José Antonio García y García

José Antonio García y García was born in Lima in 1832 and trained in law at San Carlos. After qualifying in 1851, he taught geography and international law. He entered diplomacy as secretary of Peru’s American legation in 1854 and later represented the country in Colombia, the United States, and Bolivia. ¹

His Washington service included distinct periods as chargé d’affaires and minister. Federico Barreda’s arrival in May 1866 ended the earlier assignment; García returned as minister in 1867. In November that year, after a conversation with William H. Seward, he formally explained that Peru was willing to negotiate peace with Spain, provided the settlement respected its sovereignty and the position of its Pacific allies. ^{3, 2}

He also helped build the Civil Party: the meeting that launched its predecessor, the Sociedad Electoral de Independientes, took place in his house in April 1871. He became mayor of Lima and senator for Loreto, and presided over the Senate. He briefly held the foreign ministry in 1875 and returned to it in 1876. The crisis surrounding Nicolás de Piérola’s seizure of Huáscar and its encounter with British warships contributed to his resignation in June 1877. ¹

During the War of the Pacific, he was among the Peruvian political figures deported to Chile. At Angol in September 1882 he joined discussions with the American minister Cornelius Logan over peace terms, showing more willingness than Francisco García Calderón to consider territorial concessions. He returned to Peru after the Treaty of Ancón and died in November 1886. ¹