieving any progress beyond agreeing on a prisoner swap.

Consequences

The failure of the Punchauca Conferences spelled the end of any hope of ending the war without further bloodshed. The Spanish were not willing to recognize independence and San Martín and his people had to return to arms.

Some historians claim that, in reality, San Martín knew that Spain was not going to accept his proposal and that he only wanted to buy time to better organize his next movements.

On the other hand, the defense of the monarchical system of San Martín, clearly visible in Punchauca, was discussed by the Peruvian independentistas, supporters of the republic.

Taking of Lima and proclamation of independence

The troops commanded by San Martín headed for Lima. There, after the blockade to which they were subjected, food began to be scarce. Finally, La Serna and the royalist army left the city, barricading themselves in Cuzco.

San Martín's army was able to enter Lima without having to fight. On July 28, 1821, from the Plaza Mayor in Lima, San Martín proclaimed the independence of Peru. The war, however, would still last for several years.

References

1. Paredes M., Jorge G. San Martín, the Southern Liberation Expedition and the independence of the peoples of Peru. Recovered from er-saguier.org
2. Law School. Independence of Peru. Obtained from right.usmp.edu.pe
3. Guido, Thomas. The Punchauca Interview. Retrieved from carabayllo.net
4. James S. Kus, Robert N. Burr and Others. Peru. Retrieved from britannica.com
5. The Biography. Biography of José de la Serna y Martínez de Hinojosa (1770-1832). Retrieved from thebiography.us
6. Minster, Christopher. Biography of Jose de San Martin. Retrieved from thoughtco.com