Pezet, Juan Antonio (1809–1879)

Juan Antonio Pezet (b. 1809; d. 1879), military leader who became president of Peru (1863–1865) upon the death in office of General Miguel de San Román. Born in Lima, Pezet had to confront a difficult international conflict with Spain resulting from the Talambo Affair (August 1863) and the Spanish government's renewed hostility toward its old colonies. The Spanish fleet, off the Peruvian coast at the time, seized the guano-producing islands of Chincha to press a settlement that included an apology for the deaths of two Spanish nationals killed on the Talambo estate, as well as the repayment to Spain of the public debt dating back to 1820. The Pezet government opted for a peaceful solution to the conflict with the signing of the Vivanco-Pareja Treaty (January 1865), which was seen by many Peruvians, including some military leaders, as a submission to Spanish demands. The still influential caudillo Ramón Castilla and Colonel Mariano Ignacio Prado led the opposition to Pezet that caused his ouster in November 1865 and the rejection of the treaty by the new government of Prado. In 1866 the allied forces of Peru, Chile, Ecuador, and Bolivia fought several naval battles with the Spanish fleet, forcing the Spanish contingent to withdraw from the South American Pacific coast. Pezet died in Chorrillos.

See alsoTalambo Affair .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Jorge Basadre, Historia de la República del Perú, vols. 3-4 (1963).

David Werlich, Peru: A Short History (1978).

Additional Bibliography

Salinas Sánchez, Alejandro. Caudillos, partidos políticos y nacionalismo en el Perú, 1850–1879. Lima: Seminario de Historia Rural Andina, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, 2005.

                                    Alfonso W. Quiroz