Economic aspects of the Aristocratic Republic (1895 – 1919)

The period between 1899 and 1919 was designated by historian Jorge Basadre as the
“Aristocratic Republic” to designate the time in which a small social group (oligarchy)
controlled the destinies of the country. The Aristocratic Republic is also known as the
second civilism because it coincides with the political hegemony of the Civilist Party
over the more democratic tendencies (pierolism).

• The period of the Aristocratic Republic is called a period of 20 years, in which the
political force was the Civilists.

• The Aristocratic Republic was a regime of legal formalism and social stagnation; The
dominant conservative forces exercised power under the framework of an apparently
democratic State, with freedom of the press, with opposition and division, and formal
compliance with the Constitution.

• It was an aristocratic and elitist government distant from the popular masses, leaving
them marginalized and neglected.

• During this period of 20 years there were constant struggles by the indigenous masses,
workers, artisans against the aristocratic regime, with strikes, stoppages, protests and
rebellions.

• The Aristocratic Republic was a regime for the powerful and the aristocrats, for the
select and members of the elite, the people were left out, despite protests.

ECONOMY AND SOCIETY.

Peru during the Aristocratic Republic was an eminently agricultural country, disjointed
by the presence of haciendas controlled by landowners who clearly presented feudal
traits, since they maintained dominion in the form of lordly gamonalism. These
characteristics will undergo certain changes with the presence of financial capital.

For example, the northern coast suffers transformations in labor relations due to the
presence of the agro-exporting bourgeoisie that establishes salaried work through
“enganche”, which will then proceed to appropriate the lands of the peasants. These
measures also harmed coastal smallholdings.

In the central mountain range (Cerro de Pasco) there was an investment of large capital
in mining activity, also “hooking” the peasants of the communities with the prior
expropriation of their lands; In addition, wool, textile and food production was
encouraged, which was often sold to mining companies for resale to the indigenous
people for their supply.

Certain social economic changes developed from the “enclaves”, that is, companies that
operated with foreign capital and were dedicated to extracting raw materials from a
territory in which they had full autonomy. There were two types of “enclaves”:

1. Agrarian “enclaves” : located mainly on the north coast, dedicated to growing

cotton and sugar cane that were then exported. Here the English capital (Grace), German
(Gildemeister), etc. stands out, who were the largest landowners in the north, called the
Sugar Barons . We also find great Peruvian landowners such as the Aspíllaga, Manuel
Candamo; and in the south, to López de Romaña, in the Tambo valley (Arequipa).

2. Mining “enclaves” : located mainly in the central mountain range (Cerro de Pasco),
where North American capital predominated.

Throughout the Aristocratic Republic our economy was dominated by English capital;
But North American capital displaced English capital after the First World War, its
launching point being copper mining. In the urban sector, especially Lima, changes also
occurred in the social economic structure with capitalist penetration. At the beginning
of the 20th century, in this city there was some artisanal production: clothing,
footwear, furniture, etc., directed by small owners (artisans) who exploited the
workers (operators) and grouped themselves into guilds. Given the presence of
factories with cutting-edge technology and large capital (Vitarte Duncan Fox,
D'Onofrio, Field, etc.) and the import trade, artisans are going to go bankrupt
economically since competition with manufactured goods is tough. in factories.

A large part of these artisans became proletarians (workers) in the new manufacturing
centers, as stevedores in the ports or, in best cases, small merchants. Thus, a
proletarian class emerges in the cities that, due to their origin (artisans), will mainly
take anarcho-syndicalism as their banner of struggle . The axis of this entire
economic-social structure that is being formed is, of course, the labor force, which is
obtained and exploited in different ways:

A. THE HOOK ". Mechanism through which a person's labor force was available with
an advance salary. The “Enganche” was carried out between the capitalist, the
“enganchador” or contractor (supplier of the labor “hooked” to the capitalist) and the
workers who were mostly peasants who had never had land or had been dispossessed of
their land. . The contract was closed with the payment of an advance salary to the
worker (down payment contract). When he entered the mining or agricultural
company, he contracted heavy debts that forced him to continue working in the company
until they were paid off, which prolonged the time. The “enganche” developed
aggressively in the central highlands (mining region) and on the northern coast (sugar
and cotton region).

