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Abstract:
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When Napoleon Bonaparte overran Spain in 1808 and deposed the Spanish king, it sparked a wave of revolutions in Peru that would eventually lead to independence from Spain in 1821 and the writing of the 1826 constitution. When news of Napoleon's efforts in Spain reached Peru, a series of uprisings began, all of which the Spanish Viceroy promptly suppressed. As long as Spain maintained control of Peru, Argentina, which had recently achieved independence, remained in danger of attack. As a result, the Argentinean strategist José de San Martín, who in 1818 had successfully liberated Chile from Spain, moved his forces into northern Peru. His campaign in northern Peru was successful and, on July 28th, 1821, he declared Peruvian independence, though the royalists still controlled much of southern Peru. Realizing the relative weakness of his position, Martín installed a form of government in northern Peru based on the French model of democracy and enlisted the aid of the Venezuelan liberator Simón Bolívar to gain control of southern Peru. In 1824, Bolívar won a decisive victory in the Battle of Ayacucho, and by 1825 military hostilities ceased and Spain was driven from the South American continent. The first document is a declaration issued in 1825 announcing the end of the military conflict and assuring a lasting state of peace. In the following year, Bolívar used his power to assert control over Peruvian politics and drafted its constitution, the second document here. Borrowing from the French consular model, the ultimately conservative constitution was completed in 1826. |