Background At the beginning of the 19th century,
Simón Bolívar postulated the idea of creating a great nation, coinciding with
Andrés de Santa Cruz, who thought of uniting
Peru and
Bolivia in a single country, the latter colloquially known as
Upper Peru. The idea of uniting both countries was the general idea of several influential political leaders in Peru—including
Francisco Xavier de Luna Pizarro, , ,
Agustín Gamarra, among others—who sought to reintegrate the two Perus, disagreeing only in the form of the "union": confederation or merger. An important factor in the desire to unite these two states were the historical ties between both regions, even after independence. After political instability and a coup d'état in 1835, a
civil war broke out between newly self-declared president
Felipe Santiago Salaverry and constitutional president
Luis José de Orbegoso, who allowed Bolivian president
Andrés de Santa Cruz to send his troops through the Peruvian border. After the latter's triumph in 1836, assemblies were soon established to make way for the creation of the Confederation.
Prelude Two constituent congresses were established in each of the three founding states of the confederation, in the cities of
Huaura (North Peru),
Sicuani (South-Peru) and (Bolivia). Immediately, the representatives of the three states promised to celebrate the union pact of the Peru–Bolivian Confederation as soon as possible. The
Sicuani Assembly was established on 16 March 1836, and closed on 22 March. It featured representatives from
Ayacucho,
Arequipa,
Cuzco,
Puno and
Tacna. On 10 April, Orbegoso recognized
South Peru as an independent state through a decree, and a Supreme Court was installed in
Cuzco on 24 August. The assembly also created the country's flag and currency. Fines were put in place to prevent the
(now North) Peruvian flag from being flown. The
Huaura Assembly lasted from 3 to 24 August 1836, and featured representatives from
La Libertad,
Lima,
Huaylas,
Maynas and
Junín. On 11 August,
North Peru was officially established through the promulgation of its constitution by the then President Orbegoso, naming Santa Cruz—who triumphantly entered
Lima on 15 August—as the Supreme Protector of the state. Orbegoso also presented his resignation, but it was not approved by the assembly, who named him provisional president. The assembly also established the new territorial divisions of the country. Unlike its new southern neighbour, North Peru maintained the national symbols of its predecessor. In the case of Bolivia, a special session of the had previously been held on 21 June 1836, which authorized Santa Cruz to complete the confederation project to which Bolivia had already adhered with the Law of 22 July 1835. Around that time, Santa Cruz received the diploma and insignia of Grand Officer of the
Legion of Honour, with which the
King of France honored him. He also received a communication from
Pope Gregory XVI and a rosary with his medal, blessed by the Pope himself.
Establishment Provided, then, with all the legal elements granted by the assemblies of the three states, Santa Cruz decreed the establishment of the Peru–Bolivian Confederation, by decree given in Lima on 28 October 1836. A congress known today as the
Congress of Tacna () was ordered to meet in
Tacna to establish the foundations of the confederation. A
customs office was also opened in
Arica, which employed both South Peruvians and Bolivians. During the meeting, Santa Cruz arranged for each state to send a priest, a soldier and a lawyer as delegates before, and consequently, three religious, three lawyers and three soldiers marched to Tacna. The nine delegates were as follows: • Representing
North Peru • , bishop of Trujillo • , lawyer and member of the Supreme Court • , colonel • Representing
South Peru • , bishop of Arequipa • Pedro José Flórez, lawyer and judge of Ayacucho • Juan José Larrea, colonel • Representing
Bolivia • José María Mendizábal, bishop of
La Plata • Pedro Buitrago, lawyer and member of the Supreme Court • Miguel María de Aguirre, colonel Initially, 24 January 1837, was chosen as the congress' date, but it had to be postponed. Santa Cruz decided to accompany the plenipotentiaries of the North-Peruvian State, for which reason he left Lima and embarked on the frigate
Flora on 9 February, but instead of disembarking in
Islay, he went to
Arica, where he arrived on 27 February. The congress was postponed to 18 April; Meanwhile, Santa Cruz remained in Arica, but on 2 March he headed for Tacna, where he was received with much fanfare. From Tacna he went to
Viacha on 10 March, arriving in
La Paz the following day. There, together with the Bolivian plenipotentiaries Aguirre and Buitrago, and Bolivian Vice President
Mariano Enrique Calvo, he agreed on the project that should be discussed and approved in Tacna. Then, in the first days of April, he went down to Tacna again. On 18 April 1837, the Tacna Congress was inaugurated, with the presence of the nine delegates. The
Pact of Tacna () was signed without debate during the congress. It established the
legal framework through which the state would operate, and also included the design of the flag. Reactions to the pact were mixed event among its signatories, and disagreements led to the establishment of one constituent congress per member state. The act was later promulgated in 1837.
