page_title: Juan José Castelli
section_title: The Battle of Huaqui
hierarchical_section_title: Juan José Castelli / Biography / The Battle of Huaqui
caption_attribution_description: Teniente General José Manuel de Goyeneche y Barreda. Primer Conde de Guaqui. Cuadro de Federico de Madrazo.
context_page_description: Juan José Castelli was an Argentine lawyer. He was one of the leaders of the May Revolution, which started the Argentine War of Independence. He led an ill-fated military campaign in Upper Peru.
  Juan José Castelli was born in Buenos Aires, and went to school at the Real Colegio de San Carlos in Buenos Aires and Monserrat College in the city of Córdoba, Argentina. He graduated as a lawyer from the University of Charcas, in Upper Peru. His cousin, Manuel Belgrano, introduced him to the public administration of the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata. Along with Belgrano, Nicolás Rodríguez Peña, and Hipólito Vieytes, Castelli planned a revolution to replace the absolute monarchy with the new ideas of the Age of Enlightenment. He led the Buenos Aires patriots during the May Revolution, which ended with the removal of viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros from power. He is known as the "Speaker of the Revolution" for his speech during the open cabildo held in Buenos Aires on May 22, 1810.
  Castelli was appointed a Committee member of the Primera Junta and was sent to Córdoba to end Santiago de Liniers's counter-revolution.
context_section_description: The order of the Junta not to proceed to the Viceroyalty of Peru was a de facto truce that would last while Castelli did not attack Goyeneche's army. Castelli tried to turn the situation into a formal agreement, which would imply recognition of the Junta as a legitimate interlocutor. Goyeneche agreed to sign an armistice for 40 days to allow time for Lima to ratify the agreement, but he actually used the time to reinforce his army. On 19 June, with the truce still in effect, an advanced royalist troop attacked positions at Juraicoragua. Castelli declared the truce broken and declared war on Peru.
  The royalist army crossed the Desaguadero on June 20, 1811, starting the Battle of Huaqui. The army waited near Huaqui, between the plains of Azapanal and Lake Titicaca. The patriotic left wing, commanded by Diaz Velez, faced the bulk of the royalist forces, while the center was hit by the soldiers of Pio Tristan. Many patriotic soldiers recruited at Upper Peru surrendered or fled, and many of the recruits from La Paz switched sides during the battle. The Saavedrist Juan José Viamonte helped ensure Castelli's defeat by refusing to join the conflict.
  Although the casualties of the Army of the North were not substantial, it was left demoralized and disbanded. Goyeneche pursued the fleeing patriots, and captured Huaqui after his victory. The inhabitants of Upper Peru welcomed the royalists back, so the army had to quickly leave those provinces. However, the resistance of Cochabamba prevented the royalists from proceeding to Buenos Aires. Castelli moved to the post of Quirbe, and received orders to return to Buenos Aires for trial. However, by the time he was notified, new orders had been issued: Castelli should be confined at Catamarca, while Saavedra himself took charge of the Army of the North. Saavedra was deposed as soon as he left Buenos Aires, and was confined to San Juan. The First Triumvirate, which had commenced governing by then, required Castelli to return.
  Once in Buenos Aires, Castelli found himself in political isolation. The triumvirate and the newspaper La Gazeta blamed him for the defeat at Huaqui, and sought punishment as a deterrent. His former supporters were divided between those who supported the ideas of the Triumvirate and those no longer able to help. Castelli suffered from tongue cancer during the long trial, which made it progressively more difficult for him to speak. He died on October 12, 1812, while the trial was still underway.
caption: José Manuel de Goyeneche, victor of the Battle of Huaqui
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