Naval History - The Viceregal Peru
During the colonial era, Callao was the first port of the Viceroyalty of Peru and most important Hispanic settlement of the South American Pacific coast. It played a major role in the Peruvian vice-regal control of shipping routes in the Pacific. Thus was created in 1570 the Navy of the South Sea, destined to exercise effective control over that vast maritime space.
Then in the second half of the eighteenth century, a new organization for naval forces present in Peru, on the place of establishment Callao, where the harbormaster as an entity began to exercise sea control, and a naval presence was created in the area. At the same time the Royal Nautical Academy of Lima was also established; the Marine Department of Callao, with port authorities subordinate in Valparaiso, Concepcion and Guayaquil; Bellavista Naval Hospital and several other establishments. This whole process would provide the material and human basis on which arise the Peruvian naval institution, as a necessary element to enforce the nascent state from July 1821.
The creation of a pilot training center was the brainchild of Viceroy Luis Enriquez de Guzman, Count of Alba de Liste and began operating in 1657 under the direction of greater cosmógrafo, Francisco Ruiz Lozano. In 1791, Viceroy Francisco Gil de Taboada, gave the Royal Order creating the Nautical Real Academy of Lima with the following objectives: "to prepare students to become pilotines, and additionally, graduating pilots with enough professional experience to ensure their future performance on ships". They also ordered the construction in Spain and the Peruvian Limeño brigs (1794) first permanent ships of the Royal Navy. Both the viceroy Gil Taboada as his predecessor Manuel de Guirior (1776-1780), were the drivers of these changes, given its original condition naval officers.
In order to control and regulate trade that developed between Spain and the New World, as well as to repel the attacks of pirates and privateers, the mid-sixteenth century, a fleet system and annual convoys was created. This primary link between Spain and its American colonies, despite the attack by its European rivals, successfully maintained for over 150 years.
One of these fleets, traveled from Spain to the Viceroyalty of New Spain, including Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, and the other addressed the Viceroyalty of Peru. The fleet destined to the latter, sailed to Nombre de Dios (later Portobelo) in Panama, where there was a fair where a large trade was made. Initially, sailing to Panama was made by this fleet system until following the unexpected foray of Drake on the shores of the South Sea, the first naval grouping organized in the Viceroyalty of Peru was created about 1570.
The South Sea Armada ws the name by which it was known to the naval organization, had as its main mission to provide protection to convoys destined for Panama and carrying as cargo most important silver from the mines of Upper Peru. Second, it had the mission of defending the Pacific coast of th viceroyalty. It is interesting to see how both missions were different and opposing, since the shortage of ships and resources, logically would make the protection of ships carrying flows to Panama as the most important mission.
Colonial trade had great influence on the development of Latin American society. This trade was conducted through fleet that set sail from Seville to the West Indies, for there divided into two groups, one of which was headed to New Spain (Mexico) and the other to Panama from where they left to Peru. For this he had the work of several colonial institutions, one of them was the House of Hiring of Seville. This was an institution that regulated the trade and commercial exchange. Among his responsibilities was storing ammunition and naval accessories required for traffic overseas, keep track of the ships that go forth and regresaren Indian with a final stop in Seville, jealously verify the technical capacity of the pilots and captains of ships do special trade with overseas territories, take control of procurement of artillery, munitions and naval stores of all kinds, among others. There was also an active trade between the ports of Callao and Acapulco in Mexico but only to natives of both virreinatos products.
Initially, the products were traded from the peninsula to the colonies, by using galleons and for coastwise trade in the Pacific ports of smaller size vessels were used. The fair of Portobelo in Panama was attracted lot of traders around the new world. Over the years and due to the privateering, Spain had to change its monopoly policy and open ports to free trade in the colonies, which occurred in 1778, benefiting this measure to the ports of Buenos Aires and Valparaiso at the expense of Callao.
The most important port in the Peruvian viceroyalty was the Callao port, which was the door for products coming from Europe via Panama. Another major ports reached by trading the silver from Potosi area was Arica. In the north, Guayaquil became one of the leading shipyards Pacific. The commercial monopoly imposed by Spain to its colonies as well as the amount of wealth extracted from them, caused the European powers sent expeditions and privateers intended to attack the Spanish vessels conducting commercial traffic especially carrying the precious metals.
European powers sent expeditions and privateers to snatch the wealth that Spain was transported in ships and galleons to the mother country and undermine the Spanish power when they found themselves at war against it. Some of the raiders attacked not only ships, but also did the same with American ports. As previously mentioned, the mid-sixteenth century, as part of a new defense policy using a convoy system was imposed and the main ports where commercial activities were carried out fortified.
Corsairs and expeditionary not only acted with hostile intentions, but also by seeking trade ties and even political projects against Spanish rule. Among the privateers and major expeditions to our shores, they were of the English Francis Drake (1578-1579), Thomas Cavendish (1587) and Richard Hawkins (1593-1594). Also, the Dutch expeditions Joris van Spielbergen (1615) and Jacques L'Hermite Clerk (1624) were present in the Peruvian coast.
One of the most important actions that occurred during the colonial era as part of the incursions of the enemies of Spain on American shores, was in 1615, when the Dutchman Joris Van Spilbergen arrived on American shores by the Strait of Magellan with six ships. The Prince of Esquilache Viceroy sent a squad with seven small boats to fight it, producing a naval battle against Cerro Azul on July 7 of that year, where a Spanish ship sank with 500 men, managing to beat the Dutch.
However, the privateer did not attack Callao, he was then Huarmey, ransacking the port and then went to Paita but did not attack. Finally, from the Peruvian coast bound for Acapulco, Moluccas and the Philippines, their ships were practically decimated by Spanish ships. In that battle, an episode from a Dutch ship and a Spanish ship was given. Spielbergen narrated the fact pointing out how the Spanish "seized many lanterns and torches and shouting, mourning and weeping, they finally ship and sank with all, in our presence." The rescue of the survivors was painful: "Some of our sailors, against the orders given, killed some Spanish with clubs."
Another expedition, larger, was the one that reached the coasts of Peru in 1624, when the Dutch Admiral Jacques Clerk, also known as L'Hermite, commanding a fleet of eleven ships blockaded and attacked Callao, based on the Isla San Lorenzo. Viceroy Diego Fernandez de Cordova successfully faced this attack, adding the fact Clerk's unexpected death, prompting the final withdrawal of the Dutch, after three months of siege.
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