PERU. 
747 
and the project for achieving it, which was widely circu¬ 
lated, drew to them many of thofe military adventurers 
who, by the peace in Europe, were deprived of occupation. 
Among others, lord Cochrane and feveral Engliffi officers 
who had diftinguiffied themfelves in the naval fervice, 
found employment in the fleet which was fpeedily equipped, 
and which, in difcipline though not in force, loon at¬ 
tained fuch a fuperiority over the navy of Spain as to give 
it the command of the navigation of the South Sea. Being 
to windward of the Spanifh- ports, it was eafy at any time 
to choofe the point of attack. An army of 5600 men 
was formed under San Martin, which, with the fleet, 
confiding of one (hip of 64 guns, one of 50, one of 36, and 
one of 32, befides fome corvettes and tranfports, failed 
from Valparaifo in the latter end of 1820, and reached 
Lima in February of the following year. The troops 
were landed to the north of Callao, and continued 
without any great exertion till May, when, the garrifon 
of Lima being much ftraitened, an armiftice was con¬ 
cluded. 
Pezuela, then viceroy of Lima, was oppofed by the 
audiencia and the muncipality, who cenfured him for 
not adopting meafures fufficiently energetic to repel the 
invaders. The fame difpofition to cenfure prevailed 
among the officers of the army; and at length they 
refolved to depofe Pezuela. He made no refiftance, but, 
quitting the government and country, the command was 
placed in the hands of Don Jofe de La Serna on the 29th 
January, 1821. 
The troops of La Serna were not much fuperior to the 
invaders numerically; but fome of them having gone 
over to San Martin, gave the latter a fuperiority. Lima 
continued to be ftraitened by the general, and Callao to 
be blockaded by lord Cochrane, who performed one of 
thofe adts of defperate valour which ftruck aftoniffiment 
into the Spaniards. With the boats of his little fquadron 
he entered the port of Callao, and, under the guns of 
its tremendous batteries, boarded, captured, and carried 
oft’, one of their largeft ffiips of war, with more men on¬ 
board than were in all the boats that attacked her. 
After fome months had elapfed, a convention was 
agreed on, when La Serna with his army marched out, 
and San Martin with his forces entered Lima, on the 10th 
of, July, 1821. A garrifon was, however, left by the 
royalifts in Callao. The protrafled operations had given 
time to remove the moft valuable property, which, with 
the females of the beft families, and the non-combatants, 
reached the mountainous diftridts. San Martin, in the 
pofleffion of Lima, was in the fame condition as La Serna 
had been for fome months before; with many mouths 
befides thofe of his army to fill, and his intercourfe with 
the country that furniffied provifions intercepted; but 
he had the advantage of naval fuperiority, and could 
draw fupplies from the coaft, though, till Callao was 
taken, the difficulty of landing made the arrival of fuch 
fupplies precarious. At length the garrifon of Callao 
agreed to evacuate, on being allowed to join La Serna, 
which was eft'eCted. San Martin was thus in full pofleffion 
of the capital and its port, when a difpute between him 
and lord Cochrane, about the divifion of the plunder, 
caufed the latter to fail away, and leave the commander 
of the land-forces to fecure his conqueft as well as he could; 
and it appears that San Martin, by various judicious pro¬ 
clamations, and very moderate behaviour, fucceeded, 
apparently, in reconciling all orders to their new libera¬ 
tors. He proclaimed himfelf “ ProteCtor of the Indepen¬ 
dence of Peru, until Peru was free, and a National Con- 
grefs aflembled,” when he declared he would be ready to 
feek the quiet he had long fighed after, by refigning his 
authority to a Governor or Director of their own ap¬ 
pointment. By this proclamation, all flaves born after 
the 28th of July, 1821, are declared free; the tribute of the 
Indians is aboliflied; and the natives of Peru are no 
longer to be called Indians or Natives, but Peruvians. 
Vo 1.. XIX. No. 1340. 
San Martin kept his word. On the 20th of September, 
1822, he ifl'ued the following proclamation at Lima, after 
which he retired to Valparaifo in Chili. “Peruvians! 
I have witnefled the declaration of the independence of 
the ftates of Chili and Peru : I have in .my pofleffion the 
ftandard which Pizarro bore in fubjugating the empire 
of the Incas; and I ceafe to be a public man. Thus are 
recompenfed with ufury ten years of revolution and war. 
My promifes to the people where I have waged war are 
fulfilled; they were to make them independent, and to 
leave the choice of their government to themfelves. The 
prefence of a fuccefsful foldier (however difinterefted he 
may be) is alarming to newly-conftituted ftates; and, on 
the other hand, I am vexed to hear it faid that I wiffi to 
become a fovereign. I ffiall indeed be always ready 
to make the laft lacrifice for the liberty of the coun¬ 
try, but in the character of a private citizen, and nothing 
more. 
“ Peruvians ! I leave you the national reprefentation 
eftablifhed : if you give it your entire confidence, you 
may ling a fong of triumph ; if not, anarchy will devour 
you. May wifdom prefide over your deftiny 5 and may it 
be the height of felicity and peace. 
Jose de San Martin.” 
In the mean time, La Serna, after uniting with the 
garrifon of Callao, had retired towards the mountains, 
where he intercepted all communication between Lima 
and the mining diftrifts, and drew fupplies of men and 
(tores from the countries in his rear. The whole of the 
treafure captured in Lima did not exceed 300,000 dollars, 
not a tenth part of what was ufually to be found in that 
city. Lord Cochrane having carried away the money, 
San Martin, before his retirement, was compelled to have 
recourfe to violent meafures to fubfill his army. He 
(lamped paper dollars to pay his troops, and ifl'ued de¬ 
crees commanding the inhabitants to take them in pay¬ 
ment. A civil war is thus exifting, which, as far as the 
lateft intelligence reaches, leaves it doubtful if the con¬ 
querors or the conquered are in the word condition. We 
have feen a letter from Lima, dated fo lately as Jan. 10, 
1823, which fays, “The (late of this country is molt 
deplorable ; impoveriffied to that degree, that the go¬ 
vernment has not the means of carrying any objeCt into 
effeCt. Little elfe but paper money circulating, which, 
depreciating in value daily, it is difficult to exchange 
any quantity of it for hard dollars, even at a facrifice of 
30 per cent, and without the walls of the city it is not 
paflable. There is a great want of energy in the 
government, which, together with the total want of 
money or credit, renders it probable that the war in the 
interior will be protracted a confiderable time. The only 
thing in favour of the patriots, is the little dependence 
the royalifts can place in the Indians, who I believe, 
univerfally deteft the name of a Spaniard.” 
The new government, therefore, cannot by any means 
be confidered as firmly eftabliffied; and, whatever may be 
the ultimate iflue, it mult probably be a long time before 
tranquillity can be reftored to fuch a degree as to give 
that fecurity to property which is more eflential to 
mining than to any other of the operations of human 
induftry. In whatever manner the prelent conteft may 
terminate, it is not poffible to conceive that Peru, or 
any part of South America, will be again fubjeCled to the 
condition of a Spanifh colony. Nor is it definable that it 
Ihould ; for it is notorious that the court of Madrid ruled 
thofe valt countries with a partiality which prevented the 
natives from developing their natural talents. Of 170 vice¬ 
roys who have governed America, 166 were Spaniards, and 
only four Natives. Of 602 captains-general, 588 were 
Spaniards, and only fourteen Americans. The fame 
remark is applicable to the high ecclefiaftical dignities, 
which were almoft always referved for Spaniards, and 
almoft always inacceffible to American priefts. For 
farther particulars as to the revolted colonies, and of 
9 E their 
