Battle of Ayacucho — End of Spanish Rule in South America
The battle of Ayacucho on 9 December 1824 ended Spanish rule in South America. It was fought on a plain at about 3,300 metres in the Peruvian Andes between a royalist army of some 9,000 under the viceroy José de la Serna and a patriot force of about 6,000 under Antonio José de Sucre, Bolívar's twenty-nine-year-old lieutenant. Peru was the last royalist stronghold. San Martín had proclaimed independence at Lima in 1821 and had never defeated the army in the highlands; Bolívar had come south in 1823 and won at Junín in August 1824 in a cavalry engagement fought entirely with lances and sabres, without a shot. Bolívar was not present at Ayacucho, having been recalled to Lima by the Colombian congress. The royalist position on the high ground was strong and the viceroy chose to come down from it. Sucre held his line, let the descending columns arrive piecemeal, and counterattacked on the right with Colombian infantry under Córdova, who is said to have pointed his sword forward and called for the pace of victors. The royalist army broke in about an hour. La Serna was wounded and captured. The capitulation signed that evening surrendered all royalist forces in Peru, and its terms were unusually generous, permitting officers to return to Spain at Peruvian expense. Most of the men on both sides were American-born, and many of the royalist troops were indigenous conscripts. Spain kept Cuba and Puerto Rico until 1898. Sucre was made Grand Marshal of Ayacucho and became the first president of the country named after Bolívar. He was assassinated in 1830 at thirty-five.
- Year: 1824 CE
- Category: Military
