La Paz revolution
Encyclopedia
The city of La Paz
(modern Bolivia
, then part of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
) experimented a revolution
in 1809 that deposed Spanish authorities and declared independence. It is considered one of the early steps of the Spanish American wars of independence, and an antecedent of the independence of Bolivia. However, such revolution was defeated shortly afterwards, and the city returned to Spanish rule.
It was not until the autumn of 1807 when Napoleon moved French troops through Spain to invade Portugal and with Spanish authority already fatally weakened, that the prospect of independence re-emerged in the native imagination. The United States’ independence in 1776 was certainly an inspirational example of empowered colonists deposing a despotic foreign rule. With Spanish authority deteriorating, as Charles IV renounced the throne in favor of Ferdinand VII (with the furious Carlists vs. Fernandists turmoil that ensued), and he in favor of José Bonaparte, it was ripe for revolution.
, as celebrations for the Virgin of Carmen were enfolding, a group of revolutionaries led by Colonel Pedro Domingo Murillo
and other individuals besieged the city barracks and forced the governor, Tadeo Davila and the Bishop of La Paz, Remigio de la Santa y Ortega, to resign. It was on July 16, 1809 that mestizo Pedro Domingo Murillo famously said that the Bolivian revolution was igniting a lamp that nobody would be able to turn-off. Many have taken this to have marked the beginning of the Liberation of South America from Spain. Political power went to the local cabildo until a "Junta Tuitiva de los Derechos del Pueblo" ("Junta, keeper of the rights of the people"), headed by Murillo, was formed. On July 27, the Junta proclaimed colonial independence.
José Manuel de Goyeneche, despite being suspect of Carlists sympathies, was called forward to lead royalist forces against the insurrectionists. While many revolutionaries enlisted and marched to Chacaltaya to await enemy troops, a counter-revolution headed by Pedro Indaburo broiled in the capital. Antonio de Castro put down Indaburo’s insubordinance, nevertheless, a mass of royalist forces was fast advancing upon the city. La Paz was defended by Murillo, but his 800 men were completely outnumbered by the more than 5,000 men sent from Lima by viceroy Abascal. Murillo and the other leaders were beheaded
and their heads exhibited to the people as deterrent.
La Paz
Nuestra Señora de La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of the La Paz Department, and the second largest city in the country after Santa Cruz de la Sierra...
(modern Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, then part of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, , was the last and most short-lived Viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire in America.The Viceroyalty was established in 1776 out of several former Viceroyalty of Perú dependencies that mainly extended over the Río de la Plata basin, roughly the present day...
) experimented a revolution
Revolution
A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
in 1809 that deposed Spanish authorities and declared independence. It is considered one of the early steps of the Spanish American wars of independence, and an antecedent of the independence of Bolivia. However, such revolution was defeated shortly afterwards, and the city returned to Spanish rule.
Background
In 1781, for a total of six months, a group of Aymara people laid siege to La Paz. Under the leadership of Tupac Katari, they destroyed churches and government property. Despite the failure of the Indians’ plight, eventually crushed by the military alliance of Spanish and Creoles, thoughts of independence continued flourishing. Thirty years later Indians laid a two-month siege on La Paz – where and when the legend of the Ekeko is set.It was not until the autumn of 1807 when Napoleon moved French troops through Spain to invade Portugal and with Spanish authority already fatally weakened, that the prospect of independence re-emerged in the native imagination. The United States’ independence in 1776 was certainly an inspirational example of empowered colonists deposing a despotic foreign rule. With Spanish authority deteriorating, as Charles IV renounced the throne in favor of Ferdinand VII (with the furious Carlists vs. Fernandists turmoil that ensued), and he in favor of José Bonaparte, it was ripe for revolution.
Development
On July 16, in the city of La PazLa Paz
Nuestra Señora de La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of the La Paz Department, and the second largest city in the country after Santa Cruz de la Sierra...
, as celebrations for the Virgin of Carmen were enfolding, a group of revolutionaries led by Colonel Pedro Domingo Murillo
Pedro Domingo Murillo
Pedro Domingo Murillo was a patriot of Upper Peru who played a key role in Bolivia's independence.-Biography:Born in the city of La Paz on September 17, 1757. Belonging to an elite family La Paz, his father is Juan Ciriaco Murillo, seminarian who shortly after his birth became a priest and a...
and other individuals besieged the city barracks and forced the governor, Tadeo Davila and the Bishop of La Paz, Remigio de la Santa y Ortega, to resign. It was on July 16, 1809 that mestizo Pedro Domingo Murillo famously said that the Bolivian revolution was igniting a lamp that nobody would be able to turn-off. Many have taken this to have marked the beginning of the Liberation of South America from Spain. Political power went to the local cabildo until a "Junta Tuitiva de los Derechos del Pueblo" ("Junta, keeper of the rights of the people"), headed by Murillo, was formed. On July 27, the Junta proclaimed colonial independence.
José Manuel de Goyeneche, despite being suspect of Carlists sympathies, was called forward to lead royalist forces against the insurrectionists. While many revolutionaries enlisted and marched to Chacaltaya to await enemy troops, a counter-revolution headed by Pedro Indaburo broiled in the capital. Antonio de Castro put down Indaburo’s insubordinance, nevertheless, a mass of royalist forces was fast advancing upon the city. La Paz was defended by Murillo, but his 800 men were completely outnumbered by the more than 5,000 men sent from Lima by viceroy Abascal. Murillo and the other leaders were beheaded
Decapitation
Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
and their heads exhibited to the people as deterrent.
See also
- Bolivian War of Independence
- Chuquisaca RevolutionChuquisaca RevolutionThe Chuquisaca Revolution was a popular uprising on 25 May 1809 against the governor and intendant of Chuquisaca , Ramón García León de Pizarro. The Real Audiencia of Charcas, with support from the faculty of University of Saint Francis Xavier, deposed the governor and formed a junta...
- May RevolutionMay RevolutionThe May Revolution was a week-long series of events that took place from May 18 to 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, a Spanish colony that included roughly the territories of present-day Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay...