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Romanorum Imperator Augustus
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Nov 11, 2007
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  • Europa Universalis III
  • Europa Universalis III Complete
  • Victoria: Revolutions
We Are Free, May We Always Be So - The Story Of Peru

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Table Of Contents
Prologue
Revolution And Independence
Civil War
The Ecuadorian War
1850
Liberal Revolution
The War Of 1858
1860
The Quiet Decade
1870
The Amazon War
The First War Of Defense
1880
The Ecuadorian Crisis
The Second War Of Defense: I
The Second War Of Defense: II
1890
The Fatherly Policy
1900
Final World Map, 1900


Heads Of State
Jose de San Martin 1821-1831
Jose de La Mar 1831-1836
Jose de la Riva Aguero 1836-1837
Antonio Jose de Sucre 1837-1846
Andres de Santa Cruz 1846-1854
National Council 1854-1856
Agustin Gamarra 1856-1861
Luis Jose de Orbegoso 1861-1866
Manuel Menendez 1866-1871
Ramon Castilla 1871-1881
Jose Rufino Echenique 1881-1891
Justiniano Borgono Castaneda 1891-1896
Andres Avelino Caceres 1896-1901
Augusto Bernardino Leguia 1901-1911

 
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Author's Note

Author's Note

One year ago, in this very forum, I began what I consider to be my greatest AAR. "Nika! The Rise Of Modern Greece" was my finest achievement so far on any forum and I am very proud of it. After abandoning my Heaven On Earth mega-campaign, I began to look back on Nika! to try and figure out what I did right. The main problem with Heaven On Earth was that there was no gameplay backing, therefore it became increasingly harder to create an interesting alternate history. This AAR will indeed have gameplay backing.

But another big problem with Heaven On Earth is that it was filled with many non-AAR related accessories. I spent a long time trying to find mood music for each update. I had to look around the forum for great AAR writers and glorify them once a month. Combine this with the fact that it was a mega-campaign and you have yourself a very bloated AAR. What I hope to do with this AAR is to return to what I captured with Nika!. I want to go back to that simple and great history-book style, no extras.

This AAR will be based off a Peru game that I played in Victoria: Revolutions, quite some time ago. I took many screenshots and the game became interesting enough to warrant an AAR. So, with that, I'd like to finally welcome you to...

We Are Free, May We Always Be So - The Story Of Peru
 
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Excellent! (Don't forget to put this in the LibrAARy :D) Count me in from the very start here. Nika was superb so I am interested in seeing just how far you have come since that. I can only imagine it being several times better than before. And don't leave us without great images, Nika had a ton of great paintins to give us a good idea of what you were writing so, and I know it will be harder with peru but not impossible :) Continue!
 
We Are Free, May We Always Be So

Prologue

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The name “Peru” is derived from Biru, the name of a local Native American chief in the Panama region. When Pizarro reached the Inca Empire, he called the land “Biru” (or Peru) after the local ruler in Panama. Pizarro apparently thought that Biru was a very powerful leader, when his authority did not reach beyond Panama. The real rulers of Peru at the time were the Inca.

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The “wiphala” was a square, rainbow colored emblem often used to represent the Inca Empire, and now used for many native South American peoples

In 1526, Pizarro made his first contact with the Inca at Tumbez. At the time, the Inca Empire was already being devastated by waves of European smallpox, brought to Peru by natives from Central America. In fact, in 1528, the emperor Huayna Capac died from smallpox. His death left a major succession crisis in which his sons, Atahualpa and Huascar fought a brutal civil war. Atahualpa eventually won, but the damage had been done to the Inca Empire.

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A depiction of Inca warfare

In 1531, Pizarro returned to Peru and invaded the Inca Empire. He orchestrated the decisive Battle of Cajamarca on November 16th, 1532. He invited Atahualpa to the great plaza and the emperor showed up with 7,000 personal attendants. Meanwhile, the Spaniards had about 180 men. The details are unclear, but at some point during the ‘meeting,’ the Spaniards were given the signal to attack and the massacre began. The combination of gunfire and cavalry charges, both of which were foreign to the Inca made for a devastating effect. By the end of the battle, the Spanish had only lost 5 men, while they had killed over 2,000 Inca and captured Atahualpa. In 1533, Atahualpa was executed and Inca Empire traditionally ends with his death.

