BIOGRAFIAS DE PERSONAJES IMPORTANTES

HENRY SWAYNE WALLACE 

Henry Swayne nació en 1800 en Dysart, Fife, Escocia, y emigró al Perú en 1824 representando a la firma Swayne Reid & Co. de Liverpool. Era el último hijo de David Swayne y Christina Wallace.

Swynne, Swayne o Swaine es un nombre personal escandinavo de gran antiguedad e introducido a Inglaterra bajo el dominio danés. Domesday nos muestra diversas personas, arrendatarios en jefe o en otro caso, llamados Svain, Suain, Suanus, Snuen, Sueno or Swen, algunos de quienes, especificamente, declararon que han poseído tierras en tiempos de Edward el Confesor. Suain de Essex, de quien Morant cree que ha sido de origen danés, fue antepasado del famoso Henry de Essex, luego Henry II. Existen otras formas del apellido: Le Swein, and Sweyn, Le Sweyn. 

Henry Swayne residió en Perú por más de 50 años durante los cuales él fue propietario y manejó varias haciendas de algodón y caña de azúcar a lo largo de la costa peruana. En 1851, el Sr. Swayne se casó con una dama peruana e inició así una distinguida familia en el Perú la cual ha estado siempre identificada con los mas altos intereses del pais y continua así hasta ahora.

A Henry Swayne se le reconoce el haber introducido arados a vapor y otras tecnicas de cultivo innovadoras y por un trato ejemplar a sus trabajadores. Numerosos viajeros ingleses de aquel tiempo documentaron sus observaciones durante sus visitas a las propiedades de Mr. Swayne; entre ellos Thomas J. Hutchinson en su libro titulado "Two Years in Peru" publicado en 1873, quien escribió:

"Mr. Swayne tiene 4 propiedades aquí (en Cañete), llamados Quebrada, Casa Blanca, Huaca and Carillos (Santa Barbara) todos los cuales se comunican entre sí por medio de tranvías. El arado de éstos es realizado con arados a vapor. Además, él tiene un fundo cerca a Cerro Azul, otro cerca a Chilca y una hacienda en Ungara en el lado sur de la fila secundaria de las colinas, que atraviesan transversalmente el valle, y al sur del río Cañete.

Su propiedad en este valle incluye una extension de mas de 10 mil acres y un producto anual por un valor mayor a dos millones de dolares en ron y azúcar. En la Quebrada, por primera vez ví trabajadores chinos en la costa peruana. Los tratan excepcionalmente bien, y en las diferentes propiedades de Mr Swayne ellos son mas de 1500.

La fábrica de Montalbán es famosa por el refinamiento de azúcar de acuerdo a los mejores sistemas practicados en Europa. El de Arona por la belleza y lo pintoresco de sus colinas. Aunque Hualcará es bien conocido por la excelencia de todos sus productos. Lo mismo se puede decir de Santa Barbara. Pero aquellos de la Huaca, Casa Blanca y La Quebrada, superan a todo el resto, no solo por su perfección, sino por sus trabajos de vapor, que son los más perfectos en el valle. También ellos elaboran la más grande cantidad de productos".

