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Following the death of President Agustin Gamarra (1785-1841) at Ingavi in the
Peruvian-Bolivian War of 1841, Peru became torn by civil war inm 1842. In early
1843, Manuel Ignacio Vivanco (fl. 1840s), calling himself "The
Regenerator," seized power and ruled the country as a dictator with the
support of the army; he ignored the 1839 constitution, failed to convene the
Peruvian congress, and punished disloyalty with the firing squad. Beginning in
1844, opposition to Vivanco entered in southern Peru, where Ramon Castilla
(1797?-1867) and others led armies in support of the former constitution.
Constitutionalist troops seized control of Peru's capital, Lima, while Vivanco
was absent. At the Battle of Carmen Alto on July 22, 1844, constitutionalist
armies under the direction of Castilla won against Vivanco's forces, compelling
Vivanco to flee into exile. Factional strife continued until Castilla was
elected president in 1845 and brought some order to Peru.
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