The National Reconstruction
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ScribdTranslationsThe National Reconstruction
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ScribdTranslationsTHE NATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION
(1883-1895) - REPUBLICAN PERU
The war ended completing the destruction that had begun with the economic crisis of the decade.
in 1870. By 1879, the Peruvian banking system was broken and agriculture, mining, and commerce
they barely survived. The Chilean troops ruined the economy, highlighting the fragility of
Peruvian political system, the ancient internal conflicts have resurfaced and deprived the country of vital wealth.
saltpeter. After peace was signed, Peru had to be rebuilt from the rubble.
Following Basadre, this period begins with the second militarism as the military returns to occupy
to dominate politics, now at a dramatic moment. These leaders are the defeated ones, but they are the only ones
who have the sufficient strength to take power in the very vulnerable situation that the rest were left in
of the population due to the disaster in Chile.
The country remained divided. The 'men of Montán' supported Iglesias, and 'the ones in red kepis' supported the hero.
from Breña, General Cáceres. Both sides were irreconcilable. The problem had arisen due to the
conditions stipulated in the Treaty of Ancón.
This militarism includes the governments of Iglesias (1883-86), Cáceres (1886-90), and Remigio Morales.
Bermúdez (1890-94). It comes to an end in 1895 when the civilians, already reorganized and tired of
militarism, they expel Cáceres from power, who was occupying it illegally for the second time. That year, after a
bloody civil war that culminated in the streets of downtown Lima, Nicolás de Piérola assumes the
presidency.
During this difficult period, Peru had to recover from the terrible moral and material defeat. If before
In 1879 the country was already broken, let's imagine the situation now. One had to start from scratch. The years
The golden years and 'happiness' from guano had passed, it was necessary to rethink the economic model and bring about a
management of the little available money with more austere criteria.
But a new model could not be initiated without resolving the thorny issue of external debt that
amounted, with the accumulated interests, to 51 million pounds sterling. Cáceres had to do it
in front and "solved" it by signing the controversial Grace Contract with creditors in 1889. Only since then
The moment was right to provide the appropriate framework to promote both domestic and foreign investment.
Fortunately, starting in the 1890s, the global market was on the side of Peru. Prices
some of our main export natural resources rose: sugar, cotton, copper and
rubber. With its sale, the national recovery began, especially for private entrepreneurs and
the political class. In this way, militarism was coming to an end and Piérola inaugurated an era of great
national expectation: the governance of institutions and not that of warlords.
The exploitation of rubber marked the rise of Iquitos. The demand from the automobile industries
European and North American efforts boosted the extraction of this natural resource that brought significant benefits to
public treasury between 1882 and 1912. For the jungle natives, it represented the collapse of their world.
material and mental. Exploitation also represented a step in the occupation, under national criteria,
of the Amazon space. In this regard, the Amazon was explored, initiating important studies.
geographical. But like all extractive industries, it did not consider the conservation of ecology or that of
rubber-producing tree, since it was thought that the resource was inexhaustible (as it seemed to be before the
guano).
In 1884, 540,529 kilos were exported, while between 1900 and 1905, they departed from the port of Iquitos.
more than 2 million kilos of rubber per year. From that moment on, competitors from other emerged.
parts of the world. British explorers had exported rubber trees from India, and in Ceylon...
they developed extensive plantations. The rubber boom was coming to an end.
Finally, intense private activity began to transform the country. The agriculture of the coast
modernized, in Lima the first factories emerged and the banking system was recovered. The Italian Bank
(today, Banco de Crédito), the Bank of Peru and London and the People's Bank are founded during these years.
The first workers appear and a small middle class is formed. Peru was showing signs of entering with great strides.
sure to the new century.
Second Militarism and National Reconstruction
It is called National Reconstruction the period that followed the War with Chile. These were times of
those who analyzed the causes of the defeat and the necessary actions to lift the country from the
ruins.
SECOND MILITARISM IN NATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION
The political and social environment during the War with Chile fostered the reappearance of caudillismo.
and with it, militarism. But in this new stage, not all the leaders were military. The historian
Jorge Basadre considers that the second militarism was a kind of military vindication following the
defeat with Chile. This stage was dominated by the figures of Migue Iglesias, who signed the treaty of
peace with Chile (Treaty of Ancón), and Andrés Avelino Cáceres, who refused to accept defeat, which led him to
It was worth transcending the war. During this period, civil leaders also emerged, among which stood out
Nicolás de Piérola, who had led the opposition against Manuel Pardo and established a dictatorship in
President Prado was absent during the War with Chile; he also rebelled against the second government.
from Cáceres.
APPEARANCE OF POLITICAL PARTIES
Peruvian society entered the war with Chile without having been able to form a solid political life.
Only one political party had been formed, the Civil Party, founded in 1871. After the war with
Chile, Peruvian politics changed course. It was understood that it was essential to form
solid political groups that will represent the different positions of the population. These
groups, furthermore, were concerned with establishing branches throughout the country. Thus, in the year 1884
two parties appeared. The Democratic Party was founded by Nicolás de Piérola and had the support of
the opponents of Cáceres. The Constitutional Party, led by General Cáceres, received the support
of the ex-combatants of La Breña, of the opponents of Iglesias and the Treaty of Ancón and, initially, of
the ex members del Match Civil.
That same year, the Liberal Party emerged, led by José María Quimper. This was not a party
of masses and never came to power. In 1891, the National Union Party and the Civic Union Party were founded.
The first was led by Manuel González Prada and was of a radical tendency. The second was founded by
Mariano Nicolás Valcárcel.
In general, the parties agreed on the defense of political freedoms and democracy. The points of
The confrontation was about the management of the economy and the relations between the Church and the State.
CULTURAL LIFE IN NATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION
The Chilean invaders destroyed important Peruvian buildings and monuments such as the University of
San Marcos, the National Library and the gardens of La Exposición. Various members of civil society.
headed groups with the purpose of the reconstruction del heritage.
The private sector and religious orders took on much of the education, taking charge of the
schools and colleges.Ricardo Palma he played an important role in the recovery of the Library
National. For its part, the Universidad Mayor de San Marcos continued its functions despite the
scarce resources. In these years, the positivist movement arrived in Peru, spreading ideas of order and
material progress that had repercussions in the academic, political, and social spheres.
ECONOMIC RECOVERY IN NATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION
The situation of the Peruvian economy after the War with Chile forced the establishment of a policy of
austerity assumed by both the State and the national and foreign citizens. To face the
enormous external debt, during the first government of Andrés A. Cáceres, the signing of the contract was resorted to
Grace in 1889. Through this contract, the Grace firm assumed the payment of our debt and was delivered
in exchange for the administration of the railways for 66 years and the concession of land for their exploitation.
During Cáceres' government, the fiscal note (fiduciary currency) was also withdrawn from circulation, due to its
little purchasing power and taxes on tobacco, opium, and alcohol were created. Piérola completed the reforms
economics and replaced the silver monetary standard with that of gold.