The Old Gate

Since the Spanish founding of Arequipa, the mostly Spanish population retained heavy loyalty to the Spanish crown, a phenomenon called fidelismo. Among its most notable proponents were Francisco de Paula Quiroz, Mariano de Rivero, Nicolás Fernández, and José Miguel de Lastarria. In 1805, the Spanish Monarchy gave the city the title of Faithful by Royal Charter. Because of its distance from other Peruvian cities, Arequipa was not heavily influenced by libertarian movements. In 1814, Mateo Pumacahua's pro-independence troops only briefly occupied Arequipa. The city would remain under Spanish control until the Battle of Ayacucho (1824), due to struggles for local political power.