Post by JustJohn or JJ on May 16, 2015 3:12:08 GMT -7
Lifestyle
by PANGEA MAGAZINE on 13th May 2015
The accomplishments of Poles in Peru
The second half of the 19th century saw the start of a significant wave of immigration of Poles to Peru. Poles would arrive in Paris, seeking refugee after the fail of the January and November Uprisings back in their homeland. There, they would be tempted to emigrate to Peru by representatives of the Peruvian government, offering attractive work contracts. The accomplishments of Poles had a significant influence on the economic and technical development of Peru.
Polish engineers build Peru
Among our compatriots who worked in Peru in the 19th century, there was a group of engineers, for whom a beautiful monument in Lima, the capital city, has been built. Let us write a few words about them.
Without a doubt, one of the most extraordinary Polish expats in Peru was engineer Ernest Malinowski, born in 1818 in the former South-Eastern Poland. As a thirteen-year-old boy he participated in the November Uprising and, after its failure, he had to escape to Paris, where he graduated from the famous École des Ponts et Chaussées. For several years he built roads and bridges in France, acquiring valuable experience. Afterwards, at 34, he signed a contract for 6 years of work in Peru.
Initially, he took care of a few minor projects, such as road or telegraph line construction, or state mint reconstruction. Then, in 1858, now a chief engineer, he took part in the reconstruction of the city center of Arequipa, the second biggest city in Peru, also known as the White Town. Malinowski designed and oversaw the paving of the main square and some of the main streets there. Until this day, they catch the eye with their almost perfect whiteness and smartly laid pavements, which blend harmoniously with the beautiful elevations of the surrounding palaces and cathedrals.
Malinowski becomes a hero
During the Battle of Callao, on the 2nd May 1866, a powerful Spanish fleet reached the shores of Peru to take the Callao port and the city of Lima. Ernest Malinowski took a stand and fought for the independence of the young state, his new homeland. As chief engineer of Callao port, he skilfully fortified and expanded the Santa Rosa fort. Later on, with a gun in his hands, he fought on the city walls himself. Having just a few cannons at his disposal, he was nonetheless able to efficiently plan the defence. As a result, Ernest Malinowski was named a national hero and became an Honorary Citizen of Peru.
Railway through the Andes
Having become a well-known and respected figure, Malinowski carried on executing minor construction projects in the country. Then the Peruvian Congress commissioned a railway construction to connect the country’s seashore with its central, inland part, hidden behind the Andes. Outside of Peru, no one believed such a project could be successful. The works began in 1870, but the construction really took off only two years later.
In the years 1872-1880 and 1886-1890, the project encountered tremendous challenges; a lack of funds, a war with Chile, and enormous technical and organizational issues. All of these problems were systematically solved by Malinowski. He designed innovative bridges and reversing systems, he also planned transportation routes in the narrow, steep slopes. The construction work reached higher and higher, where the temperatures were low and oxygen was scarce in the air. The Chinese workers were becoming less and less efficient and would often die at post. Then, in 1874 a financial crisis struck Peru; Malinowski not only decided to forego payment for his work, he used his own capital to finance the construction.
When the project finally came to an end, the 4818 m construction was celebrated as a technological marvel of the 19th century.
A monument for the centenary of Malinowski’s death
In 1999, one hundred years after Ernest Malinowski’s death, a beautiful monument was erected to honour this great Pole and his work. Three years earlier, in 1996, together with Elżbieta Dzikowska, a traveller, I was guiding a group of Polish tourists in Peru. The last point of the two-week trip was a bus trip from Lima to El Ticlio pass and “Malinowski’s railway.” On our way there, Elżbieta remarked that in 3 years, the 100th anniversary of Malinowski’s death would occur, and that we should celebrate it. A few seconds later she added: “We have to build him a monument!” When we reached the pass, Elżbieta announced that the monument should stand there. When she returned to Poland, she began to promote the idea. Sadly, a year after the campaign began, the designated bank account for donations was still empty. To help, I invited her to New York for a meeting with the Polish Community organised by the Polonijny Klub Podróżnika (“Polish Diaspora Traveller’s Club”). Thanks to that, she came back to Poland with her first $700 donation. After that, the campaign really began to gather momentum as important sponsors came aboard. Back in Peru, the railway, which had been unused for 10 years, was refurbished in order to make the construction of the monument possible.
A few weeks before the monument was unveiled, I learned that its back wall would contain details of sponsors who donated no less than $1000. I contacted Elżbieta and informed her that we are ready, as the Polonijny Klub Podróżnika, to pay the extra $300 and be put on the monument as well, especially since we were present when the idea was conceived, and since we were the ones who made the first donation. Sadly, it turned out that I was too late. Why were we forgotten?
Polish fleet, Polish schools, Polish mines
From the city of Lima, let us move to the shores of Titicaca lake, where in the 1990s one could still find the remnants of the original port, and even a few wrecks of the steam ships, brought here between 1876 and 1883 by a Polish engineer, Władysław Folkierski. He became the first director of the fleet there, and the lake itself became the highest situated navigable lake in the world.
Along the shore stretches a road designed and constructed by another Polish engineer, Władysław Kluger. Kluger and Edward Habich, also a Pole, founded in 19th century Lima the first technical university in the whole of Latin America. As a result, Edward Habich became the second Polish Honorary Citizen of Peru.
Another Polish engineer, Aleksander Babiński, is famous in Peru for his geological research, as well as for his input in modernizing the existing gold and silver mines. One of these, founded already by the Incas, is situated in Madrigal village, located near the Colca Canion.
Not only engineers, but also architects from Poland contributed to the country’s development. The most important among them was Ryszard de Jaxa Małachowski, who in the 1930s planned the reconstruction of Plaza de Armas complex in Lima. Małachowski also constructed churches, schools and wonderful residences in Lima.
Jerzy Majcherczyk
Photos: Piotr Majrcherczyk
