Guerra y moneda durante la Independencia del Perú, 1820–1824

Abstract

In the early 1820s, Colonial America is shedding the last vestiges of absolutism by means of the Peruvian independence movement. The Spanish Empire – whose notion of growth is better described as aggrandizement, that is, the result of military and political power that is capable of imposing its laws and orders on its vast overseas regions through the use of force – comes to an end in the war of independence of the Viceroyalty of Peru. As the relation between money and power is fragile in a pre-capitalist system (i.e. without power there is no money and without money there is no power), the mints and the minting of coins during the 1820–1824 campaign became a key element in the region’s historical development. This activity does not occur without interesting reform initiatives with the aim to adequately deal with a complex monetary system which is dominated by the urgencies created by the war. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the various initiatives undertaken by the monetary authorities in conflict and the role played by the Peruvian mints during the turbulence of the independence movement.