ORDER OF BATTLE // August 31, 1828
Battle of Punta Malpelo
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
1 sides catalogued · combined 124 estimated
Pérou
124
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Battle of Punta Malpelo, fought near the port of Guayaquil on 31 August 1828, marked the opening of naval combat in the Gran Colombia–Peru War. The engagement involved a Peruvian corvette against two Gran Colombian vessels under commanders Claudio Johnston and Archibald Taylor. Beyond its place in the war, the battle holds institutional significance as the first major combat action of the Peruvian Navy operating as an independent force of the newly established Peruvian nation. As such it represents an early test of Peruvian naval capability in the context of the broader territorial and political rivalry between Peru and Gran Colombia in the post-independence period.
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