ABSTRACT
This article presents an analysis of the importance of the counterrevolution undertaken by Viceroy José de la Serna from Cuzco in the face of the political situation in Peru between the years of 1821 and 1824. First, we will attempt an explanation about the reasons that led the royalists to abandon Lima, viceregal capital since the 16th century, and retreat to the southern Andes. Then, we will move on to the study of the logistical needs of the Viceregal government of Cuzco for the consolidation of territorial control in the southern Andean region and the subsequent incursions into Lima. Next, the effects of the end of the Liberal Triennium (1820-1823) will be analyzed, emphasizing the uprising of General Olañeta in Upper Peru and how this generated a domino effect that ended up dividing the royalist army months before the development of the battles of Junin and Ayacucho. In that sense, we argue that the counterrevolutionary success during the years of Viceroy La Serna’s government was due not only to the articulation of human capital and resources that the central and southern Andes provided, but also to the internal instability of the independent government in the Peruvian coast. However, this success ended by Olañeta’s actions, which Bolívar took advantage of to obtain decisive victories in 1824.
KEYWORDS:
Counterrevolution; Peruvian Independence; Royalist army; Andes
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