Peru - Achievement Of Independence - Britannica

Establishment of order

During the initial period of statehood in Peru, liberal and conservative parties with ill-defined programs emerged. Their rivalry exacerbated the political instability of the country.

Gen. Ramón Castilla assumed the presidency in 1845. Castilla dominated the political scene from 1845 to 1851 and from 1855 to 1862, in spite of his mestizo background. His greatest accomplishment for the promotion of national wealth was the exploitation of the guano deposits along the coast and offshore islands. Taxes on this industry, which was controlled by foreign corporations, furnished the principal source of government revenue for several decades. Castilla appealed to liberals by abolishing the payment of tribute by Indigenous persons and by emancipating enslaved Black persons. Landowners on the coastal plantations, however, were permitted to import thousands of Chinese workers in order to have a sufficient labour supply. As an additional concession to the liberals, Castilla established a system of state education at the primary and secondary levels. Through his influence, an assembly in 1860 adopted a constitution that lasted into the 1900s.

In the second half of the 19th century, Peru’s history was characterized by many setbacks. In 1864 Spain dispatched a naval force to the Pacific, ostensibly to protect the rights of Basque immigrants but in reality to attempt to reestablish domination over its former colony. In 1869, after meeting with the determined opposition of Peru and Chile, Spain withdrew and recognized Peru’s independence for the first time, but the conflict was a heavy drain on Peru’s treasury.

Dissatisfaction with military rule resulted in 1871 in the formation of the Civilian Party, representing an oligarchy of landowners and merchants (see Civilista). This party, headed by Manuel Pardo (president, 1872–76), approved a costly program of internal development, which included the construction of railroads across the Andes. Corruption on the part of government officials and contractors characterized the work, which decreased the isolation of the Peruvian interior but increased enormously the national debt.