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Street Wise
Pezet was a General and President known for Capitulating to Spanish Agression
By James Rudolph

Juan Antonio Pezet was born in Lima in 1810. In 1862, he was elected as vice president, together with a fellow general, Miguel de San Ramón, who died after less than a year in the presidency. General Pezet thus constitutionally assumed the presidency in April 1863, at a moment when Spain was making efforts to recover its lost American colonies.

The murder of two Spanish citizens in Lambayeque following August proved to be a pretext, and the following April, Spanish ships seized the guano-rich Chincha islands and demanded indemnity. Peru was outraged at this violation of its sovereignty, but President Pezet believed that Peru's Navy was too weak to challenge the powerful Spanish fleet cruising Peru's coastline. With Spanish ships threatening Callao, Pezet capitulated to the Spanish demands, and began removing vast quantities of Peru's valuable guano deposits.

In November 1865, Colonel Mariano Ignacio Prado seized power from the now-unpopular Pezet, and proceeded to organize an effective defense against the Spanish agression that culminated with Peru's victory in the famous artillery battle in Callao on May 2, 1866 that, of course, is also well-remembered among Lima's street names.

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