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Register of the Francisco Garcia Calderon Collection
MSS 0121
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Title: Francisco Garcia Calderon Collection,
Date (inclusive): 1876-1909
Collection number: MSS 0121
Creator:
Garcia Calderon, Francisco, 1834-1905
Extent:
0.60 linear feet
(4 bound volumes in 2 archives
boxes)
Repository:
Mandeville Special Collections Library, UCSD
La Jolla, CA 92093-0175
Abstract: Francisco Garcia Calderon's bound manuscript (1896) entitled "Replica al Alegato del
Ecuador" and two preliminary drafts were compiled between 1892 and 1896 to document the
history of border disputes between Peru and Ecuador over the provinces of Mainas, Jaen
and Tumbes. Also included is a bound file (1876-1909) related to a contract between the
Peruvian government and Nicolas Federic Barbier and Tranquille Stanislas Fenestre, French
citizens, for the construction of lighthouses along the Peruvian coast. The collection is arranged in two series: 1) BORDER
DISPUTES and 2) LIGHTHOUSE DISPUTE.
Physical location: For current information on the location of these
materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Language:
Spanish or Castilian.
Collection is open for research
Francisco Garcia Calderon Collection, MSS 0121. Mandeville Special Collections Library,
UCSD.
Francisco Garcia Calderon was born in Arequipa, Peru, in 1834. After finishing a degree
in law, he pursued a career in public service and worked in the Ministerio de Hacienda,
served as president of Arequipa's constitutional congress, and was a key figure in the
final peace accords between Peru and Chile.
Commissioned in 1892 to arbitrate the land disputes between Peru and Ecuador, Francisco
Garcia Calderon compiled a history of the contested provinces of Mainas, Jaen and Tumbes.
According to Garcia Calderon, the King of Spain decreed in 1802 that the territory of
Mainas be transferred from the Viceroyalty of Nueva Granada to that of Peru. This event
marked the beginning of a legal tug-of-war over the territories involving the archdiocese
of Lima, the presidency of Ecuador and the viceroyalties of Peru and Nueva Granada. The
first time these lands were publicly disputed was shortly after independence in 1822,
when half of the Peruvian territory gained its sovereignty and the other half remained
subject to the king's rule. Ecuador alleged that the Royal Decree of 1802 did not modify
the demarcation between Peru and Ecuador, while Peru's position was that the royal decree
effectively divided the territory.
Basing its argument on the assumption that colonial divisions were no longer valid,
Ecuador claimed that the Peruvian state lost possession of the lands with independence.
In spite of this claim, Peru centered its defense on the Royal Decree of 1802, arguing
that royal decrees concerning land division transcended the territorial division of the
nineteenth century. Discrediting or validating the royal decree of 1802 became the point
of contention for both countries.
The argumentation was reduced to the rubrics of semantics and filology when the words
chosen by the magistrate in charge of these divisions, Don Francisco Requena, left an
opening for both countries to interpret the document to their advantage. Furthermore,
both countries conjured up the memory and goals of Simon Bolivar as patriotic
justifications to support their claims. The situation was further complicated by the
Herrera-Garcia Treaty, in which Ecuador recognized that the provinces of Tumbes and Jaen
did effectively belong to Peru. Ecuador later renounced the treaty.
In another international dispute, Garcia Calderon served as the guarantor of the contract
between the Peruvian government and Nicolas Barbier and Tranquille Fenestre, French
citizens residing in France, to build French-designed lighthouses along the Peruvian
coast. The contract was made through L.V. de Champeux, a French citizen residing in Lima,
and stipulated that the firm of Barbier and Fenestre would be in charge of all lighting
along the Peruvian coast. Garcia Calderon became involved when disputes over payment for
services and other disagreements were brought up in 1895. In the early 1900s, Garcia
Calderon's heirs claimed an amount of money connected with the initial contract.
The Garcia Calderon Collection documents the origins of the border disputes between Peru
and Ecuador over the provinces of Mainas, Jaen and Tumbes in the late nineteenth century.
It also documents the Peruvian government's contract with the French firm of Barbier and
Fenestre for the construction of French-designed lighthouses along the Peruvian coast.
The collection is arranged in two series: 1) BORDER DISPUTES and 2) LIGHTHOUSES.
SERIES 1: BORDER DISPUTES
The BORDER DISPUTES series contains three bound holograph volumes that comprise Garcia
Calderon's study of the Peruvian claims to ownership of the provinces of Mainas, Jaen and
Tumbes. Written between 1892 and 1896, this narrative constructs an argument that
includes rebuttals to each of Ecuador's claims over the contested lands. The materials
are arranged in a first draft, second draft and final version entitled "Replica al
Alegato del Ecuador."
The first draft contains extensive corrections, deletions and revisions. A chapter is
devoted to each of the seven arguments; some chapters appear to be works in progress. The
second draft clarifies the main historical, political and geographical points in the
Peruvian argument. The pages are numbered, but it appears that some sections were added
at a later date and retain a different numerical order. Of particular significance is a
conclusion which begins on page 206 and is not included in the first draft. The final
version of Garcia Calderon's reply to Ecuador's claims is addressed to the Peruvian
minister of foreign relations and forms the most complete version of the study.
SERIES 2: LIGHTHOUSE DISPUTE The LIGHTHOUSE DISPUTE series contains a single bound volume
in holograph and typescript organized in chronological order, and includes the actual
contract with Barbier and Fenestre for the construction of the lighthouses. Also included
are detailed descriptions of the later disagreements over the payments to the French
firm. The entries date between 1876 and 1909 and include depositions, contracts,
translations of French documents, budgetary estimates, and memos. Of particular interest
are summaries on pages 41 and 115.