Political instability and wars Like Orbegoso, Santa Cruz also had many opponents and enemies born in the frequent caudillo clashes of the early years of Peru's republican history. Among those enemies were powerful characters such as
Agustín Gamarra and
Ramón Castilla, who at the time were exiled in Chile. The rivalry that existed between the ports of
Callao and
Valparaíso worsened as a result of the establishment of the Confederation. A tariff war soon began between both states, and Orbegoso supported
Ramón Freire's failed expedition against
Diego Portales. The
Congress of Chile approved the declaration of war on 26 December 1836, claiming that Santa Cruz's rule over Peru was illegitimate, and that his influence threatened the integrity of other
South American nations, as seen by Orbegoso's support for the attempted invasion of Chile by Freire, specifically pointing out the attempt on Portales. A territorial dispute between Argentina and Bolivia over the territory of
Tarija escalated, as Bolivia occupied and annexed the territory and
Juan Manuel de Rosas then
declared war on the Confederation on 19 May 1837, accusing Santa Cruz of harboring supporters of the
Unitarian Party. The accusations ended up being true, as Santa Cruz had financially supported the émigrés. Portales was assassinated in
Valparaíso after a mutiny broke out in
Quillota, leading to preparations for the invasion of South Peru. Thus, the first "Restorative Expedition" left Valparaíso on 15 September 1837, landing in
Quilca, and occupying
Arequipa on 12 October, establishing a
local government on 17 October. The
Confederate Navy captured the
Juan Fernández Islands on 14 November. On 17 November, after the Chileans were surrounded by Peruvian troops, the
Treaty of Paucarpata was signed by
Manuel Blanco Encalada under the guarantee of
Great Britain, through which the occupation was undone six days later and the Peruvian ships captured by Chile were to be returned. After Blanco Encalada's troops arrived in Valparaíso, he was met with hostile demonstrations and the Chilean government repudiated the treaty of Paucarpata. A second expedition headed by
Manuel Bulnes was organized, which left for Peru on 19 July 1838.
Dissolution Around the same time,
North Peru seceded from the Confederation on 30 July, but was nevertheless attacked and defeated by the United Restoration Army in the
Battle of Portada de Guías of 21 August. Meanwhile, Confederate troops in Callao were
besieged by the same army. During this time, the Confederation's stability collapsed, as by September, Peru (i.e. North and South Peru) was under the
de jure control of seven different presidents at one time: Santa Cruz, who was the Supreme Protector; Gamara, the restorationist president; Orbegoso, leader of the secessionist North Peruvian state;
José de la Riva Agüero, who replaced Orbegoso, being appointed by Santa Cruz;
Pío de Tristán, president of South Peru;
Domingo Nieto, in the north; and
Juan Francisco de Vidal in Huaylas. Santa Cruz occupied Lima on 10 November, ending the siege in Callao, but left for the north, where the restaurateurs were located. He was defeated in the
Battle of Yungay on 20 January 1839, and thus, the Confederation was dissolved, with Gamarra announcing its dissolution on 25 August. The Confederate defeat led to the exile of Santa Cruz, first to
Guayaquil, in Ecuador, then to Chile, and finally to Europe, where he died. After the Confederation was defeated, loyalists such as
Antonio Huachaca kept fighting against the new Peruvian government, being also
defeated in November 1839. ==Government and politics==