THE 10 MOST IMPORTANT FORERUNNERS AND FORERUNNERS OF PERU - HISTORY - 2025

The heroes and precursors of Peru were the characters who fought for the independence of that country. Simón Bolívar, José de San Martín, Tupac Amaru II, Juan Pablo Vizcardo y Guzmán, Francisco Antonio de Zela and the Angulo brothers stand out.

Precursors are understood as the group of idealists, thinkers and conspirators who rose up against the Spanish empire before the War of Independence formally began.

Among the main heroes and precursors of Peru, the following characters stand out:

1- José Gabriel Condorcanqui (Tupac Amaru II) (1738-1781)

José Gabriel Condorcanqui (Tupac Amaru II) (1738-1781)

Descendant of Tupac Amaru I, he was chief of Surimana, Pampamarca and Tungasuca. He spearheaded the great rebellion of the natives against the Spanish in 1780.

Tupac Amaru II was defeated by the army of viceroy Agustin de Jáuregui, in the battle of Checacupe, and vilely dismembered: traces of his body were left in the streets as a sign of defeat before the Spanish empire.

2- Juan Pablo Vizcardo y Guzmán (1748-1798)

He was a renowned Jesuit priest, who promoted the independence movement of Peru from Italy. He is the author of the famous letter to the American Spanish, published by Francisco de Miranda in 1799.

3- Francisco de Zela (1768-1819)

Francisco de Zela (1768-1819)

Peruvian military man who led a rebellion in Tacna in mid-1811. This libertarian attempt was considered at the time as the beginning of the independence process in Peru.

4- The Angulo brothers

Children of Melchora Torres and Francisco Angulo, the brothers Mariano, José and Vicente led the independence rebellion of 1814, in the city of Cuzco.

This rebellion was supported by Mateo Pumacahua, a recognized defender of Spanish power, who decided to join the movement of the Angulo brothers, convinced by the solidity and conviction of their separatist ideas.

5- José de San Martín (1778-1850)

José de San Martín (1778-1850)

Renowned Argentine military man who played a key role in the independence of Argentina, Chile and Peru. His beginnings on the battlefield were in Spain, when he fought against the invading troops of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1808.

Four years later he decided to embark for South America, to assert his ideals of freedom and fight for the independence of his homelands.

After an arduous independence campaign in Argentina and Chile, San Martín arrived in Peru in 1820, and a year later, on July 28, 1821, he proclaimed the independence of that country in the Plaza Mayor in Lima.

6- Simón Bolívar (1783-1830)

Simon Bolivar (1783-1830)

Outstanding Venezuelan military recognized as the liberator of five Latin American countries: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru.

Bolívar completed his military training in Spain and then returned to his country, where he led the independence process in Venezuela and Colombia.

In 1823 he traveled to Peru and from there organized the United Liberation Army. With these troops he consolidated the independence of Peru, thanks to the victories in the battles of Junín and Ayacucho in 1824.

The latter had the support of the Venezuelan general Antonio José de Sucre. The victory in the Battle of Ayacucho put an end to the Spanish power in Peru.

7- Micaela Bastidas Puyucahua (1745 - 1781)

Unknown author / Public domain

Tupac Amaru II's wife, she was a great support for her husband. Bastidas was key to the Independence of Peru thanks to her courage, bravery, determination for the rights of her compatriots and the advice she gave to her husband.

She was executed by the Spanish, which made her not only a hero, but also a legend of the Spanish-American struggle.

8- Mateo García Pumacahua (1740 - 1815)

Playback / Public domain

One of the main rebels in the Independence of Peru. Official and military man, he was in charge of directing the troops in the Cuzco Rebellion of 1814. He was a hero to the indigenous people and he fought even beyond seventy years.

Finally he was captured and executed by the Spanish after fighting in various areas of the country such as Cusco, Arequipa or Puno.

9- Juan Santos Atahualpa (1710 - 1756)

Template: ETNA VALVERDE / Public domain

Quechua ruler and leader of the independence struggle in the rebellions of 1742 carried out by the indigenous people. A man of great intellect, Apu Inca proclaimed himself, who would become the ruler of the Inca Empire.

Their rebellion was carried out with jungle troops, eventually settling in many of the territories colonized by the Spanish in the central highlands. His death is a mystery, as he disappeared under strange circumstances.

10- María Parado de Bellido (1777 - 1822)

Unidentified painter / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

Strong link during the Liberation Expedition of Peru led by José San Martín between 1820 and 1824. Despite growing up in a wealthy family, he decided to serve the independence cause.

Its main task was to inform the patriots of the movements that the Spanish intended to carry out. She was discovered, but she never provided information or names of the patriots, which sentenced her to death by shooting.

References

1. Bebin, S., and Almonte, J. (2012). Próceres and precursors of the Independence of Peru. Recovered from: blog.pucp.edu.pe
2. Chunga, J. (2011). Precursors and heroes of Peru. Recovered from: illustrated.com
3. Gómez, A. (2013). Precursors of the Independence of Peru. Recovered from: biografiacorta.blogspot.pe
4. Gómez, A. (2013). Próceres of the Independence of Peru. Recovered from: biografiacorta.blogspot.pe
5. The Independence of Peru: heroes (2015). El Popular newspaper. Lima Peru. Recovered from: elpopular.pe
6. Peru: Achievement of independence (1999). Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. London, UK. Recovered from: britannica.com