Yet this condition of affairs
was practically inevitable when it is considered that Lima was the great
stronghold of Spain, filled to overflowing with Spanish officials and
military officers. It is certain enough that, had Lima been captured in
the first place by the insurgents, the Royalist resistance in all the
other colonies would inevitably have collapsed immediately; but it did
not in the least follow that because Buenos Aires, Santiago, and other
towns had become the seats of Republican Governments, that the movement
should influence the mainspring of Spanish authority at Lima.
The Spaniards of Lima were reputed, for that reason, the haughtiest of
any in the Continent, and their manner towards the Criollos continued as
overbearing as ever during the first stages of the revolution. It is
said that when the reinforcements came from Spain--as, for instance,
when in 1813 the regiment of Talavera arrived--the behaviour of these
Spaniards became more arrogant than ever. This attitude proved in the
end to be possessed of a disconcertingly slender foundation. As a matter
of fact, the troops which arrived from Spain during this period were for
the most part composed of very indifferent material, both officers and
men bearing the worst of characters, since every efficient soldier was
urgently required in the Mother Country at that time.
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