Originally founded in 1557 as Magdalena Vieja, this section of town was given a new name in 1821 by none other than José de San Martín, one of the Great Liberators of South America. The town was renamed for the great patriotism and desire for freedom that San Martín saw in the inhabitants. In 1881, during the disastrous War of the Pacific, the government of Peru briefly used Pueblo Libre as the seat of government. Pueblo Libre is also sometimes called “Villa de los Libertadores” because different leaders of the independence movement, such as Bolívar, Sucre, Córdova and others, maintained official residences there.