Peru was again
invaded, but eventually the Chileans abandoned the country and returned
to their own.
After this, no little confusion prevailed in the internal affairs of
Peru. Various leaders came, fought, and went, until civil war was
followed by a conflict with Bolivia, in the course of which Gamarra, the
Peruvian President, was killed, and the Peruvian forces were totally
defeated in 1841. In 1845 there seemed a prospect of improvement in the
affairs of the Republic, when Ramon Castilla was elected President.
Castilla was a man of strong and progressive views, and commerce began
to flourish under his guidance. He was followed by President Echenique,
but returned to public life, and succeeded the latter as President after
a lapse of ten years, in the course of which considerable official
corruption had been shown.
In 1864 occurred the first collision with Spain since the conclusion of
the war of liberation. In that year Spain sent out Admiral Pinzon to the
Pacific coast in command of three war vessels. The objects of the
expedition were avowedly scientific, but it met with a suspicious
reception from the first on the Pacific coast. The conduct of Admiral
Pinzon decidedly did not tend to allay any anxiety on the part of the
Republicans.
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