From Europe to the Andes and back: Becoming ‘Los Ayacuchos’

Abstract

This article studies the trajectories of the officers defeated at the battle of Ayacucho who upon their return to Spain had prominent political careers. It follows them before, during and after the Wars of Independence in the Andes in an attempt to discern a certain pattern of relationship between Europe and America during the crucial decade of the 1820s, and beyond. It enquires on the far-reaching consequences of prolonged mobilization on both sides of the Atlantic, and the degree to which the histories of Europe and America were intertwined during this period. The disintegration of empire and the reactions to the Cádiz Constitution led to similar situations with confrontations between liberals, radicals and conservatives as well as the military irrupting onto the political world. It became possible, both in Spain and America, for capable and ambitious men of humble origins to reach the highest echelons of power.