NICOLÁS DE PIÉROLA VILLENA: BIOGRAPHY AND GOVERNMENT - HISTORY - 2024

Nicolás de Piérola Villena (1839-1913) was a renowned politician of Peruvian nationality who held the presidency on two occasions. The first time he served from 1879 to 1881, then he took up that position again in 1895 and remained in power until 1899. Nicolás de Piérola is considered one of the most important historical figures of the 19th century.

Piérola is also remembered for having been one of the youngest finance ministers in the history of the Republic of Peru. Likewise, he stood out for his audacity when managing the country's finances and income; According to insiders, Nicolás managed to save his land from imminent bankruptcy, although he also received negative reviews.

Nicolás de Piérola (1910)

This Peruvian politician not only excelled in the discipline of political science, but was also successful in the areas of journalism and commerce. In fact, Piérola founded in 1864 a newspaper known as El Tiempo, based on ideas of a conservative and somewhat clerical tendency.

Nicolás de Piérola began to be noticed in the political sphere in 1869, when he was appointed Minister of Finance. However, his popularity rose in 1874, when he decided to rebel against the government of José Pardo using a boat called Talisman, with which he set sail from England along with a good number of weapons.

This attack was not very successful for Nicolás and his entourage, since during the land confrontation the battle favored Pardo, and Piérola had to take refuge in Bolivia.

Despite this, this historical moment marked a crucial phase in the political performance of Nicolás, who later managed to establish himself in the Peruvian presidency.

Biography

José Nicolás Baltazar Fernández de Piérola y Villena was born in the city of Arequipa, located in the province of the same name, on January 5, 1839. His parents were José Nicolás Fernández de Piérola and Teresa Villena y Pérez.

When he was 14 years old, Nicolás decided to attend a council seminary located in Lima; in that establishment he received classes in law and theology. This allowed him to give philosophy courses when he had not yet completed his studies and when he was still very young.

However, Piérola decided to abandon his studies at the seminary in 1860 with the intention of getting married.

Beginning of his political and journalistic career

With the death of his parents, Nicolás decided to dedicate himself with special zeal to journalism and marketing, for which he collaborated on several occasions with newspapers such as El Progreso Católico and La Patria. During this period as a journalist, Piérola founded his newspaper El tiempo, in which he directly supported the policies of Juan Antonio Pezet.

At the age of 30, Nicolás de Piérola began his participation in politics, when José Balta decided to grant him the position of Finance Minister, transferring to Piérola an enormous political and social responsibility: on his shoulders was the destiny of Peru's economy. From this moment on, Nicolás had the duty to eradicate the economic crisis.

Actions as Minister of Finance

Nicolás held the position of Minister of Finance between 1869 and 1871. During this period Piérola decided to authorize the Congress of the Republic to begin negotiations on the sale of guano abroad but without consignees; This means that these negotiations would be carried out directly, without intermediaries.

Those who were in charge of receiving this fertilizer were the merchants of House Dreyfus, who accepted Piérola's proposal. This negotiation was called the Dreyfus contract, and allowed the sale of 2 million tons of guano. The sum obtained for this merchandise was used to invest in public works, especially in railways.

Revolutionary participation

After occupying his position as Minister of Finance, Piérola undertook a trip to Chile and then headed to Paris. This French city was considered at that time the cradle of knowledge.

When he returned to the American lands he decided to start a revolution against the government of Manuel Pardo using the boat called Talismán. This revolutionary revolt was unsuccessful, since on December 30, 1874 he was defeated by the military forces of Lima.

Later Piérola had to take refuge in Bolivia. However, the politician did not want to sit idly by, but chose to attack again in 1875, this time starting the insurrection from Chilean lands. Nicolás managed to take Moquegua; however, he was defeated again in 1876 and was forced to remain in exile.

Pierola had a stubborn character, so after his two failed attempts at revolution he decided to launch a third uprising. On this occasion, the politician chose to prepare a better strategy that would allow him to penetrate the Peruvian territories in a more adequate and efficient way.

The Huáscar

In 1877 Nicolás and his supporters managed to capture a warship known by the name of Huáscar: it was a vessel that was ideal for carrying out this type of feat. Pierola and his crew decided to seize some English ships; this provoked the ire of Admiral AM Horsey, who decided to attack him to restore his honor.

Piérola's warship managed to beat the British ships despite the fact that they were superior to the Huáscar. At that time, Nicolás de Piérola managed to take over the coastal waters, deciding then to agree to a capitulation with the Peruvian authorities.

After this Piérola undertook a trip to Europe; meanwhile, his fame as a caudillo began to grow throughout the region.

Beginning of the War of the Pacific and the first government of Piérola

In 1879 the War of the Pacific began, also known as the Saltpeter War. There the naval forces of Chile faced off against the allied countries of Peru and Bolivia. This war event took place mainly in the Pacific Ocean, in the Atacama and in some Peruvian valleys.

During the beginning of this naval confrontation, Piérola offered his military knowledge to the Peruvian government; however, he chose to reject them. Because the current president (Ignacio Prado) had to move to Arica, vice president Luis La Puerta, who at that time was 68 years old, was in charge.