B. THE “YANACONAJE”. Form of servile work typical of the colony that remained
in force even in the Aristocratic Republic. It consisted of work on a landowner's land,
carried out by the peasants in exchange for the right to the mañay or peasant plot.
The owner of the estate did not always exercise its administration since he was usually
in the city. The mayordomo or foreman was the one who exercised brutal control over
the peasant workers for the benefit of the landowner. The “yanaconaje” will persist
especially in the southern mountains.

C. THE “RUN”. Brutal and inhuman system carried out by the rubber expeditionaries
to obtain workers. It consisted of the persecution of the Amazonian tribes to capture
the inhabitants and subject them to rubber exploitation without any retribution.
This form of work is very similar to slave exploitation, due to its savagery and
desire for immediate profit.

“The social production relations of the rubber economy were semi-slavery, which
determined the emergence of some forms of workers' struggle: escapes from
production centers, non-compliance with contracts, late payment of debts, and the
sometimes violent riots were the most important demonstrations…”

D. THE “ENABLEMENT”. It was another form of exploitation of natives in the

Amazon (Iquitos); It consisted of advancing a pittance to the worker to collect
rubber . These last two forms of labor exploitation were practiced mainly in the
Amazon by F. Fiztcarrald, the rubber king, who introduced “habilitation”.

IN CONCLUSION.

The period between 1895 and 1919 was marked by the predominance of a peculiar
political consensus that allowed prolonged political stability and certain economic
development. This period was called the Aristocratic Republic, by the Peruvian historian
Jorge Basadre, due to its stability and oligarchic character, which presented different
perspectives:

— I Economic: three groups can be identified within it: one based on the sugar economy
on the coast, another on mining and landownership in the central mountains, and a third
based on the wool trade in the south. To this we should add the businessmen and bankers
linked to foreign capital.

— I Social: it was a small world of families that practiced marriages within their same
group, with their interests focused on the coast. At their head were a circle known as the
24 friends, who met regularly at the National Club to discuss national affairs.

— I Politics: they were grouped around the Civil Party. They lacked a national project
for the country and acted motivated, above all, by an aristocratic and rentier mentality,
allied in the mountains with the regional powers of the gamonales and with foreign
capital.

The oligarchy lived with its eyes on Europe, influenced by the Belle Époque. They
defended the role of an aristocratic and paternalistic elite. In contrast, they knew little of
the country, except for occasional visits to their properties. Likewise, they had a marked
idea of social differentiation with respect to the indigenous and popular sectors.

Broadly speaking, the characteristics of this period are the following:

• Economic dependence on English capitalism.

• Development of new economic activities: agro-export (sugar and cotton), rubber
extraction and oil extraction.

• Political predominance of the Civil Party in the executive and legislative branches.
The Democratic or Pierolist Party became the opposition, although it progressively
diminished its presence on the political scene. Civilism suffered, however, a schism,
dividing into classical civilism and leguiism.
• Emergence of organized labor movements (anarcho-syndicalism).

The exports that predominated in the aristocratic republic were:

Mining: exported oil and minerals .
The agricultural sector: exports sugar cane and cotton
Livestock farming: they exported wool from cattle and sheep.
 They exported; also rubber, coffee and guano in the aristocratic economy . j

How did the Aristocratic Republic end?

The aristocratic republic did not last long due to constant conflicts between different
groups and the weakening of the civil party. The working class was not homogeneous; in
Peru it was divided by origin. The most organized workers were those who were in Lima
and fundamentally those linked to the export sector were those who could obtain
improvements to their demands. These injustices gave way to anarchism, which was the
way workers used to complain about their low wages and terrible working conditions.
With the support of the workers, the first populist president of Peru was elected, who
was overthrown shortly afterwards. With the start of the First World War, both imports
and exports were affected, but once foreign demand restarted, it produced unexpected
profits with the rise in product prices. It is during this period that mining and oil spend
completely in the hands of a monopoly of foreign companies. It is also here when
Americans begin to have more preponderance in the country's economy. This era caused
the elites to dedicate themselves intensely to export based on accumulating wealth and
neglected the production of national manufactures for domestic consumption, which
would be one of the causes of the subsequent worsening of the economic conditions of
workers and social conflicts. Due to the disturbances of the war, the uprising of Rumi
Maqui occurred in the southern mountains of Peru, who tried to unite the indigenous
people against the exploitation and abuse that the peasants received from the gamonales.
He tried to create certain legislative and educational reforms by electing representatives
who were not of peasant origin. In the towns of the area, the movement was harshly put
down and Rumi Maqui fled. Labor movements were also encouraged by the Russian
Revolution, which promised the emergence of a country where workers would be the
masters of their destiny and where they would no longer be exploited. The strike of 1918
-1919, for the 8-hour work day, marks a milestone in the social movements of Peru,
having achieved, with a general mobilization, this demand for better working conditions,
a direct consequence of which was the strengthening of the union movement, which later
in 1919 was used by Leguía to come to power and begin the next eleven years of his
government.

