Bolivian War of Independence - The Juntas of 1809

The Juntas of 1809

During the Peninsular War which took place in Spain, Upper Peru (today Bolivia) closely followed the reports that arrived describing the rapidly evolving political situation in Spain, which led the Peninsula to near anarchy. The sense of uncertainty was heightened by the fact that news of the March 17 Mutiny of Aranjuez and the May 6 abdication of Ferdinand VII in favor of Joseph Bonaparte arrived within a month of each other, on August 21 and September 17, respectively. In the confusion that followed, various juntas in Spain and Portuguese Princess Carlotta, sister of Ferdinand VII, in Brazil claimed authority over the Americas.

On November 11, the representative of the Junta of Seville, José Manuel de Goyeneche, arrived in Chuquisaca, after stopping in Buenos Aires, with instructions to secure Upper Peru's recognition of authority of the Seville Junta. He also brought with him a letter from Princess Carlotta requesting the recognition of her right to rule in her brother's absence. The President-Intendant Ramón García León de Pizarro, backed by the Archbishop of Chuquisaca Benito María de Moxó y Francolí, was inclined to recognize the Seville Junta, but the mostly Peninsular Audiencia of Charcas, in its function as a privy council for the President (the real acuerdo), felt it would be hasty to recognize either one. A fist fight almost broke between the senior oidor and Goyeneche over the issue, but the oidores' opinion prevailed. Over the next few weeks García León and Moxó became convinced that recognizing Carlotta might be the best way to preserve the unity of the empire, but this was unpopular with the majority of Upper Peruvians and the Audiencia. Over the next few months the President and the Archbishop became more unpopular.

On May 26, 1809, the Audiencia oidores received rumors that García León de Pizarro planned to arrest them in order to recognize Carlotta. The Audiencia decided that the situation had become so anarchic both in Upper Peru and in the Peninsula, that Upper Peru needed to take the government into its own hands. It removed García León de Pizarro from office and transformed itself into a junta, which ruled in Fernando's name, just as cities and provinces had done in Spain a year earlier. A second junta was established in La Paz on July 16 by Criollos who took over the local barracks and deposed both the intendant and bishop of La Paz. The La Paz junta clearly broke with any authority in Spain and with the authorities in Buenos Aires. These two juntas failed to consolidate a solid following in all of Upper Peru and were defeated by October 1809 by two armies sent by the viceroys of Lima and Buenos Aires, José Fernando de Abascal and Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros. After Buenos Aires successfully established a junta in May 1810, Upper Peru came under the control of the Viceroyalty of Peru and managed to fight off several attempts by to take over it militarily.