Another traveler of that time and United States Commissioner to Peru, E. George Squier, in his book entitled "Peru, Incidents 
of Travel and Exploration in the Land of the Incas", published in New York in 1877, describes the deplorable conditions of the 
estates in the Nepeña valley prior to its purchase by Mr. Swayne and its subsequent development into a profitable industry 
with the introduction of new technology and the employment of experienced professionals. The following are excerpts of 
chapter XII: 
"The hacienda, or estate, of San Jacinto was anciently one of the largest and finest in the valley of Nepeña; but before its 
purchase by Mr. Swayne, a few years before our visit, it had very much run down. It was deserted by the negro slave soon 
after their emancipation; the dwellings had fallen out of repair; the roof of the church connected with it had tumbled in; the 
walls of the cemetery behind it were crumbling down; the acequias had broken their banks and were dry or only half filled; 
while the chaparral and scrub, broom and acacias had invaded the irrigated grounds and desert had encroached on them 
as the supply of water on the higher levels had diminished. Its extent will appear when I say it was nine miles long by not 
less than three in average width, covering the entire valley from one mountain range to the other. Sugar had been the principal 
product of the estate, but Mr. Swayne had supplanted it in great part with cotton, and was bending every effort to increase its 
production. Ginning-mills and cotton-presses had been erected, and we found at the hacienda quite a colony of English, 
German and American engineers, mechanics and overseers. The long, narrow, half-ruined dwelling house, large enough 
to shelter a regiment, was in the course of renovation; the church was undergoing repairs; and the quarters for the Chinese 
and other workmen were going up, arranged and finished with proper regard to health and comfort. Men were mending broken 
walls, restoring acequias, making bricks, and planting the garden. On every side was seen the movement and heard the 
inspiritingly sound of industry The buildings of the hacienda stand on the very northern edge of the valley. The position is 
high, dry and commanding. Around all is a heavy wall, almost like that of a medieval fortress, entered by a lofty archway."
On page 204 of his book, Mr. Squier summarized his impression of farming in Peru: "Generally the hacendado exercises 
little judgment or foresight in the matter of irrigation and leaves the direction of his estate to his majordomo, whose notions 
of cultivation of the soil are purely traditional or empirical. A few however, like Mr. Swayne, make irrigation a study, and with
remarkable results. Not only was his field of cotton large and uniform, and the quality of the staple good, but the irrigation was 
so well directed that each field was ripened in succession, at short intervals of time, thus enabling a large crop to be picked 
with a minimum number of hands and distributing over weeks the work that is with us crowded into days. "
The increase in production and efficiency came as consequence of heavy investment in the acquisition of new properties and
purchase of machinery. Silver coins and notes were issued at the Swayne estates for payroll payment and commercial 
transactions in Lima. The wealth built by Mr. Swayne was seriously diminished in the latter years of his life due to the drop 
in cane sugar prices as a consequence of the important developments in the beet sugar industry in Germany after the 
Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Also, the end of the Civil War between the Northern and Southern States in North America 
affected the profits obtained from the sale of cotton. This loss was compounded two years after his death, during the War 
of the Pacific (1879-1884), for although the intervention of the British Foreign Office spared the Swayne's property from the 
plunder and vandalism of the invading Chilean army, the economic dislocation brought about by the conflict led to an increase
in the already overextended financial debt. In 1900, the surviving family of Henry Swayne negotiated a deal with their creditors, 
the Lockett Family, a Liverpool merchant house, which resulted in the establishment of The British Sugar Company.
As a good Scotsman, Henry Swayne was known for his sense of humor and eccentricities. It has been reported that Mr. 
Swayne, not satisfied with the laundering at his estates, shipped his dirty linen to be laundered in Liverpool as recorded in 
an article written by Ronald Gordon, a former manager of the Swayne properties, then operated by The British Sugar Company, 
which appeared in the February 4, 1972 issue of the Peruvian Times. Henry Swayne was an avid horseman and is recognized 
as having been the first to introduce English thoroughbreds and establishing this sport in Peru. As a tribute to his contribution, 
a race and award named after him is held every year at the racetrack of Monterrico, in Lima. 
Henry Swayne's death on January 29th, 1877 at his house in Lima, was deeply felt not only among his surviving family but by 
the industry and society of Peru in general. Accounts of that time indicate his funeral was accompanied by numerous and 
important members of government, industry and society.
The South Pacific Times, an English publication circulating in Peru in the 1870's, wrote in his obituary: 
"It is with much regret that we announce the death of Mr. Henry Swayne, a gentleman who for more than half a century has 
been identified with the best interests of this country. Mr. Swayne was born at Dysart, Fifeshire, Scotland. He arrived in Peru 
in 1824, and was partner in the house of Swayne, Reid and Co., his brother Mr. Robert Swayne, being the head of the firm in 
Liverpool. In 1832 the house here closed, and Mr. Henry Swayne took possession of the sugar plantations known as Quebrada 
and Casa Blanca. In 1833 Mr. Swayne made a visit to Europe, and from the time of his return in 1834 he devoted himself 
entirely to the management of his estates until, we may say, the time of his decease. Mr. Swayne in 1851 married a lady, 
who with four sons and one daughter mourn his loss. The deceased gentleman was in possession of some of the finest sugar
plantations in Peru."
In his obituary in the issue of February 1, 1877 of "El Comercio", Peru's leading and most influential newspaper, the legacy 
of Henry Swayne's work and genius to the Peruvian industry is paralleled to the contribution of another Briton, William Miller, 
Grand Marshal of Ayacucho, in the Independence of Peru. Destiny has them resting within a few yards from each other at the 
British Cemetery in Bellavista, Callao. 

(Fotos y textos de Tony Hammond: http://www.hammond.swayne.com/ Traducción: Spero)