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Atahualpa infamously chose to be strangled to death with a garrote, instead of being burned

In 1542, the Spanish crown established the Viceroyalty of Peru. It immediately became a very rich colony, with an economy based off silver mining and native slave labor. But in the 18th century, the profits from silver mining decreased. The Spanish tried to make up for this by raising taxes with the Bourbon Reforms which instigated Tupac Amaru II’s famous rebellion. His victory at Sangarara put fear into the hearts of the Spanish. However, his disorderly army of natives lost momentum and were surrounded at Tinta. He was captured and was then executed in a infamously brutal way. He was forced to watch the executions of his family, and then he himself was then drawn and quartered.

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Tupac Amaru II suffered a terrible fate. He had his tongue cut out and was then drawn and quartered by four horses. Only after all this terrible pain was he finally beheaded

While Amaru’s rebellion failed, it inspired many other indigenous revolts throughout the Spanish colonies. Around the same time, in North America, the United States had just gained its independence. And the Enlightenment was spreading revolutionary ideas in Europe. All this would erupt with the coming of the French Revolution, Napoleon, and ultimately, the Age of Revolution.

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One of the most famous painting of the Storming of the Bastille, painted by Jean-Pierre-Louis-Laurent Houel
 
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I knew the odds against Pizzarro were large, but I didn't realise they were that large. Interesting to know more about that period which I have little clue about apart from knowing of Pizzarro and Atahualpa. Do continue!
 
This looks great so far, asd. Looking forward to it!
 

We Are Free, May We Always Be So

Revolution And Independence

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The rapid spread of Enlightenment ideals brought many revolutions upon the nations of the world. It started with the thirteen British colonies in 1776 and most agree reached its brutal apex with the French Revolution in 1789. The French Revolution was a decade of anarchy throughout the French nation, and it ended, and failed, with Napoleon’s rise to absolute power in 1804.

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A famous depiction of Napoleon’s coronation as Emperor

One of Napoleon’s many targets were the Spanish. When he invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 1808, he devastated the social, political, and economic structure of Spain and Portugal. The Peninsular War’s effects reached South America, where the degradation of royal authority, allowed for successful and popular rebellion.

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A battle scene from the Peninsular War

Starting around 1812, royal power in Peru began an alarming descent. Supported by the armies of Jose de San Martin, Creoles rebelled in 1812, 1814, and 1816 in the provinces of Huanuco and Cuzco. Even though these rebellions were suppressed, the professional armies of Bolivar and San Martin were met with great success. A Chilean navy, led by the famous Lord Thomas Cochrane kept the Spanish fleet at bay, while troops were constantly supplied in their land campaigns.

Jose de San Martin landed at Paracas in 1820 and began his march on the Spanish viceroyalty’s capital, Lima. On July 12th 1821, he seized control of the city and was appointed “Protector of Peru.” On July 28th of that same year, he famously declared the independence of Peru. However, Peru was still not completely independent of Spanish control.

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A depiction of Jose de San Martin’s declaration of independence to the people of Lima

It was the famous Battle of Ayacucho that secured final independence and victory of Peru, and the whole of South America. At the time, royalists still had control of southern Peru. But on December 8th 1824, Lieutenant Antonio Jose de Sucre led the revolutionary forces against the Spanish army of the Viceroy Jose de la Serna. The revolutionaries had about 6,000 men, while the Spanish had about 7,000 with many more artillery pieces than the revolutionaries.

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A depiction of the famous charge at Ayacucho

Antonio Jose de Sucre opened the battle with a daring cavalry charge that routed the Spanish army and killed 2,000 men. With that, the generals and officers of the Spanish army were captured and signed a final surrender. The last of the Spanish troops left the port of Lima in January 1826. Peru was finally an independent nation.

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The Battle of Ayacucho is so significant to South American history that it is commemorated by a massive monument
 
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And thus the scene is set proper. Nice overview of the lead up to independence.
 
Scene is set, will follow.
 
We Are Free, May We Always Be So

Civil War

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In 1836, Peru was not a nation without problems. The nation of 3 million people contained many different ethnic groups that put strain on nation unity. In addition to this, its government was not a true democracy, as the elected president held total dictatorial power. In 1836, Peru was in the middle of an election campaign. Although the president held near total power during his term, the presidents were limited to two terms of 5 years each, so that no man could rule for over a decade. In 1836, Jose de la Mar was running for reelection against the charismatic Jose de la Riva Aguero. When the ballots were cast on July 1, Aguero came out on top and was elected president, gaining about 70 percent of the national vote.