Augusto B. Leguia
Economic Dependency II

Sugar and Cotton

On the northern coast, sugar was the first Peruvian export product since before the war,
the entry of new investors allowed this industry to revive. Of the old landowners, some
survived and some were sold due to bankruptcy. On the central coast, specifically in Ica
and Cañete, cotton was produced. This was the second export product. The cotton
planters did not have as much political and economic weight as the sugar planters. On
the other hand, this industry benefited both large producers and peasants, since cotton
growers gave land in exchange for half of the production and also hired migrants from
the mountains to cultivate their best fields, who then returned to their lands and
reinvested in their own crops.
Rubber

The economy in the jungle developed between 1880 and 1920. In 1880, Europe and the
United States demanded a high quantity of Rubber, so Peru and Brazil became exporters
of this product, which came from harvesting the rubber trees that existed and not from
any plantation. The extraction was carried out by native Indians who were semi-
enslaved, forced to work and who died of malnutrition and disease. This produced an
international scandal over the treatment of the natives by the Peruvian Amazon
Company between 1908 and 1912. The rubber barons were Fitzcarraldo, Arana, Kahn
and Victor Israel, who used the money from the profits on luxurious imports and to
maintain their lifestyles. In 1912, its exports reached 30% of total exports, however, the
economy of the area did not develop due to the lack of links with the national economy.
Finally, in 1915 rubber prices began to fall, because the supply of this product became
greater and the more industrialized production of the Far East monopolized the
production of this product. Thus, in 1920, the Amazon economy stagnated again.

Petroleum

The oil exploitation that was in the hands of foreign companies was located on the
northern coast of Peru, Piura and Tumbes. In 1904, the exploitation of this resource
increased due to the increase in national and international demand. Shortly before the
First World War, Standard Oil of New Jersey purchases the oil fields that were owned
by the British. The company's profits were very high and taxes were very low, this was
very bad for the country.
Economic Dependency I

Mining

Mining became one of the engines of Peru's economy, just as it is today.

After the war with Chile, mining was revived in the mountains of Peru, silver mining
was promoted and new mines were discovered. In 1892 the price of silver fell, which
caused the profits of silver businessmen to drop. At that same time, copper began to be
exploited and these mines became more accessible after the construction of the La Oroya
train, allowing North American investments to enter and buy the mines at very high
prices. The purchase of these mines allowed the expansion of mining. When the mines
were exploited by local businessmen, the money from the profits was reinvested in the
region in agricultural production and commerce in the region. Even promoting the
cultivation of coffee in the jungle of Peru. When the Americans arrive, the profits do not
return, but despite that, a new regional elite in central Peru, made up of miners,
landowners and merchants.

The Landowners and Peasants of the Sierra

There were many peasants in the mountains who were left without land after the war.

The relationship between the landowners and the peasants will be characterized by the
enclosure of the communities. Because landowners and businessmen seek to expand
their lands to increase their crops, they see the possessions of peasants and peasant
communities. The latter, which were already weakened by the war, as their male
population and the amount of crops were reduced, were easy prey for the
usurpation of land by the landowners who resorted to coercive debt collection or
forced purchase, causing many peasants are left without land. The situation in the
mountains is different due to the export of wool to Great Britain. These exports had
doubled between 1885 and 1895 and 1920, going from 2,624 metric tons of wool to
5,286. There were two types of wool: low-quality wool produced by large-scale
landowners, and high-quality wool that came from the highlands and was sold to
Arequipa merchants. Forming an economy of production and exchange between
peasants, merchants and landowners.

• Identify and explain the most outstanding aspects of the Peruvian economy
of this period

The so-called “National Reconstruction” in Peru was nothing more than the
readjustment of our economy and productive apparatus to the monopolistic
interests of English capital. Only the agro-export oligarchy, linked to the civil party,
was “reconstructed” economically by virtue of its “alliance” with British capital, in
reality its relationship with it was subordinate. Peru internally remained the same, there
were no changes in the economic and social aspects, the feudal relations of production
were maintained almost intact. from the time
colonials.
This so-called “National Reconstruction” began with the signing of the Grace
contract, thus giving rise to an era of full English rule: “Aristocratic Republic”,
where new social contradictions emerged that would drive the development of
Peruvian history in the 20th century. : worker and peasant movement.

