Upper Peru (; ) is a name for the land that was governed by the Real Audiencia of Charcas.Barnadas, Josep M. (1989). Es muy sencillo: Llámenle Charcas. La Paz: Juventud. p. 59-63 The name originated in Buenos Aires «J.M. Dalence, Bosquejo estadístico de Bolivia, Sucre 1851, p. 2». Consulted on 2 September 2011. towards the end of the 18th century «Esther Aillón Soria, De Charcas/Alto Perú a la República de Bolivar, Bolivia. Trayectorias de la identidad boliviana, p. 7» . Consulted on 2 September 2011. after the Audiencia of Charcas was transferred from the Viceroyalty of Peru to the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata in 1776.Crespo Rodas, Alberto (1981). El ejército de San Martín y las guerrillas del Alto Perú. La Paz. p. 379 It comprised the Governorate of Potosí, La Paz, Cochabamba, Chiquitania, Moxos Province and Charcas Province (since renamed Sucre).
Following the Bolivian War of Independence, the region became an independent country and was renamed Bolivia in honor of Simón Bolívar.
Fearing bloodshed that the libertarian troops could cause the local population, in June 1822 the three governors of Upper Peru departments gathered in Cuiabá (Captaincy of Mato Grosso, Brazil) and asked the governor to take sides with the Prince Regent (future Emperor Pedro I) to occupy the territory for the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. It was better (thought the governors) to be occupied by a Monarchy than to entertain the idea of rule by a fragile and uncertain republic.
Immediately, in July of that year, the governor of Mato Grosso sent to Upper Peru the troops stationed in the captaincy and closed the borders to stop the advance of the libertarian troops. He sent to the Prince the proposal of the local authorities and the dispatch order of the troops.
The letter reached Emperor Pedro I only in November 1822, when Brazil had already declared independence and, worse, Brazil was not interested in attaching that territory, because the new country was more concerned with pacifying the northern and northeastern provinces. Thus, the order given by the Emperor was to call back the troops (leaving the way clear for the libertarians to occupy these territories) claiming that "Brazil does not interfere in foreign affairs."
This episode is poorly documented, the curious thing is that the Generals Antonio Jose de Sucre and Simón Bolívar, knowing what was happening, managed to send diplomats in record time to Rio de Janeiro and these diplomats arrived even faster than the letter from the governor of Mato Grosso, so the result was that when he got the letter, the Emperor was already "head made" and the evacuation order was already given.
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