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Peru’s situation in 1836

The problem with Aguero, however, was the fact that he was an aristocrat from Lima with many connections to the former Spanish rulers. This made him very unpopular in southern Peru, also known as “Bolivia.” Since Bolivia had a higher indigenous population than the rest of the country, the tensions were only enflamed to higher levels. Soon, a call for Bolivian independence rose out of the region. When news of nationalists and liberals calling for independence, came to Lima, Aguero ordered the movement of thousands of troops into Bolivia. In 1837, Aguero decided to tour Bolivia and make speeches throughout the area, promising to preserve indigenous culture and grant greater autonomy from the central Peruvian government. But many were not convinced he would back up these claims. So on February 11th, a young man named Pedro Chaco took out a small pistol with 2 bullets in it and fired at the President during a speech. One bullet went into the President’s shoulder, the other into his neck. The third President of Peru, Jose de la Riva Aguero, died on February 13 1837. On February 28, Bolivian nationalists stormed the city hall in Sucre and proclaimed Bolivian independence. The Peruvian Civil War had begun.

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A depiction of the Peruvian Civil War, green represents those that supported the current government, while the shades of red represent those who wanted Bolivian independence. The darker shade of red suggests the higher discontent and rebelliousness in those areas.

At first, the government did not know how to respond. The central administration was in turmoil and hastily elected the war hero, Antonio Jose de Sucre, as President. Fortunately, the widely popular de Sucre took control fast and ordered many more thousands of troops into the area. The first big battle of the war was fought on July 13 1837. Alfonso Hidalgo led an army of 8000 men into Arica and faced off against a disgruntled army of 3000 rebels. The rebels were poorly armed and many didn’t even have guns, and were forced to fight with machetes, pikes, and other farm tools. Hidalgo, on the other hand, had cannons and highly trained cavalry men. The combination of cavalry charges and cannon fire broke the rebel army within an hour, and by the end of the day, about 600 Peruvians were dead, compared to 2,500 Bolivians.

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A graphic representing the Battle of Arica, near the Chilean border

The next battle of the war was the decisive battle of the conflict. It was fought near one of the major rebel centers and Bolivian cities, La Paz. Ironically, the bloodiest battle of the war took place near a city called “The Peace.” Ernesto Marquez led 10,000 men against 6000 rebels. The anxious and unruly rebels made the unfortunate decision to march out of the city and face the Peruvian army on open ground. Again, like at Arica, massive cannon barrages decimated the rebel army. Blinded by smoke, dust, and chaos, the rebels didn’t even realize that they were being surrounded. Once he had the rebels surrounded, Marquez ordered a total charge of infantry and cavalry that devastated the rebel army and the Bolivian movement for independence. By the end of August 30, 5000 rebels had been killed, compared to 1000 Peruvians.

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A graphic representing the Battle of La Paz, which was fought within sight of the city

The last gasp for Bolivian independence was crushed at the Battle of Chuquisaca. Alfonso Hidalgo once again led his army against the rebels. This time, a small of force of 1400 rebels made a last stand against 7500 Peruvians. The rocky terrain of the area allowed for Hidalgo to take the high ground and use his cannons to decimate the rebel army, as had been the case with all the battles of the war. But this time, the rebels did not fall apart as before, but instead charged up the hills and captured the cannons. They then used these cannons to fire upon the Peruvians. The tide had completely turned. Now, the Peruvians were trying to charge up the hill and recapture the cannons. It was only after many exhausting hours and many casualties that the Peruvians finally recaptured their cannons and surrounded the few remaining rebels. What happened next still remains in the Bolivian psyche today. The rebel leader, Rodolfo Padilla stood strong with about 200 survivors and continued to fight, despite many chances to surrender. He fought with his men well into the night, until they had all died. When the sun rose on the morning of October 16 1837, all the rebels were dead, while the Peruvians had suffered 3000 casualties.

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A graphic representing the Battle of Chuquisaca, an area known for its arid mountains

When the news of Padilla’s last stand spread, small revolts throughout the Bolivian countryside arose, but all these were crushed by the professional army of Peru. The last of these revolts was crushed in Sucre in early 1838. With the rebel capital of Sucre back under Peruvian control, the rebels were forced to capitulate. The Peruvian generals threatened to burn Sucre and La Paz to the ground and to execute all of their 10,000 Bolivian prisoners if peace was not signed. So on August 17th 1838, the rebels signed peace in Sucre and agreed to stay under the control of Peru and vowed never to revolt again, under pain of death. However, in a controversial move, Alfonso Hidalgo still rounded up the rebel leaders, including the ones that signed the peace, and hanged them in public in front of the horrified population of Sucre. Despite this betrayal, the Bolivian people had lost all hope for independence and ceased their revolts. The bloody Peruvian Civil War had last a year and a half and had cost the lives of about 16,000 men, women, and children, but Peru was still a united and strong nation.​
 
The Bolivian revolution proved to be an anti-climax then. Keeping Bolivia will help Peru's situation immensely. Did you give yourself some leadership?