Rulers of the aristocratic republic

• Nicolas de Pierola (1895-1899)

Establishes the Peruvian pound of gold and the Estanco of salt. Great support is
given to the foundation of institutions credit and
financial.

The Chorrillos military school is founded and compulsory military service is

established.
 • López de Romaña (1899 – 1903)
North American investment in mining was stimulated by the Cerro de Pasco
Mining Company. The mining, commerce and water codes were promulgated.
Construction of the La Oroya – Cerro de Pasco railway began and diplomatic
relations with Chile were broken.

• Manuel Cándamo (1903 – 1904)

He governs after being elected by the civil party. He proposes a large railway
construction project. He did not finish his presidential term.

• José Pardo y Barreda (1904 – 1908)

The great social mobilization of workers takes place with the federation of
bakers “Estrella del Perú”. Night schools are created and the La Oroya –
Huancayo railway is built. The crypt of Heroes is built.

• First Government of Augusto B. Leguía (1908 – 1912)

He faced the pierolists of the Democratic Party to come to power. I promote the
colonization of the jungle. The first Work Accident Law was enacted. Border
problems occurred on all borders (Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil, Chile and Colombia).

• William Billinghurst (1912 – 1914)

An 8-hour working day was achieved for the workers of the Callao Dock, and
the right to strike was regulated. Faced with the wave of strikes, the civilistas
opted for the military coup with Oscar Benavides (1914 – 1915).

• Second government of José Pardo y Barreda (1915 -1919)

It broke relations with Germany during the First World War. The peasant
uprising of Rumi Maqui took place. International arbitration took place of the
affair of the Pitch and Parinas.
Exports increased. Eight hours of work were established at the national level.
Cáceres supported Leguía's coup d'état.

Consensus of political forces

It begins with the consensus of the two predominant political forces, civilists and
democrats, to overthrow Cáceres. Followed by the alliance between Piérola and the
civilist oligarchy who needed a figure with great popular support to be able to pacify the
country, thus becoming Piérola their “man on horseback.” Piérola allowed for political
stability from 1895 to 1899, the year in which he transferred power to the civilistas who
took it until 1919, since, during Piérola's period, they had managed to occupy strategic
public positions such as the Electoral Apparatus, which allowed them allowed the
elections to be manipulated, allowing the defeat of the Democrats.
Politicians always represent some group of economic power, which was no exception
during this period. The political consensus between the civilist and democratic parties
represented the economic interests of the sugar planters of the coast, the industrialists,
the merchants, the land-owning elites of the mountains and others. Whose objective was
to encourage investments and control the masses.
European crisis
Which meant that exporters could be ready to export once Europe emerged from the
crisis in 1895 and began to demand products such as sugar, wool, cotton, coffee, copper,
zinc, and lead. Exporters also benefited from the favorable exchange rate due to having a
strong currency. This export boom allowed profits to be reinvested to modernize export
plants.
It also allowed profits to be reinvested in local manufacturing industries, as wage earners
in the export sector had become a large market for the products of these industries.
The lack of imports due to the European crisis meant that investment was also made in
the production of parts for the machinery of sugar mills and foundries.

Exclusion and oppression

The other side of the economic boom was exclusion and oppression. Piérola's
government was autocratic, “paternalistic,” and not democratic. He opposed the law that
allowed those who could not read or write to vote. Since the popular sectors could not
vote, and only the wealthy sectors could do so, the continuation of conservative
governments was guaranteed. As a consequence, the lower classes would not be
integrated into political power and their demands would not be heard.
In addition to this, Piérola continued with Cáceres' policy regarding the landowners of
the regions of Peru, joining them to restore the hierarchical relations of authority that had
been destroyed during the war. Using repression and exclusion if the subaltern classes
did not accept it.
The central government depended on the gamonales - the great feudal lords of the
mountains to control the discontent of the peasants. Thus, the representatives of the
gamonales who obtain positions for congress in the regional elections support the central
government in exchange for it letting the gamonales govern as they wish.

