The Military Reform in the Viceroyalty of Peru, 1762-1800
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THE MILITARY REFORM IN THE VICEROYALTY OF PERU, 1762-1800 By LEON GEORGE CAMPBELL, JR. A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE COUNCIL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 1970 8 1-6^ 99980 Z9ZI S Vaid01ddOAilSU3AINn TO J.E.A., S.P.A., AND A.A.C. V/HO PUSHED, PAID, AND PULLED, RESPECTIVELY ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Although a dissertation hears the name of a single author^ it is the product of ideas and inspiration received during the student's graduate career. To Professors David Bushnell^ Neil] Macaulay^ John Mahon, and Andres Su6reZj v;ho have provided both^ I owe a sincere debt of gratitude. I should also like to thank the persons who aided in the preparation of this dissertation. In Lima the staffs of the Archivo Nacional and the Biblioteca Nacional extended me every courtesy. Dr. Felix Denegri Luna placed his extraordinary library at my disposal and helped my research in many ways. i owe a financial debt of gratitude to the Division of Foreign Studies of the Department of Healthy Education^ and V/elfare for the generous assistance v/hich supported my research. Miss Mary Lou Nelson of the Institute of International Studies kindly assisted me in numerous ways. in Seville^, I was Indebted to thf' Staff of the Archivo General de las Indias for tlieir cooperation. Mrs. Celia Lcscano ably typec' the n.fnuscr'pt. To Professor Lyle N. McAlister^ my committee chairman^ I owe the largest measure of gratitude. Not only has he provided me with financial support c^nd sound advice throughout graduate school^ but also with much that has contributed to my development as a scholar. Moreover^ he has been a close and valued friend. Finally^ I hereby release my v;ife and children from their vows of perpetual silence whi le I am typing. While praise may be distributed widely, blame cannot. I assume all responsibility for errors of fact and interpretation contained in the manuscript. TABLE OF CONTEfiTS Page ACKNOV/LEDGMLNTS ii LIST OF TABLES v LIST OF FIGURE vi A NOTE ON CITATIONS vii ABSTRACT xi INTRODUCTION 1 I. THE DEFENSES OF PERU AT MIDCENTURY 9 II. THE MILITARY RESPONSES OF PERU TO THE SEVEN YEARS WAR 30 III. THE ARECHE VISITATION AMD THE V.'^'.RS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 95 IV. TESTING OF THE MILITARY REFORM: THE INDIAN REVOLTS OF I78O-I7S3 1^5 V. THE CULMINATION OF THE MILITARY RF.FORM 207 Vi. THE CUNSEOUENCES OF EXPANDED MILITARY PRIVILEGE . 266 CONCLUSION 312 BIBLIOGRAPHY 322 6 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. THE ARMY OF PERU, 1760 15 2. COMPANIES OF MILITIA RAISED DURING THE SEVEN YEARS WAR, 1762-17&3 ^k 3. THE ARMY OF PERU IN 1776 77 k. UNIT ORGANIZATION UNDER THE REGLAMENTO FOR THE DISCIPLINED MILITIA OF CUBA, 1769 105 5. EXPEDITION SENT FROM CUZCO AGAINST TUPAC AMARU, MARCH, 1781 183 6. THE REFORM OF THE F I JO COMPONENT OF THE ARMY OF PERU, 178'i 225 7. ORGANIZATION OF A VETERAN INFANTRY REGIMENT 228 8. THE MILITIA OF PERU, I787-I8I6 238 9. THE ARM.Y OF PERU, 181 251 LIST OF FIGURE Figure Page 1. Map of Peru xi A NOTE ON CITATIONS The research for this dissertation was done In four principal archives: the Archivo Genera] de las Indias in Seville, Spain (hereinafter cited as AG I ) , the Archivo Nacional, Lima (hereinafter cited as ANL), the Bancroft Library of the University of California at Berkeley (hereinafter cited as BL) and the Biblioteca Nacional, Lima (hereinafter cited as BNL) . In order to facilitate citing these sources, abbreviations will be used. The name of the archive will be immediately followed by a colon and the name of the ramo (section) of the archive where the particular document is to be found. The abbreviations for these are as follows: AC - Audiencia de Cuzco AL - Audiencia de Lima IG - Indiferente General RA - Real Audiencia RH - Real Hacienda RTC - Real Tribunal del Consul ado - TM Tribunal Mi 1 itar The ramo is followed by the number of the volume in which the document was found. Wherever possible, this number is fol- lowed by the number of the expediente (item or document) itself, although in many instances these were unnumbered, in this case, the docunient is identified by the names of the correspondents, the location, the date and the page numbers. For example, a letter from Viceroy Kanuel de Amat to Jose de G5lve2, Lima, January 12, 1775; wliich v/as located in the Archivo Gene' ral de las Indias in Section Audiencia de Limia, volume 1^90^ would be cited as AGI :AL 1^9Q Amat to G^lvez, Linia_, January 12, 1775, Particular titles are enclosed in quotation