Independence wars

The British presence in South America and Peru increased significantly during the Independence wars. In early nineteenth century, the liberators Jose de San Martín and Simon Bolivar organized and led military forces in order to free the northern portion of South America from Spanish rule. They also recruited an important number of English combatants, such as the naval official Martin Guise, the general William Miller and the captain Thomas Cochrane. After several battles, Spaniard rulers were defeated.
Theoretically, independence served to establish a fair political and economic order, but in fact it caused a situation of generalized anarchy. The appearance of military leaders called “caudillos” and the regional antagonisms lead the region to disorder and chaos.
In regard to Peru, Independence left as balance a destroyed economy and the fortification of military “caudillos”, who under any pretext claimed political power and caused several armed conflicts.
Nevertheless, this situation did not stop the commercial and financial influence that began to exert England over the country, which maintained its colonial characteristics and customs despite the independence.
During the decade of 1830, there was a significant increase of English immigrants in South America due to the development of a commercial area, which extended from Panama to the Cape Horn including part of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chile.
This vast zone was well-known by the British as "the West Coast" and its main ports were Callao and Valparaiso. Due to the importance of this marine circuit, the famous Pacific Steam Navigation Company (PSNC) was founded in 1839. The following year, the PSNC brought from England to South America its two first ships called “Peru” and “Chile”. Both ships were steam of trowels and traveled from Liverpool, via the Strait of Magellan.
Initially, they were limited to sail along "the West Coast", but shortly after the company extended its fleet and its routes to Europe making more frecuent the marine transit. As a result, the PSNC began to find problems to make repairs and to supply themselves with coal. This situation lead to the construction, in 1843, of a deposit and a repair place in the port of Callao for the exclusive use of the company.
This allowed the arrival of an important number of English mechanics and engineers, who added to the retailers, craftsmen, employees and ex- combatants of Independence who already resided in the country.

Photo: Registry of the presence of Simon Bolivar in London in 1810.

First British people

The first signs of the British presence in Peruvian territory are found in colonial chronicles, which make reference to the violent and numerous appearance of English and Dutch pirates during the sixteenth century. The coasts of the Viceroyalty of Peru, that included territories of the present republics of Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Venezuela, were frequently attacked by pirates, who were specialists in the marine robbery, the sacking of ports and cities, and even in the commerce of black slaves.
During the second half of the sixteenth century, the most fearful English pirate was the legendary Francis Drake, the first Briton in circumnavigating the planet. However, many others pirates sailed the South Sea such as John Hawkins, John Oxenham, Thomas Cavendish and Richard Hawkins, who was catched and transferred to Lima after a bloody combat. He spent three years in the city as a prisioner and then he was sent to Spain and later released.
In the seventeenth century, Bartholome Sharp, Edward Davis and John Cook directed several attacks on colonial ports, whereas in the eighteenth century George Anson and John Clipperton appeared causing panic among coastal populations.
The Spanish chroniclers called pirates to all the plunderers without distinguishing between privateers or buccaneers. The colonial authorities considered them simple thieves, although some came from aristocratic families and others, thanks to their misdeeds, obtained social and economic recognition in their countries.
The piracy was supported, encouraged and financed by England, Holland and France to try to debilitate the immense Spanish power in America. The piracy became one of the greatest preoccupations of the Hispanic rulers in Peru. For example, the “virrey” Duque de la Palata ordered the construction of a wall around the city of Lima with the intention to neutralize possible pirates´ assaults. The work was finished approximately in 1685 and many years later, in 1774, another “virrey” - Manuel Amat y Juniet- concluded the construction of the Real Felipe´s fortress in order to repel possible attacks to the port of Callao.
During the colonial times, the evident rivalry between Spain and England caused that the number of British people in Peru were almost insignificant. Evidences of that tiny presence exist because some English people that had integrated the pirates´ crew finished like prisoners. Many were executed, but few of them could recover their freedom to return to their country or to be inserted in the colonial society, where they made works related to marine subjects.
Nevertheless, it has not been possible to find some track on his personal lives or their probable descendants because it was custom to make spanish the English names at that time.
Just in early years of the nineteenth century, it was perceived an increase in the English population in Peru. Some merchants arrived at the country surpassing the bureaucratic barriers that the Viceroyalty imposed to the foreigners. Those were times in which the Spanish power was debilitated rapidly. In 1808 Napoleon had taken the control from Spain. When the king Fernando VII recovered his throne in 1814, the ideas of independence had extended by all the Spanish colonies. Later, the English influence would increase around the world as a result of the end of the Napoleonic wars. In 1820, a year before Peruvian independence, there were at least two English companies set up in the country: Gibbs & Co and Huth Gruning & Co. Both firms were dedicated to the import and export. They brought all class of British merchandise and transferred towards Europe the main Peruvian products such as gold, silver, wool, leather and cotton.