1839 Letter from Chilean Founding Father Bernardo O’Higgins, Written While Exiled in Peru, Discussing Sugar Trade and Canal Repairs.
Lima, Peru: June 1839. Single one-page letter measuring 8 ¼ x 10 ½ inches. Small tear at lower left corner and holes at seal not intersecting with text, else Near Fine. Item #List3437
Bernardo O’Higgins (c. 1778–1842) was a Chilean revolutionary leader and the first Supreme Director of Chile after the Chilean War of Independence. His father Ambrosio O’Higgins, the Governor of Chile and later Viceroy of Peru, sent the younger O’Higgins to be educated in Europe, where he met Francisco de Miranda and joined the Logia Lautaro, a revolutionary secret society. Following his return to Chile, O’Higgins became involved in politics, eventually leading the military of Chile’s first Junta against Royalist forces. This was unsuccessful and from 1814–1817 O’Higgins lived in exile in Argentina. There, he and Argentine revolutionary José de San Martín raised an army, crossed the Andes, and finally defeated the Royalists and Spanish forces. O’Higgins led Chile for six years but resigned under pressure in 1823 and spent the remainder of his life exiled in Peru, where he farmed sugar and wheat on two estates near Lima, granted to him by Simón Bolívar.
Offered here is an 1839 letter from O’Higgins to José Toribio Pequeño, his son-in-law and administrator of his estate. He writes (translated):
“My dear sir and friend, Through the house of Mr. Colina your esteemed [letter of] the 18th of this month has come into my hands, and I am quite satisfied with what was done regarding the sugar. My statement to you in my previous letter on this matter was to be understood in the event that they should not wish to receive the sugar, for I could never have provided anything in cash, and as you explain to me, things have remained entirely satisfactory.
“I do not know how I have neglected to tell you that it would be advisable to take advantage of the cleaning of Mr. [illegible]’s irrigation canal in order to make the canal that passes by the houses in town out of lime and brick so as to free them from [unclear], as well as the street in front of Muchotrigo. If sufficient brick and lime has not been fired, it will be necessary to take the appropriate measures. It would also be advisable to repair St. Agustín which, as I recall, was crumbling and at risk of breaking open. All of this is most urgent, in order that the waters may not give us too much work for the machine. You may consult with Mr. Tomas Gill regarding the aforementioned irrigation canal and the gate that must be constructed to divide the water for the town and the machine, the location of which is very well known and lies adjacent to the pasture of the Castillo.
“When some sensible muleteer should arrive, he may be instructed to bring young Pancho so that he may serve as a page to Rosita [likely O’Higgins’ half-sister Rosa Rodríguez Riquelme], since I am taking Fernando with me. We await you here, should Mr. Gill have concluded his business, and in the meantime cheers.
“Your most devoted servant, B. O’Higgins.”
O’Higgins had remained heavily interested in South American politics after his exile, not the least because of his financial interests in agriculture and trade. In the lead-up to the War of the Confederation, fought between Chile and the Peru-Bolivian Confederation, Chile and Peru had set punitive tariffs against each other, Peru on Chilean wheat and Chile on Peruvian sugar. The war thus affected him both as a hacendado and as a political figure with loyalties to both countries; he frequently corresponded with leaders on both sides attempting diplomacy, and with José Pequeño discussing his financial worries regarding the war.[1]
This letter was written shortly after the end of the war, which concluded in January of 1839. O’Higgins was clearly still in a state of some financial distress, evidenced by his relief that he did not have to produce any cash for the transaction he discusses in the first paragraph. Given the discussion of water channeling, we assume that the “machine” to which he refers is likely a mill, as his estates produced wheat as well as sugar. Note that St. Agustín is likely not the church in Lima but rather the canal in Ica, where O’Higgins’ estates were located. The cleaning and reconstruction of the canals may have been related to damage done in the War of the Confederation, though this is not clear—O’Higgins may have just been carrying out improvements on aging infrastructure required for his business.
Overall worthy of further research by scholars of O’Higgins, especially of his later life and activities in exile.
[1] Gonzalo Serrano del Ponzo, “Bernardo O’Higgins y Su Dulce Destierro. El Negocio del Azúcar en Tierras Peruanas y Sus Intereses en la Guerra de Chile contra la Confederación Perú-Boliviana (1836–1839),” Intus-Legere Historia 12, no. 1 (2018): 139–168.
Price: $1,250.00
Status: On Hold