Nicolás de Piérola saw in these circumstances an opportunity to obtain power, so he decided to rise up in 1879. In these actions he had the support of a good, properly trained troop, so he had a greater chance of success in his company.

On December 23 of the same year, a neighborhood council led by Guillermo Seoane decided to appoint Piérola as the supreme head of the Republic, which allowed him to exercise both legislative and executive functions. However, this government of Nicolás was strongly dictatorial.

Second government of Piérola

In 1895 Piérola resumed the presidency, but this time in a constitutional way. Along with his mandate came a new period in the history of Peru that was decisive for the progress that this nation experienced. This period is known as the aristocratic republic, and was characterized by agro-exports, finance, and mining.

It is considered that this management of Piérola was remarkable, since it implemented important measures that favored the country. In addition, this time the politician and leader firmly respected the Constitution, which allowed the proper development of public institutions and promoted the emergence of the country in a peaceful manner.

Personal life and last years

Regarding the personal life of this politician, it is known that he married his first cousin Jesusa de Iturbide, with whom he had a fruitful offspring of seven children, made up of four males and three females.

After completing his second presidency in 1899, Piérola decided not to return to any public position; however, he did not stay away from politics entirely. In fact, he continued to lead the precepts of his party, which was known by the name Democrat.

In the course of his last years he was in charge of a company called La Colmena; this lasted until 1909. Later he had the opportunity to return to exercise the presidency, but Piérola chose to retire before the elections, arguing that his possible mandate lacked guarantees.

In 1913 the word spread that the caudillo's health was very precarious, so several important personalities decided to visit him at his home; He was even visited by several prominent politicians of the time and some former presidents.

Nicolás de Piérola Villena died on June 23 of that same year at the age of 74 at his home in Lima. His death was quite an event for the Peruvian country and caused much commotion in the crowd.

Mausoleum of Nicolas de Piérola. Fmurillo26, from Wikimedia Commons

Thanks to the sensible policies he had applied during his tenure, this leader and journalist had earned the respect of both his fellow party members and his opponents. His remains rest in the Presbítero Matías Maestro cemetery, which is currently also a museum that functions as a historical monument.

Characteristics of his government

Piérola in the Presidential office. Fernando murillo gallegos, via Wikimedia Commons

There are several positive criticisms about the Piérola government, despite the fact that his first presidency was dictatorial in nature. However, some consider that his actions in the Pacific War were not entirely appropriate since, according to the arguments, Piérola placed his political interests above the interests of the nation.

In the economic aspect it is also believed that Piérola did not take the correct measures during the war to protect the country's assets. It has been concluded that in the course of those years there were many irregularities in the management of public expenditures and in the state fund.

Aspects of the first government

Being a dictatorship, its first government was made up mainly of radical and decisive actions, in which there was no preponderant interest in submitting to the Constitution of the nation. Some of the decisions that Piérola made were the following:

-He decided to ally himself with Bolivia, so he signed a document in which a union pact was formalized; This was intended to strengthen territories and found a new form of geopolitics.

-It applied sanctions to journalistic articles, which means that it used information censorship as a control method. For this reason several people were arrested; The distribution of various newspapers was even prohibited, such as the famous newspaper El Comercio.

-Even though his greatest interest was naturally directed towards the war with Chile, Piérola chose to request several credits in order to safeguard the nation's economy. In addition, in this way he was able to finance the war expenses.

Aspects of the second government

As for the second Piérola government, it can be established that this mandate was much more judicious and better achieved than the first, since the politician was already of mature age and had more experience in economics and laws. Some measurements of Pierola during this period were the following:

-Manage public funds with austerity, thus promoting savings; The purpose of this decision was to avoid external collaborations, as this only caused an increase in the country's debt.

-The taxes pertaining to essential consumption products such as rice were reduced; however, taxes corresponding to vice and pleasure, such as tobacco and alcohol, were increased.

-The monetary system of the Peruvian republic was modified, since the use of gold was implemented. At that time the currency of this country was the silver sol, whose metal was no longer so coveted on international scales.

For this reason Piérola made the decision to allow the entry of gold coins; This new monetary cone was named the Peruvian pound.

-In the industrial sphere, during the Piérola government it was decided to protect and enact the mining and agricultural industry. For this they had the help of both national and foreign capital.

-In this period the sugar industry underwent an evolution in terms of its production technique; however, the mining area had a slower advance, whose fruits began to be perceived in the early twentieth century.

References

1. (SA) (nd) Nicolás de Piérola: a very neat democrat. Retrieved on January 9, 2019 from Peru Educa: perueduca.pe
2. Arana, P. (sf) The Aristocratic Republic. Retrieved on January 9, 2019 from Webnode: webnode.es
3. Rossi, R. (2010) The role of Nicolás de Piérola in the war with Chile. Retrieved on January 9, 2019 from WordPress: peruahora.wordpress.com
4. Valcárcel, D. (1953) Don Nicolás de Piérola. A time in the history of Peru. Retrieved on January 9, 2019 from JSTOR: www.jstor.org
5. Velásquez, D. (2013) The military reform and the government of Nicolás de Piérola. The modern army and the construction of the Peruvian State. Retrieved on January 9, 2019 from Alicia: Alicia.concytec.gob.pe