;2<? /81 >42 0<5>5=4 8/@/7 =>/>598 !'+&+#'+)," 6NPGE 9PRIX#=NREKN / >HEQIQ =SBLIRRED FNP RHE 1EGPEE NF ;H1 AR RHE ?MITEPQIRW NF =R$ /MDPEUQ ',,+ 3SKK LERADARA FNP RHIQ IREL IQ ATAIKABKE IM <EQEAPCH.=R/MDPEUQ-3SKK>EVR AR- HRRO-%%PEQEAPCH#PEONQIRNPW$QR#AMDPEUQ$AC$SJ% ;KEAQE SQE RHIQ IDEMRIFIEP RN CIRE NP KIMJ RN RHIQ IREL- HRRO-%%HDK$HAMDKE$MER%'&&()%(,*+ >HIQ IREL IQ OPNRECRED BW NPIGIMAK CNOWPIGHR PERU AND THE BRITISH NAVAL STATION (1808-1839) Jorge Ortiz-Sotelo. Thesis submitted for Philosophy Doctor degree The University of Saint Andrews Maritime Studies 1996 EC A UNI L/ rJ ý t\ jxý DF, ÄNý Jorge Ortiz-Sotelo Peru and the British Naval Station ABSTRACT The protection of British interests in the Pacific was the basic reason to detach a number of Royal Navy's vessels to that Ocean during the Nineteenth Century. There were several British interests in the area, and an assorted number of Britons established in Spanish America since the beginning of the struggle for Independence. Amongst them, merchants was perhaps the most important and influential group, pressing on their government for protection to their trade. As soon as independence reached the western coast of America, a new space was created for British presence. First Valparaiso and afterwards Callao, British merchants were soon firmly established in that part of South America. As had happened in the Atlantic coast, their claims for protection were attended by the British government through the Pacific Squadron, under the flag of the Commander-in-Chief of the South American Station, until 1837, when it was raised to a separate Station. During the period covered by this research (1808-1839), Peru came through three crucial moments: the Wars of Independence, the initial years as a republic, and its confederation with Bolivia under the rule of Santa Cruz. Accordingly, the country shifted from being ruled by a strong authority, as the viceroy; to became a highly unstable republic, first because the War of Independence itself, and afterwards by reason of internal disputes amongst the military. British merchants already established in Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires and Valparaiso, considered Peruvian as a very profitable market, and consequently tried by every possible way to open it to foreign trade. Following the independence, in 1821, this market was officially opened, but it did not matched Jorge Ortiz-Sotelo Peru and the British Naval Station what British merchants expected. Potential buyers were too small in number and a reaction from local merchants proved efficient enough to maintain a high taxation on foreign goods. Even when British merchants reacted against these official policy, namely Protectionism, they were unable to obtain a more aggressive support from their government. Other British interests in Peru were built around a loan granted by a number of British investors in 1822, and some further investments on mining. Even when this time was a period in which Great Britain had achieved a paramount position in industry, commerce, naval and several other fields, its government maintained its policy of "free hands" towards the new republics in America. Consequently, British consular agents, as well as British Captains, devoted their mains efforts to kept British trade as safe as possible, and to protect their national from abuses committed by local authorities. This thesis aims to study how well the Royal Navy, through the Pacific Squadron and afterwards the Pacific Station, protected British subjects and interests in Peru, between 1808 and 1839. The research focused in the effectiveness of that naval presence, discussing how it was affected by local circumstances, the number of vessels available, the urgencies of transport of treasure and the limitations associated to operate without a shore base. Jorge Ortiz-Sotelo Peru and the British Naval Station DECLARATIONS (i) I, Jorge Ortiz-Sotelo, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 100,000 words in length, has been written by me, that it is the record of work carried out by me and that it h submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. date: January 20,1996 (ii) I was admitted as a research student under '3rd rice N° 12 in October 1986 and as a candidate for the degree of Ph.D in October 1986; the higher study for which this is a record was carried ºit in the University of St. Andrews between 1986 and 1996. date: January 20,1996 (iii) I hereby certify that the candidate has Vii dvth'ccnditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of Ph. D. in the Universityty St. Andrews that the i Wbmit of and c ,, this thesis in application for that degree. ,,ý,, date: 1997 -}e'bwn , signatur' V Jorge Ortiz-Sotelo Peru and the British Naval Station COPYRIGHT In submitting this thesis to the University of St. Andrews I understand that I am giving permission for it to be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Library for the time being in force, subject to