Peruvian History
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Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
spans 15 millennia, extending back through several stages of cultural development along the country's desert coastline and in the
Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...
mountains. Peru's coast was home to the
Norte Chico civilization Norte may refer to: Places * Norte, Cape Verde, a village in the east-northeastern part of the island of Boa Vista * Norte de Mexico, a region of Mexico * Norte Region, Brazil, a region of Brazil * Norte Region, Portugal The North Region ( ) or ...
, the oldest civilization in the
Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
and one of the six
cradles of civilization A cradle of civilization is a location and a culture where civilization was developed independent of other civilizations in other locations. A civilization is any complex society characterized by the development of state (polity), the state, ...
in the world. When the Spanish arrived in the sixteenth century, Peru was the homeland of the highland
Inca Empire The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...
, the largest and most advanced state in
pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...
America. After the conquest of the Incas, the
Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...
established a
Viceroyalty A viceroyalty was an entity headed by a viceroy. It dates back to the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the sixteenth century. British Empire India * British Raj, India was governed by the Governor-General of India, Governor-General and Vi ...
with jurisdiction over most of its
South American South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
domains. Peru declared
independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...
from Spain in 1821, but achieved independence only after the
Battle of Ayacucho The Battle of Ayacucho (, ) was a decisive military encounter during the Peruvian War of Independence. This battle secured the independence of Peru and ensured independence for the rest of belligerent South American states. In Peru it is conside ...
three years later. Modern historiography of Peru divides its history into three main periods: * A pre-Hispanic period, which lasts from the first civilizations of the region to the
Spanish conquest The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It ...
of the
Inca Empire The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...
. * A viceregal or colonial period, which lasts from the aforementioned conquest to the Peruvian declaration of independence. * A republican period, which lasts from the war of independence to the current day.


Pre-Hispanic era


Pre-Columbian cultures

Hunting tools dating back to more than 11,000 years ago have been found inside the caves of
Pachacamac Pachacámac () is an archaeological site southeast of Lima, Peru in the Valley of the Lurín River. The site was first settled around A.D. 200 and was named after the "Earth Maker" creator god Pacha Kamaq. The site flourished for about 1,300 ye ...
, Telarmachay, Junin, and Lauricocha. Some of the oldest civilizations appeared
circa Circa is a Latin word meaning "around, approximately". Circa or CIRCA may also refer to: * CIRCA (art platform), in London * Circa (band), a progressive rock supergroup * Circa (company), an American skateboard footwear company * Circa (contempora ...
6000 BC in the coastal provinces of
Chilca Chilca (Punta Lobos) is a rocket launch site in Peru at , near the town of Chilca in the municipality of Pucusana, about 70 km south of the center of Lima. Chilca was in service from 1974 and was mainly used for launching Arcas and Nike soundin ...
and Paracas, and in the highland province of
Callejón de Huaylas The Santa Valley (Quechua language, Quechua ''Sancta'') is an inter-andean valley in the Ancash Region in the north-central highlands of Peru. Due to its location between two mountain ranges, it is known as Callejón de Huaylas, the Alley of Huayl ...
. Over the next three thousand years, inhabitants switched from nomadic lifestyles to cultivating land, as evidenced from sites such as Jiskairumoko,
Kotosh Kotosh is an archaeological site near the town of Huánuco, Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by ...
, and
Huaca Prieta Huaca Prieta is the site of a prehistoric settlement beside the Pacific Ocean in the Chicama Valley, just north of Trujillo, La Libertad Province, Peru. It is a part of the El Brujo Archaeological Complex, which also includes Moche (culture) s ...
. Cultivation of plants such as
corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...
and
cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...
(''Gossypium barbadense'') began, as well as the domestication of animals such as the wild ancestors of the
llama The llama (; or ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a List of meat animals, meat and pack animal by Inca empire, Andean cultures since the pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with ...
, the
alpaca The alpaca (''Lama pacos'') is a species of South American camelid mammal. Traditionally, alpacas were kept in herds that grazed on the level heights of the Andes of Southern Peru, Western Bolivia, Ecuador, and Northern Chile. More recentl ...
and the
guinea pig The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig (''Cavia porcellus''), also known as the cavy or domestic cavy ( ), is a species of rodent belonging to the genus ''Cavia'', family Caviidae. Animal fancy, Breeders tend to use the name "cavy" for the ani ...