MATERIAL: COURSE
On the economic side, the civilist governments promoted the development of exports,
which were encouraged in those years by the demand of the new European countries that
agreed to industrialization and the opening of the Panama Canal. To sugar, cotton and
copper were added rubber from the Amazon, oil, wool from the southern Andes, coffee
and cocaine (which until 1911 was a legal export, due to its therapeutic and medicinal
applications).
The exploitation of raw materials demanded capital that began to come from abroad,
with the consequent denationalization of companies. The Cerro de Pasco Corporation
and the International Petroleum Company developed gigantic exploitations in the central
mountains and the northern coast, respectively, erecting the typical “company towns”
that social literature would later denounce as imperialist enclaves. The sugar and cotton
estates remained for the most part in the hands of national landowners (many were
descendants of immigrants), but to market their crops they sometimes depended on
credit from foreign merchant houses.

Companies dedicated to export grew in size. They became “more bourgeois while being
less and less national,” as the historian Heraclio Bonilla noted. They implemented more
efficient work processes in terms of the product achieved by each worker employed or
by each dollar invested, but they did not demand national inputs or from other sectors, as
in the time of the muleteers. The transportation of sugar cane to the sugar mills was
mechanized, while they began to use engines instead of mules or oxen; large ginning
machines separated cotton from seed on the plantations.

These transformations made the export sector less national, not only because they
occurred largely under the leadership of foreign capital, but because modern
technology unemployed many internal resources that until now had ensured that
exports transmitted multiplier effects to the rest of the economy. The ranchers of
Huancavelica who produced llamas to transport minerals; the saddlers from Huamanga,
Tarma and Jauja who made the reins, saddlebags and tackle for the animals; The
muleteers who transported the products, as well as the veterinarians, salt workers and
artisans who collaborated with the export activity until the beginning of the 20th century
were disengaged from economic growth. Only with great difficulty would some manage
to retrain as railway workers or modern workers in productive units.

The adoption of new technology also occurred because the export boom demanded
thousands of workers that, at the beginning, the country was not prepared to
provide. The lack of men willing to sell their work on a daily basis in exchange for a
salary had been a chronic problem in Peru since colonial times. In the 19th century,
the stillness of the economy, torn only by the guano craze and the railroad construction
fever, failed to promote the formation of a labor market. African slaves until 1854, first
Chinese and later Japanese coolies, met the labor demands sporadically made by the
business sector until the beginning of the 20th century. The export boom of the first
decades of the 20th century would change this panorama.

The transition was complicated and slow. The businessmen had to resort to employing
hookers, men who were usually merchants or local political authorities and who tried to
attract peasants from the towns to work on the farms or mines. Peasants did not have
many monetary needs that drove them to seek wages. Their consumption was
ascetic and limited to the goods of the rural economy itself.

The recruiters developed the practice of advancing gifts and even salaries to potential
workers. They spoke wonderful things about the workplace, managing with these arts to
lead a good number of men to export companies. Once in the workplace, the peasants
did not always adapt to the real conditions, and disputes arose between the workers, the
workers and the employers. Given the labor shortage, they tried to retain workers, even
when their contract (they agreed for periods of only six to 12 weeks) had already ended.
To do this, they invented debts or encouraged workers to take them, setting up food and
drink bazaars in the camps.

The hookup thus became a topic of social complaint. The most serious cases of
worker abuse occurred in the rubber plantations of the Amazon, where the State
lacked presence . The natives were enslaved there and forced to work under threat of
physical punishment. Slowly, those hooked learned to be docile and disciplined workers
and to appreciate the advantages of a stable job that brought them a monetary salary. At
the end of the First World War, the workers hired by the export economy
numbered around 150,000 men, including their families, were close to a million
people . Added to this number the number of workers that the export sector indirectly
created, such as those in commercial stores in the cities and public employees, we could
say that one half of the Peruvian population was registered within modernity.

SOURCE: Contreras, C. and Zuloaga, M. (2014). Minimal history of Peru. Mexico,

DF: Turner, El Colegio de México. Pages 214-217
Aristocratic Republic: background, characteristics, social movements, economy

By

Joaquin Montano

The Aristocratic Republic is the name given by the historian Jorge Basadre to the time
in Peruvian history in which power was occupied by the oligarchy. This stage spanned
between the years 1895 and 1919 and began with the rise to the presidency of Nicolás de
Piérola.

