Joaquín de la Pezuela, 1st Marquis of Viluma

Joaquín de la Pezuela y Sánchez Muñoz de Velasco, Marquis de Viluma (* 1761 in Naval, Province of Huesca in Spain, † 1830 in Madrid) was a Spanish officer and viceroy of Peru.

Origin and career

Pezuela came from a Hidalgo family, which originally came from the Cantabrian Santander. He attended the Artillery School in Segovia, joined the Spanish army, fought during the Siege of Gibraltar against the British, and later, in 1793 and 1794, against the French in Guipúzcoa and Navarra. In 1805 he went as commander of the army in Alto Perú - Bolivia today - to America.

Pezuela was appointed by Viceroy José Fernando Abascal y Sousa to Peru and there he was the Royal Artillery assumed. He reorganized the artillery and took care of their modernization with special attention to technical aspects. In 1813 he was promoted to brigadier.

The Wars of Independence

As a defender of the Spanish crown Pezuela fought against the South American independence movement. He defeated Manuel Belgrano on 19 October 1813 in the battle of Vilcapugio and on 14 November 1813 in the Battle of Ayohuma in present-day Bolivia. After these successes he advanced to the south and occupied on May 27, 1814 in San Salvador de Jujuy in northern Argentina and on July 25, 1814 Salta. Under constant attack by General Martín Miguel de Güemes ' Gauchos however, he was forced to retreat. He lost 1200 men on the retreat to Jujuy.

1815 fought Joaquín de la Pezuela against José Rondeau, whom he defeated at the Battle of Sipe - Sipe ( Viluma ). This battle took place near Cochabamba in Alto Perú on 29 November 1815. She was one of the most sensitive defeats suffered by the freedom fighters in the South American wars of independence. The rebels lost 2,000 men and all their artillery.

For his successes Pezuela in 1816 was promoted to lieutenant general and given the title Marqués de Viluma. He was appointed acting viceroy of Peru By royal decree of 15 October 1815 and replaced the the dismissed Jose Fernando Abascal y Sousa. On July 7, 1816 Pezuela viceroy and captain-general of Peru.

1819 Joaquín de la Pezuela was attacked in Callao by Cochrane's squadron Thomas. This was the prelude to further operations of the Chilean squadron on the coast of Peru, which culminated in the landing of a Chilean- Argentine Liberation Army led by José de San Martín in the following year. The success of this expedition brought de la Pezuela politically in distress. Therefore, a group of officers began to conspire against the viceroy. At a meeting in this Aznapuquio signed a protocol in which his resignation is required. José de la Serna e Hinojosa, the head of the conspirators, settled on 29 January 1821 elect of de la Pezuela himself as his successor. Pezuela returned back to Spain in 1825, where he held the office of Captain General of New Castile. He died in 1830 in Madrid.

His son Juan de la Pezuela y Ceballos, Conde de Cheste (1809-1906), born in Lima, was a Spanish General, Conservative politician and scholar. He was a naval and trade minister in the Spanish government and later a senator.