The chaotic Peruvian era of the caudillo, however bewildering, can be divided into several distinct periods.

In the first, Bolívar had tried, unsuccessfully, to impose a centralist and Utopian liberal government from Lima.

When events in Colombia caused him to relinquish power and return to Bogotá in 1826, his departure left an immediate vacuum that numerous Peruvian strongmen will try to fill.

One of the most successful in terms of tenure is the conservative General Agustîn Gamarra (1829-34) from Cusco, who manages to crush numerous rebellions and maintain power for five years.

Then full-scale civil wars carry first General Luis de Orbegoso (1834-35) and then General Felipe Salaverry (1835-36) into the presidential palace for short terms.

The power struggles reach such a chaotic state by the mid-1830s that General Andres de Santa Cruz  y Calahumana marches into Peru from Bolivia to impose the Peru- Bolivia Confederation of 1836-39.

This alliance upsets the regional balance of power and causes Chile to raise an army to defeat Santa Cruz and restore the status quo ante, which, in effect, means a resumption of factional conflict that will last well into the 1840s.