Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/358

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844: PERU PERUGIA was abolished, and a new one, founded upon that of the United States, was adopted in 1827. In 1836 Santa Cruz, president of Bolivia, en- tered the country with an army, and was pro- claimed supreme protector of the Bolivio-Peru- vian confederation, which lasted till 1839. In May, 1837, war was declared against Chili; but peace was restored in November of the same year. A congress assembled, and Ga- marra, who then governed provisionally, was appointed president. He was killed in battle in Bolivia in November, 1841, and Menendez, president of the council of state, succeeded him, but was forcibly deposed in August, 1842, by Gen. Forico. A series of civil wars now ensued during the successive administrations of Vidal, Figuerola, and Vivanco; but Gen. Castilla brought them to an end in 1844, and replaced Menendez in power. Castilla him- self was subsequently elected president, and inaugurated on April 1, 1845, and for six years peace and order were maintained, and the material interests of the country were de- veloped in a degree hitherto unparalleled. In 1851 Gen. Echenique was elected president. His government was accused of the grossest frauds, and Castilla stirred up a revolution in the south, overthrowing Echenique in 1855. Peru was now placed at the disposal of Cas- tilla ; but Vivanco incited an insurrection against him, and gained over the command- ers of all the ships of war then on the coast, except a small steamer which was protected by the mole of Callao. The fleet threatened to take Callao, and Castilla garrisoned it with a force of nearly 400 Europeans and North Americans under the command of an artillery officer named Smith, which repulsed Vivanco's attack with such severe loss that he retired to Arequipa, a place which had always been faithful to his party. His fleet kept possession of the sea, and at one time held the Chincha islands. On Jan. 24, 1858, two American ves- sels, the Lizzie Thompson and Georgiana, were captured while loading guano on the coast of the province of Arequipa, by a small steamer of Castilla's ; and several other ships were sub- sequently seized under similar circumstances. The Peruvian government in 1873 paid with interest the amount claimed by the owners of the vessels for damages. Arequipa was taken by assault by Castilla in March, 1858, after a most obstinate and gallant defence. Though slavery was abolished in Peru by the charter of independence, it still existed till Castilla freed the slaves by proclamation in 1855. In 1859 and 1860 the port of Guayaquil was blockaded by a Peruvian force; and in the latter year Castilla landed troops and pro- claimed Franco, a minion of his own, president of Ecuador; but the new ruler, having no means of enforcing his authority except those supplied by his ally, was shortly afterward obliged to leave the country. All efforts to overthrow Castilla's government failed. An attempt was made to assassinate him in the streets of Lima in August, 1860, followed by a more serious one three months afterward, when a company of soldiers entered his house early in the morning. Castilla managed to escape in his shirt to the street, and the soldiers shot the officers in charge. A 10ng contest ensued be- tween the Vivanco and Castilla parties; but the latter was enabled to retain the power till the expiration of Castilla's term. In May, 1862, Gen. San Ramon was elected president ; he entered upon his functions in October of the same year, and died in April, 1863. His admin- istration was marked by conciliatory tenden- cies. The Spaniards having in 1864 (Gen. Pe- zet being in power at the time) seized the Chin- cha islands, a war ensued ; but peace was con- cluded in January, 1865, the Peruvians agree- ing to pay a war indemnity of $3,000,000, and the Spaniards to restore the Chincha islands. This treaty gave much dissatisfaction. Pezet was decreed a traitor, and the vice president Canseco was called to replace him. The treaty with Spain was rejected in November by Prado, who had meantime been appointed provisional dictator, and who in December concluded a treaty of alliance with Chili, and in January, 1866, declared war against Spain. On May 2 the Spaniards were defeated by the allies, and on the 10th they withdrew from the Peruvian waters. In 1867 the present constitution was adopted, and a treaty of friendship, commerce, and navigation was signed between Chili and Peru. At the end of that year a revolution broke out against Prado, and he was com- pelled, on Jan. 10, 1868, to resign his office and embark for Chili. On July 28 Col. Balta was proclaimed president, and he was assassinated in July, 1872, at the instigation of Gen. Gutier- rez, then minister of war. As soon as peace was restored, Don Manuel Pardo was elected president almost unanimously, and his admin- istration has thus far been peaceful, with pros- perity in every branch of national industry. Railways have been rapidly extended, river navigation inaugurated, telegraph wires spread over the land, the finances reorganized, and edu- cation placed within the reach of all. Never- theless, an attempt was made to assassinate him in August, 1874. Peru was visited in 1868 by a disastrous earthquake, which, with its accom- panying tidal wave, laid waste several towns, both on the coast and in the interior. (See AEIOA, AEEQTJIPA, CALLAO, and LIMA.) See Prescott, "History of the Conquest of Peru" (2 vols., New York, 1847); Rivero and Tschu- di, "Peruvian Antiquities," translated by F. L. Hawks (New York, 1855); C. R. Markham, " Travels in Peru and India " (London, 1862) ; "Reports on the Discovery of Peru," trans- lated and edited by C. R. Markham (London, 1872); V. F. Lopez, Les races aryennes du Perou (Paris, 1873) ; T. J. Hutchinson, " Two Years in Peru, with Explorations of its Anti- quities" (London, 1873). PERUGIA. I. A central province of Italy, also called Umbria, formerly a delegation of