any copyright vested in the work not being affected thereby. I also understand that title and abstract will be published, and that a copy of the work may be made and supplied to any bona fide library or research worker. date: January 6,1996 Jorge Ortiz-Sotelo Peru and the British Naval Station Contents Introduction vi Chapter 1. Initial Approaches (1808-1816) 1 American Station 3 - The South States British in Pacific - The war with United and the squadron the (1812-1816) 19 Chapter 2. The War of Independence (1816-1826) 31 in South (1816-1818) 32 - Privateers the Pacific Chilean Navy (1818-1822) 53 - Lord Cochrane as Commander-in-Chief of the (1821-1826) 80 - The Peruvian Navy 101 - Rodil's resistance Chapter 3. The Peruvian republic. External and internal conflicts (1827-1835) 108 112 - Internal struggles Hidalgo's incident (1830) 131 - The bri gantine 152 - International conflicts Chapter 4. The Confederation of Peru and Bolivia (1836-1839) 173 British 175 - The Confederation and the (1837) 192 - First Expedition of Restoration (1838) 196 - Second Expedition of Restoration 202 - Bulnes' Expedition 210 - The end of the Confederation Santa Cruz by Samarang 217 - The rescue of the - Interservice frictions 222 lj Jorge Ortiz-Sotelo Peru and the British Naval Station Chapter 5. Conveyance of treasure on British warships 226 legal frame 228 - The local 234 - The situation Captains 241 - British attitude appendix. List of naval vessels taking treasure on board 251 Chapter 6. Internal Affairs 257 in Pacific 257 - British naval vessels the force 262 -A "baseless" naval appendix one: British warships stationed in the Pacific (1813-1839) 278 appendix two: Commanding Officers of British Naval Forces in the Pacific 296 Conclusions 298 Sources 30? V. 1 Jorge Ortiz-Sotelo Peru and the British Naval Station Introduction Shortly after the South America British Naval Station was established at Rio de Janeiro, some of its vessels were send round Cape Horn to be stationed on the Pacific. Even when their initial duty was to chase U. S. vessels, during the War of 1812, as soon as Wars of Independence opened the West Coast markets, that mission focused on the protection of British trade, citizens and their interest along that coast. First acting as the Pacific Squadron and from 1837 onwards as a separate station, British naval presence on the western coast of Spanish America lasted until the first years of the present century, exerting a variable degree of activity in respect to each country on its jurisdiction. Along its almost centenary existence, several complains were made against the British naval forces stationed on the Pacific both by British consular agents and merchants. An example usually quoted was Consul General in Lima Belford Wilson's letter to Lord Palmerston, on 15 January 1834, stating that British captains were "too much occupied with the business of `freight hunting' to be of much service to the various British communities. "' This sort of complains had been taken at its face value for the current historiography, giving a general idea of a relative passive and underemployed British naval force, who hardly could provide an efficient protection to their countrymen interest along the area under its responsibility. 2 W. M. Mathew, "The first Anglo-Peruvian Debt and its Settlement, 1822-19". Journal of Latin American Studies, U. Cambridge, 2,1 (1970): 85. of Idem. .- Viii Jorge Ortiz-Sotelo Peru and the British Naval Station The fact is that most of the works approached this issue only in a collateral form, and has been made heavily based on Foreign Office papers. From our point of view, the lack of use of Admiralty papers helped to create such an idea, which did not reflect the effectiveness of British naval activity in the West Coast of South America. To obtain a more balanced view of it, we should first analyse the difficulties of running a naval force in those waters, whose nearest base, at least in the first half of the Eighteenth Century, were either in Brazil or in Australia, with a variable facing degree of autonomy due to the difficulties of communications, and a complex and variable reality in each one of the countries were it was due to act. Moreover, such an activity was framed in the British foreign policy towards Latin- American countries, which left very much in hands of private initiative. As could be easily suspected, British captains faced a number of problems to fulfil their duties. In some cases they succeed, in others they failed, as is usual in any human activity, but in general terms I will try to prove in this research the following points: a) The passiveness and underemployment of British Naval Forces on the Pacific accepted by current historiography, should be reviewed; b) The number of vessels destined to the Pacific was increased accordingly to the importance of the trade; c) "Freight hunting", being important as it was, could not be generalised as the main concern of British captains in the Pacific.