Battle of Ayacucho — End of Spanish Rule in South America
On 9 December 1824 General Antonio José de Sucre, commanding Bolívar's patriot army, decisively defeated the last Spanish royalist army under Viceroy José de la Serna at the Battle of Ayacucho in the Peruvian Andes. The capitulation of the royalist forces—10,000 men—effectively ended three centuries of Spanish colonial rule on the South American continent. Bolívar hailed the victory as the completion of the independence of the entire Western Hemisphere. The surrender left only Cuba and Puerto Rico as Spanish possessions in the Americas, which Spain would retain until 1898.
- Year: 1824 CE
- Category: Military