Like the rest of the leaders of the Aristocratic Republic, Piérola belonged to the Civil
Party. All presidents of this period came to power democratically. The end of this stage
came in 1919, when Augusto Leguía carried out a coup d'état. For this he had the
support of some working class sectors, marginalized during those years.

•
Party convention held in Lima in 1915, to elect a single candidate for the presidential
elections – Source: PEISA file under the Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0
license
Among the most notable characteristics of the Aristocratic Republic are economic
dependence on England, as well as the development of new economic activities,
especially those dedicated to agro-export. The oligarchs who held positions of power
were directly related to these activities.

During that period there were seven presidents, although some repeated their mandate.
The only interruption of civilist leaders occurred in 1914, when Oscar R. Benavides
staged a coup d'état and subsequently called elections.

Contents [ hide ]

• 1. Background

either 1.1 Civilist Party

either 1.2 Andrés Avelino Cáceres

either 1.3 European crisis

• 2 Features

either 2.1 Oligarchy

o 2.2 Political characteristics

o 2.3 Social characteristics

• 3 Social movements during the Republic

• 3.1 Groups or mutuals

• 3.2 The Salt Rebellion

• 3.3 The uprising of Rumi Maqui

• 4 Economy

either 4.1 Taxes low

either 4.2 Exporter model

either 4.3 Estates sugar mills

either 4.4 Hitch

either 4.5 Mining

o 4.6 The rubber boom

o 4.7 English and American capital

• 5 Rulers
 o 5.1 Nicolás de Piérola (1895-1899)

o 5.2 López de Romaña (1899 – 1903)

o 5.3 Manuel Candamo (1903 – 1904)

o 5.4 José Pardo y Barreda (1904 – 1908)

o 5.5 First Government of Augustus B. Leguía (1908 – 1912)

o 5.6 William Billinghurst (1912 – 1914)

o 5.7 Second government of José Pardo y Barreda (1915 -1919)

• 6 References

Background

After independence, Peru failed to develop a self-sufficient economy due to the

structural dependencies created during its time as a Spanish colony.

The country had to look for some power on which to support its economy. The United
States and, above all, Great Britain were chosen.

On the other hand, in the political sphere there was a contradictory situation. The
dominant classes in the economy, the oligarchy, had not been able to also become the
ruling class. The institutions were very weak, which had led to the military regularly
occupying power.

Civilist Party

Since the founding of the Republic and until 1872, all governments had been made up of
military personnel. To try to compete with them, on April 24, 1871, a decisive
movement occurred in the history of the country. A Board of Notables founded the
Electoral Independence Society, the origin of the Civilist Party.

This Society named a candidate to run for the position of President, Manuel Pardo y
Lavalle. It was the first time that the oligarchy, without the participation of the popular
classes, stood up to the military to control the State.

Andrés Avelino Cáceres

The last president before the arrival of the Aristocratic Republic was Andrés Avelino
Cáceres. His government had been losing popularity until a bloody civil war broke out in
1894.

This conflict was preceded by the consensus reached between the civilistas and the other
important political force, the democrats. The most prominent figures of the Peruvian
economy were present at that union. The one chosen to lead the assault on power was
Nicolás Piérola.

After clashes that cost the death of a thousand people, on March 20, 1895, Avelino
Cáceres had to leave office. After a brief interim presidency held by Manuel Candamo,
elections were called. The winner was Nicolás de Piérola, first president of the
Aristocratic Republic.

European crisis

Apart from these internal events, Peru was also influenced by the crisis that broke out in
Europe between 1892 and 1895. The resulting decline in foreign investment caused the
government to begin investing to improve internal economic structures.

In this way, when the European crisis ended, Peruvian companies were prepared to
export more productively. The profits, apart from modernizing export mechanisms, were
also used to reactivate the local manufacturing industry.

Characteristics

The Aristocratic Republic was marked by the rise to power of an oligarchy that
controlled the country's economy. However, this elite was subject to English capital.

Oligarchy

The oligarchy was made up of the wealthiest class in Peru. Its components were white,
descendants of European families. Normally, they were quite racist and classist.

During this period, the oligarchs formed a very closed circle, sharing all the positions in
the country's politics. Thus, a monopolization of the State occurred for the benefit of this
social class.

Political characteristics

The Civilist Party maintained hegemony throughout the period of the Aristocratic
Republic. On some occasions, he did so by allying himself with the Democratic Party
and, on other occasions, with the Constitutional Party.