marks and cited exactly as they appeared. Source: Jchn Preston Moore^ The Cabildo in Peru under the Bourbons (Durham, N.C,, I966), facing p. 252. r3 AUDIENCIA DE LIMA ADAPTED FROM ANDREAS BATEATO, Piano del Vtrrepnato del Peru, 1792 Boundaries of the Intendcncics of Lima Boundary of the Cuico Audiencia . Figure 1 --Map of Peru XI Abstract of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate Council of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy THE MILITARY REFORM IN THE VICEROYALTY OF PERU, 1762-1800 By Leon George Campbell, Jr, June, 1970 Chairman: Dr. Lyle N. KcAlister Major Department: History During tlie seventeenth century the defense of the Spanish empire in America vias in the hands of regular army troops sent from Spain and stationed in the pre s id ios or garrisons located along the frontiers of the several viceroyal l ies , The decisive defeat of Spain at the hands of Great Britain during the Seven Years V/ar (1756-1763) demonstrated the inadequacy of these presidial troops to defend such a vast region and led to a major reorganization of the New V/orld armies. This reorganiza- tion of th.e military comprised one of a series of measures knov/n col- lectively as the Bourbon Reforms in honor of their creator, the Bourbon monarch Charles III. The intention of the Spanish crov.'n v/as to replace these garrison troops with battalions raised In the colonies themselves in an effort to better defend against future attacks. In addition, a militia was to , be created on a regional basis and disciplined by veteran comnand and staff groups vyhich were to provide them with periodic training. While this approach v;as successful in New Spain, the immense size of the Viceroyalty of Peru prevented its effective implementation there. The distance between towns and cities and the rural nature of the kingdom meant that the militia in Peru v;ere too widely dispersed to operate as tactical units during v/artin";e. Moreover, the lack of whites in these highland regions made the Spanish authorities reluctant to grant com- missions as officers to mixed bloods, whose loyalty to the crov;n was frequently suspect. The discipline of the militia broke down because militia commissions were instead granted to the Creole nobility in Lima who rarely, if ever, travelled to the provinces to inspect their companies A decade of Indian rebellion, bf^ginn'ng with the Tupac Amaru revolt in I7B0, forced the eventual disbanding of the interior militia except in certain large cities such as Cuzco where bodies of urban militia remained as a form of civil guard. Thereafter a disciplined militia in Peru viss retained only along the coast. This reduction in the size of the militia and of the f i jo battalions that had been raised in the colonies, combined v;itli the arrival of two veteran regiments from Spain in I786, signified a return to the traditional form of defense, and was a tacit admission that the military reform had failed. Further limitations v/ere placed upon the military reform by the disruptive visitation of Jos6 Antonio de Arecfie and the creation of the Viceroyalty of the La Plata in 1776 which removed the silver mines of xi i i . Charcas from Peru's jurisdiction. To replace this source of revenue, tax levels were increased in Peru which provoked further disturbances. Efforts to collect a "military contribution" to pay the salaries of veteran training cadres were defeated by militia resistance. Embroiled in a long series of European wars, Peru was forced to restrict its army to the defense of Lima and certain other large cities along the coast The failure of the Army of Peru to achieve the power and prestige which a successful reform might have brought about caused it also to be unable to assert its f uer o mi li t ar , or privileged military juris- diction, at the expense of civil authority as the Army of New Spain was able to do. Although Creoles by 1800 monopolij'ed both the regular and militia components of the Army of Peru, they v/ere a conservative and internally divided group. In addition, the military v;as split over the issue of pard o or Negro military privileges, and opposed by a powerful civil jurisdiction which was exercised by men of wealth and prestige in the community. In Lima, courts were unwilling to grant the military special privileges since they v^ere not considered to be the defenders of the kingdom. The viceroy himself enforced a strict code of military justice. In Peru the military reforni was largely abortive and the army never succeeded in becoming a corporate Interest group. Not until the v;ars for independence did anything resembling a praetorian tradition take hold in Peru.