Bolívar renounces the dictatorship of Peru

Background. Bolívar arrived in Lima on 10 December 1823 with the aim of liberating all of Peru. While he was bedridden with fever over the first two months of 1824, Tagle defected to the Royalists with the garrison and city of Callao and briefly took Lima. In response, the Peruvian congress named Bolívar dictator of Peru on 10 February 1824. He is known colloquially as El Libertador, "the Liberator," of America.

Political Transition. In early 1825, Bolívar resigned from his offices in Colombia and Peru, but neither nation's congress accepted his resignation. On 10 February 1825, the Peruvian congress extended his dictatorship for another year. The sources thus record a continuation of his dictatorial authority rather than a renunciation of it; El Libertador appears in the sources only as a general colloquial name, not as a title adopted in February 1825.

Military Context. The military situation in Peru remained volatile. Bolívar reoccupied Lima in December 1824 and began a siege of Callao. In Upper Peru, General Sucre completed the liberation in April 1825. The war continued until the surrender of the last royalist holdouts in January 1826. These military actions provided the context for the political decisions regarding Bolívar's title and authority.