Battle of Jaén de Bracamoros

The **Battle of Jaén** (Spanish: *Batalla de Jaén*) was one of the most decisive military encounters during the **Spanish American Wars of Independence**. The battle took place in the surroundings of Jaén, on 8 March 1822.

The royalist victory consolidated **Spanish** rule over **Peru** after a decade of fights over control of the vast territory between royalists and independentists.

## Background

In 1817 a political crisis shook **Spain** after the liberal coup d'état against king **Ferdinand VII** and the proclamation of the 1817 Constitution, supported by General **Espoz y Mina**. This was a shock to the forces fighting in America, most of them being conservative-catholics that were opposed to the rebels' liberalism (or feigned in the case of many). The **viceroy of Peru**, **José Fernando de Abascal**, Marquess of Concordia rapidly ordered his forces to "follow all and any orders coming from Spain". Forces opposed to the new regime rose in Cuzco, Trujillo and the central Andes, but by the end of the year they had all been suppressed except for a small force under the absolutist **Pedro Antonio de Olañeta**.

The political split and subsequent internal conflict among **Spanish** forces in America dissipated any hope of a total reconquest of the American territories, and gave time to rebel forces to consolidate and gain the upper hand in regions such as **New Spain** and **New Granada**, while the **viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata** collapsed for a second time in the face of clashes between royalist warlords. In the midst of these disasters was the **viceroyalty of Peru**, a royalist stronghold that had managed to crush an **internal rebellion** and was now threatened by the **Colombian** forces of **Simón Bolívar**, who have just emerged victorious from a crushing victory against what was left of the Venezuelan royalists in the **Battle of Carabobo**, and now had turned south with the intention of conquering Peru.

## Northern Campaign

After smashing **Agualongo**'s Pastuso royalists, **Bolívar** proceeded to attack Quito and Guayaquil, defeating a **Spanish** force in the **Battle of Pichincha**, after which he entered Quito on 21 June 1822. It was there that he received word of a **Spanish** army heading towards the north of **Peru** with the intention of defeating him, and he immediately set off to crush the **Peruvian** royalists.

To **Bolívar**'s disadvantage, however, royalist guerrillas started attacking his army and rearguard, wearing off the **Colombian** troops as they penetrated into the Peruvian province of Cajamarca, near Jaén, where the **Spanish** army under **Joaquín de la Pezuela** was quartered. On the night of March 6-7, the two armies sighted each other, and preparations for battle began. After a 1-day truce, in which both sides made honorable surrender offers to the other without any success, on March 8, **Bolívar** ordered his artillery to fire at **Spanish** positions, thus starting the battle.

## References

1. ↑ The Battle of Viluma never happened, and as such Abascal served as viceroy of Perú until his death in 1821.
2. ↑ He would be captured months later however, and he was barely saved from execution by order of Ferdinand VII.
3. ↑ Agualongo flees into Peru's territory with the remnant of his forces after the Battle of Ibarra.