The members of the party, from the oligarchic class, controlled the large estates on the
coast, as well as the agro-export structures of the country. To expand their economic
control, they established alliances with the gamonales, landowners of the interior
provinces.

On the other hand, the civilistas established contact with the English and American
elites. Thanks to this, they benefited from the economic agreements that the State
reached with the capital of both countries.

The other social sectors, especially artisans, peasants and the petite bourgeoisie, were
marginalized from national economic growth. For this reason, protests and
demonstrations demanding labor rights were frequent.

Social characteristics

The social structure during this period was characterized by the exclusion of the working
classes. All privileges remained in the hands of the great owners of the estates and
businesses. Likewise, there was great racial discrimination against Peruvians of
indigenous and African origin.

For this reason, mobilizations took place, with special importance being those
demanding an 8-hour work day.

Social movements during the Republic

Peruvian society was strictly divided according to their social extraction and
geographical origin.

The differences not only occurred between the various social strata, but even within the
workers. Thus, the people of Lima were the best organized, especially those linked to the
export sector.

Groups or mutuals

Peruvian workers began to organize themselves into mutual societies or groups in the
last decades of the 19th century. Through these groups they began to fight in defense of
their labor rights, seeking better working conditions.

In this way, in 1882 the Universal Union Confederation of Artisans appeared and, two
years later, there was a successful strike by the dock workers at the Callao dock.

After other strike episodes, such as the one at the Vitarte textile factory in 1896, the First
Workers' Congress was held, which concluded with the creation of a general plan of
struggle.

Already in 1905, workers' pressures managed to have the First Draft of Social Laws
presented to Congress, although its processing was delayed for years.

Among all these movements, the strike of 1918-1919 stood out, called to demand the
establishment of the eight-hour work day. A direct consequence of these mobilizations
was the strengthening of the labor movement, which was later used by Leguía as support
for his rise to power.

The Salt Rebellion

One of the first protests during this period occurred in 1896. That year, President Piérola
imposed a tax of 5 cents for each kilo of salt. The reaction of the indigenous people of
Huanta was to rise up against the government, although without success.

The uprising of Rumi Maqui

One of the most notable rebellions during the Aristocratic Republic occurred in 1915,
when a peasant movement led by Teodomiro Gutiérrez challenged it in Puno. The
objective of Rumi Maqui was to restore the Tahuantinsuyo.
Economy

The economy was one of the most important issues of the Aristocratic Republic. Their
governments focused on promoting and developing new activities, normally designed for
export.

The ideology of the Civilist Party was, economically, very close to liberalism. Thus, for
them, the State should be small and should not commit large expenses.

The civilistas were opposed to interventionism, so they reduced public spending

considerably. As defenders of the free market, they left the role to private enterprise.

Low taxes

The action of the governments of the Aristocratic Republic in the field of taxation was to
reduce taxes. The objective was to free the big businessmen and owners of the estates
from them.

However, they increased indirect taxes, those that levied on mass consumption products
(salt, liquor, tobacco...), regardless of the wealth of each consumer. Some authors
describe Peru at the time as a kind of tax haven, with great advantages for the civil
oligarchs themselves.

Exporter model

Exports were the main economic activity during this period. The most important product
was sugar, although manufactures became more important as the years went by.

The international context favored Peruvian exports. Europe was in the stage called
Armed Peace, with all its powers preparing for war. In addition, the second Industrial
Revolution was developing, with the creation of new industries that demanded large
quantities of raw materials.

sugar estates
The haciendas located on the coast were one of the bases of the Peruvian economy. They
used to be very large and modern and their production was destined, almost entirely, for
export.

The owners of these haciendas were members or were related to the Civilist Party.
Because of their wealth and influence they were called “Sugar Barons.”

Hitch

One of the most common systems for hiring workers for mines or farms was enganche.
It was a system in which the hirer (the employer) offered an advance and the hirer had to
pay it with his work.

Most of the time, this connection occurred when the workers were going through
financial problems and had no choice but to accept the agreement. If you failed to do
your part, your employer could sue you for fraud.

The system often led to unpayable debt on the part of the workers, to the point of
becoming permanent. Other times, payment was made with tokens only valid within the
farm, which trapped the employees even more.

Mining

In order to encourage mining activity, the government declared entrepreneurs exempt

from paying taxes for 25 years. On the other hand, in 1893, the railway was extended to
La Oroya and, later, to Cerro de Pasco, Huancayo and Huancavelica.