, as seen in the 6000 BC dated
Camelid Camelids are members of the biological family (biology), family Camelidae, the only currently living family in the suborder Tylopoda. The seven extant taxon, extant members of this group are: dromedary, dromedary camels, Bactrian camels, wild Bac ...
relief paintings in the Mollepunko caves in Callalli. Inhabitants practiced
spinning Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
and
knitting Knitting is a method for production of textile Knitted fabric, fabrics by interlacing yarn loops with loops of the same or other yarns. It is used to create many types of garments. Knitting may be done Hand knitting, by hand or Knitting machi ...
of cotton and wool,
basketry Basket weaving (also basketry or basket making) is the process of weaving or sewing pliable materials into three-dimensional artifacts, such as baskets, mats, mesh bags or even furniture. Craftspeople and artists specialized in making baskets ...
, and
pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...
. As these inhabitants became sedentary, farming allowed them to build settlements. As a result, new societies emerged along the coast and in the Andean mountains. The first known city in the Americas was
Caral The Sacred City of Caral-Supe, or simply Caral, is an archaeological site in Peru where the remains of the main city of the Caral civilization are found. It is located in the Supe valley of Peru, near the current town of Caral, 182 kilometers n ...
, located in the Supe Valley 200 km north of Lima. It was built in approximately 2500 BC. The remnants of this civilization, also known as Norte Chico, consists of approximately 30 pyramidal structures built up in receding terraces ending in a flat roof; some of them measuring up to 20 meters in height. Caral is regarded as one of several
cradles of civilization A cradle of civilization is a location and a culture where civilization was developed independent of other civilizations in other locations. A civilization is any complex society characterized by the development of state (polity), the state, ...
around the world where civilization emerged independent of other civilizations.Charles C. Mann, "Oldest Civilization in the Americas Revealed", ''Science'', 7 January 2005, accessed 1 Nov 2010. Quote: "Almost 5,000 years ago, ancient Peruvians built monumental temples and pyramids in dry valleys near the coast, showing that urban society in the Americas is as old as the most ancient civilizations of the Old World." In the early 21st century,
archeologists Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeolog ...
discovered new evidence of ancient pre-Ceramic complex cultures: three
irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...
canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...
s that were 5400 years old, and a possible fourth that was 6700 years old in the
Zaña Valley Zaña or Saña (''Çañap'' in mochica language, Mochica) is the capital of Zaña District in the Chiclayo Province of Lambayeque region in northern Peru. It is located inland from the Pacific Ocean at an elevation of in the valley of the Zaña ...
in northern Peru. This was the evidence of community agricultural improvements that occurred at a much earlier date than previously believed. In 2006, a research team discovered a 4200-year-old
observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Th ...
at Buena Vista. They believe the observatory was related to the society's reliance on agriculture and understanding of the seasons. The site includes the oldest three-dimensional sculptures found thus far in South America. In 2007, the archaeologist
Walter Alva Walter Alva (born 28 June 1951), born Walter Alva Alva, is a Peruvian archaeologist specializing in the study and excavation of the prehistoric Moche culture. He is known for two major finds: the tomb of the Lord of Sipan and related people in 1 ...
and his team found a 4000-year-old temple with painted murals at Ventarrón, in the northwest
Lambayeque region Lambayeque () is a Administrative divisions of Peru, department and Regional Government of Lambayeque, region in northwestern Peru known for its rich Moche culture, Moche and Chimú culture, Chimú historical past. The region's name originates ...
. The temple contained ceremonial offerings gained from an exchange with Peruvian jungle societies, as well as those from the
Ecuadorian Ecuadorians () are people identified with the South American country of Ecuador. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Ecuadorians, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source o ...
coast. Such finds show sophisticated, monumental construction requiring large-scale organization of labor, suggesting that hierarchical complex cultures arose in South America much earlier than previously thought. Many other civilizations developed and were absorbed by the most powerful ones such as
Kotosh Kotosh is an archaeological site near the town of Huánuco, Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by ...
