Sold – John Tyler Authorizes the Exchange of Ratifications With Peru

Peru declared its independence in 1821, following an uprising against Spanish colonial rule. Simon Bol’var then assumed power to carry on the struggle for liberation. At the battles of Jun’n (Aug. 6, 1824) and Ayacucho (Dec. 9, 1824), Spanish power was broken and Peru’s independence assured. A long period of instability followed, however, during which the country was governed by a succession of generals. It experienced at least 24 regime changes, averaging one per year, between 1821 and 1845, and its constitution was rewritten 6 times.

During this turmoil, U.S. Marines were twice sent ashore into Peru, making that nation just the second one in South America to find American troops on its soil. From December 10, 1835 to January 24, 1836, Marines protected American interests in Callao and Lima during an attempted revolution.

This period was followed by a short Peruvian confederation with Bolivia (1836-1839), during which it was again determined to send in the Marines. That union was broken up by an invasion from Chile which was backed by Peruvian exiles. Not until 1845 was a stable government installed in Lima. Peru exported silver, wool, nitrates and guano, and American business and shipping interests were on the scene from the start. During this turmoil they suffered losses, for which the United States government was quick to seek reimbursement. James C. Pickett, a former commissioner of the United States patent-office and auditor of the Treasury, was U.S. ambassador to Peru from 1838 -1845. He negotiated a treaty (the Convention with Peru for the Satisfaction of Claims of American Citizens) to resolve these issues in March 1841, which required the Peruvian government to pay $300,000, to be distributed to the claimants in accordance with instructions from the U.S. government.

This was one of the first treaties between the United States and a South American nation. There were, however, delays in ratification in both Washington and Lima, and a few years passed before the Treaty was ratified by both sides.

Document Signed, Washington, January 14, 1843, authorizing Pickett to exchange “my ratification for that of the Executive of Peru to the Treaty providing for the adjustment of claims of citizens of the United States upon that Government.”

The document is countersigned by Secretary of State Daniel Webster. It is the same document referenced by President Tyler in his State of the Union message of December 1843: “Notice of the exchange of ratifications of the treaty with Peru, which will take place at Lima, has not yet reached this country, but is shortly expected to be received, when the claims upon that Republic will doubtless be liquidated and paid.”