José Ballivián
José Ballivián Segurola (5 May 1805 – 6 October 1852) was a Bolivian general during the Peruvian-Bolivian War. He also served as the ninth president of Bolivia from 1841 to 1847.[1]
For the Bolivian province, see José Ballivián Province. For the athlete, see Joaquín Ballivián.
José Ballivián
Mariano Enrique Calvo (acting)
Eusebio Guilarte (acting)
Manuel Eusebio Ruiz
5 May 1805
La Paz, Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata (now Bolivia)
6 October 1852 (aged 47)
Rio de Janeiro, Empire of Brazil
Crypt of the San Francisco Museum, La Paz, Bolivia
Mercedes Coll
7 (including Adolfo Ballivián)
Jorge Ballivián
Isidora Segurola
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Early life[edit]
Born in La Paz to wealthy parents, he was the nephew of Dámaso Bilbao la Vieja. Ballivián had a rather undistinguished military career until his elevation to the post of Commander of the Army in June 1841. He had been a royalist until 1822, but switched sides and joined Lanza's insurrectionist army at the age of 18. His advance in the Bolivian army was unremarkable, although his role was apparently fundamental to the Confederate triumph over Salaverry at the Battle of Socabaya in early 1836. Importantly, he had been a supporter of Santa Cruz in the 1830s.[2]
The Battle of Ingavi[edit]
His golden hour came, and he rose dramatically to the occasion, when at aged 37 and as Bolivian Army chief he united the pro-Velasco and pro-Santa Cruz factions under his command to face-off a massive Peruvian invasion led by President Agustín Gamarra. At the Battle of Ingavi (November 1841), Ballivián emerged with a surprising and crushing victory against Gamarra, whom he took prisoner and ordered executed.
It was a stunning turn of events, and one that marks the highest point in Bolivian military history. Ingavi preserved Bolivian independence and transformed Ballivián into an overnight hero in a fractured nation badly in need of one. Congress almost immediately proclaimed him Provisional President in Calvo's replacement. Marshall Santa Cruz, from France, acquiesced to his rule and declined to return in the face of the enormous popularity of the new Caudillo.[3]