; Chavin; Paracas;
Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...
; Nasca; Moche;
Tiwanaku Tiwanaku ( or ) is a Pre-Columbian archaeological site in western Bolivia, near Lake Titicaca, about 70 kilometers from La Paz, and it is one of the largest sites in South America. Surface remains currently cover around 4 square kilometers and in ...
; Wari; Lambayeque;
Chimu Chimor (also Kingdom of Chimor or Chimú Empire) was the political grouping of the Chimú culture (). The culture arose about 900 CE, succeeding the Moche culture, and was later conquered by the Inca emperor Topa Inca Yupanqui around 1470, f ...
and Chincha, among others. The
Paracas culture The Paracas culture was an Andean society existing between approximately 800 BCE and 100 BCE, with an extensive knowledge of irrigation and water management and that made significant contributions in the textile arts. It was located in what toda ...
emerged on the southern coast around 300 BC. They are known for their use of
vicuña The vicuña (''Lama vicugna'') or vicuna (both , very rarely spelled ''vicugna'', Vicugna, its former genus name) is one of the two wild South American camelids, which live in the high alpine tundra, alpine areas of the Andes; the other cameli ...
fibers instead of just
cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...
to produce fine
textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...
s—innovations that did not reach the northern coast of Peru until centuries later. Coastal cultures such as the Moche and
Nazca Nazca (; sometimes spelled Nasca; possibly from ) is a city and system of valleys on the southern coast of Peru. The city of Nazca is the largest in the Nazca Province. The name is derived from the Nazca culture, which flourished in the area be ...
flourished from about 100 BC to about AD 700: the Moche produced impressive metalwork, as well as some of the finest
pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...
seen in the ancient world, while the Nazca are known for their textiles and the enigmatic Nazca lines. These coastal cultures eventually began to decline as a result of recurring ''
el Niño EL, El or el may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * El, a character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit * Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fictional character in the TV series ''Stranger Things'' * El, fami ...
'' floods and droughts. In consequence, the
Huari Huari may refer to: *Huari culture, a historical civilization in Peru *Huari (archaeological site), an archaeological site in Peru *Huari, Peru, a town in Peru * Huari District, a district in the Huari Province, Peru * Huari Province, a province in ...
and
Tiwanaku Tiwanaku ( or ) is a Pre-Columbian archaeological site in western Bolivia, near Lake Titicaca, about 70 kilometers from La Paz, and it is one of the largest sites in South America. Surface remains currently cover around 4 square kilometers and in ...
, who dwelt inland in the
Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...
, became the predominant cultures of the region encompassing much of modern-day Peru and
Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
. They were succeeded by powerful
city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world throughout history, including cities such as Rome, ...
s such as
Chancay Chancay is a small city located north of Lima. Its population is 63,378. The Chancay culture was a pre-Columbian archaeological culture, later part of the Inca Empire. The small city is the site of the Chancay Mega-port, a deep water port buil ...
,
Sipán Huaca Rajada, also known as Sipán, is a Moche archaeological site in northern Peru in the Lambayeque Valley, that is famous for the tomb of '' Lord of Sipán'' (El Señor de Sipán), excavated by Walter Alva and his wife Susana Meneses begin ...
, and
Cajamarca Cajamarca (), also known by the Quechua name, ''Kashamarka'', is the capital and largest city of the Cajamarca Region as well as an important cultural and commercial center in the northern Andes. It is located in the northern highlands of Per ...
, and two empires:
Chimor Chimor (also Kingdom of Chimor or Chimú Empire) was the political grouping of the Chimú culture (). The culture arose about 900 CE, succeeding the Moche culture, and was later conquered by the Inca Empire, Inca emperor Topa Inca Yupanqui aro ...
and Chachapoyas. These cultures developed relatively advanced techniques of cultivation, gold and silver craft,
pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...
,
metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the ...
, and
knitting Knitting is a method for production of textile Knitted fabric, fabrics by interlacing yarn loops with loops of the same or other yarns. It is used to create many types of garments. Knitting may be done Hand knitting, by hand or Knitting machi ...