The area in which mining developed most strongly was in the central mountains. The
main owner of these mines was the Cerro de Pasco Mining Corporation, with 70% North
American capital.

The rubber boom

One of the raw materials that brought the greatest wealth to Peru was rubber. Starting in
1880, Europe and the United States began to demand large quantities of this product,
with Peru and Brazil being the main sellers.

The negative side of these exports was in the conditions of the workers. The majority
were indigenous people who suffered a regime of semi-slavery by the Peruvian Amazon
Company. Many died due to mistreatment, malnutrition and disease.

The subsequent international scandal did not stop extraction and, in 1912, rubber
represented 30% of everything Peru exported.

In 1915, rubber prices fell significantly, as Asian countries monopolized production.

English and American capital

The Peruvian economy during this phase suffered from a great dependence on foreign
capital, especially British and American.

In a first stage, which lasted until 1900, the British Casa WR Grace, through an
agreement signed in 1888, dominated the export of all Peruvian raw materials headed to
the United Kingdom.

Later, Peru prioritized trade with the United States and new companies from that country
appeared, such as Cerro de Pasco Mining Corporation. In a few years, they controlled
the extraction of a good part of Peruvian raw materials.

Rulers

The first government belonging to the Aristocratic Republic had Nicolás Piérola as
president, who assumed office in 1895. From that date, and with a brief interruption in
1914, the Civilist Party held power in the country for 24 years, until 1919.

Nicolás de Piérola (1895-1899)

 •
President Nicolás de Piérola

Among the most notable measures that Piérola took during his mandate was the
establishment of the Peruvian gold pound and the Estanco de la Sal. Likewise, his
government supported the founding of credit and financial institutions.

López de Romaña (1899 – 1903)

Piérola's successor, López de Romaña, encouraged American investment in Peruvian

mining. During his stay in power, the Cerro de Pasco Mining Company was founded.

Likewise, he promulgated the codes that regulated mining and commerce. In the field of
infrastructure, the construction of the La Oroya – Cerro de Pasco railway began. On the
other hand, it broke diplomatic relations with Chile.

Manuel Candamo (1903 – 1904)

During his short period of government, barely one year, he proposed a large project to
expand the country's railway line.

José Pardo y Barreda (1904 – 1908)

Pardo y Barreda had to face a great social mobilization led by the workers of the bakers'
federation.

Among its measures were the creation of night schools, as well as the construction of the
La Oroya – Huancayo railway.

First Government of Augusto B. Leguía (1908 – 1912)

The supporters of former president Piérola had gone over to the Democratic Party,
although Leguía was able to defeat them and achieve power. During his government,
Peru experienced several border problems with Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, Brazil and
Colombia.

In other areas, Leguía promoted the colonization of the jungle and promulgated the first
work accident law.

William Billinghurst (1912 – 1914)

The mobilizations of the workers at the Callao dock forced the government to accept the
8-hour day. In addition, it legislated on the right to strike.

However, these measures did not calm workers' organizations. Faced with this situation,
there was a coup d'état by Óscar Benavides, who remained in power for a year until new
elections were called.

Second government of José Pardo y Barreda (1915 -1919) The second term of Pardo
y Barreda occurred when the First World War had already begun. In this context, Peru
broke relations with Germany, aligning itself with the allies.
In the interior, the government faced the peasant uprising of Rumi Maqui. In addition,
international arbitration took place over La Brea and Pariñas.

The aforementioned world conflict favored Peruvian exports, although worker

discontent continued. Pardo and Barrera extended the eight-hour day to the entire
national territory, but, finally, a coup d'état led by Leguía and supported by labor
organizations took place.

With that blow the Authoritarian Republic ended, giving way to the Oncenio, a period of
eleven years with Leguía as president.

References

1. Yépez Huamán, René Gabriel. The Aristocratic Republic. Obtained from

pasodelperu.blogspot.com

2. History of Peru. The Aristocratic Republic. Obtained from historiaperuana.pe

3. File Pedagogical. Aristocratic Republic. Obtained from

folderpedagogica.com

4. U.S. Library of Congress. The Aristocratic Republic. Retrieved from

countrystudies.us

5. Mother Earth Travel. Recovery and Growth, 1883-1930. Retrieved from

motherearthtravel.com
 6. OnWar. Revolution of 1895 in Peru. Retrieved from onwar.com

7. Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture. Civilista Party, Retrieved

from encyclopedia.com

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