. Around 700 BC, they appear to have developed systems of social organization that were the precursors of the
Inca The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...
civilization. In the highlands, both the
Tiahuanaco Tiwanaku ( or ) is a Pre-Columbian archaeological site in western Bolivia, near Lake Titicaca, about 70 kilometers from La Paz, and it is one of the largest sites in South America. Surface remains currently cover around 4 square kilometers and in ...
culture, near
Lake Titicaca Lake Titicaca (; ; ) is a large freshwater lake in the Andes mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It is often called the highest navigable lake in the world. Titicaca is the largest lake in South America, both in terms of the volume of ...
in both Peru and
Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
, and the
Wari culture The Wari () were a Pre-Inca cultures, Middle Horizon civilization that flourished in the south-central Andes and coastal area of modern-day Peru, from about 500 to 1000 AD. Wari ruins, Wari, as the former capital city was called, is located no ...
, near the present-day city of
Ayacucho Ayacucho (, , derived from the words ''aya'' ("death" or "soul") and ''k'uchu'' ("corner") in honour of the battle of Ayacucho), founded in 1540 as San Juan de la Frontera de Huamanga and known simply as Huamanga (Quechua: Wamanga) until 1825, i ...
, developed large urban settlements and wide-ranging state systems between 500 and 1000 AD. While in the forested region of the Amazon, architectural excavations from the
Chachapoya The Chachapoyas, also called the "Warriors of the Clouds", were a culture of the Andes living in the cloud forests of the southern part of the Department of Amazonas of present-day Peru. The Inca Empire conquered their civilization shortly be ...
and the Wari culture allow for the evidence of complex societal presences prior to the conquest of Amazonas region by the Incan Empire. As the Incan empire expanded, it defeated and assimilated Andean cultures like the
Chachapoyas culture The Chachapoyas, also called the "Warriors of the Clouds", were a culture of the Andes living in the cloud forests of the southern part of the Department of Amazonas of present-day Peru. The Inca Empire conquered their civilization shortly be ...
. Archaeologists revealed the largest mass child sacrifice with more than 140 child skeletons and 200
Llama The llama (; or ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a List of meat animals, meat and pack animal by Inca empire, Andean cultures since the pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with ...
s dating to the
Chimú culture Chimor (also Kingdom of Chimor or Chimú Empire) was the political grouping of the Chimú culture (). The culture arose about 900 CE, succeeding the Moche culture, and was later conquered by the Inca emperor Topa Inca Yupanqui around 1470, f ...
. In September 2021, archaeologists announced the remains of eight 800-year-old bodies nearby ancient town of Chilca. Researchers think remains belong to the Chilca culture, which was apart from other pre-Hispanic cultures in the area.


Inca Empire (1438–1532)

The
Incas The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The Inca civilisation rose fr ...
built the largest and most advanced empire and dynasty of
pre-Columbian America In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European c ...
. The Tahuantinsuyo—which is derived from
Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several Indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, an Indigenous South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language ...
for "The Four United Regions"—reached its greatest extension at the beginning of the 16th century. It dominated a territory that included (from north to south) the southwest part of
Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
, part of
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
, the main territory of
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
, the northern part of
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
, and the northwest part of
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
; and from east to west, from the southwest part of
Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
to the Amazonian forests. The empire originated from a tribe based in
Cusco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous Cusco Province, province and Cusco Region, department. The city was the cap ...
, which became the capital.
Pachacuti Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, also called Pachacútec (), was the ninth Sapa Inca of the Chiefdom of Cusco, which he transformed into the Inca Empire (). Most archaeologists now believe that the famous Inca site of Machu Picchu was built as an ...
wasn't the first Inca regent, but he was the first ruler to considerably expand the boundaries of the
Cusco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous Cusco Province, province and Cusco Region, department. The city was the cap ...
state. His offspring later ruled an empire by both violent invasions and peaceful conquests, that is, intermarriages among the rulers of small kingdoms and the current Inca ruler. In
Cuzco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous province and department. The city was the capital of the Inca Empire unti ...
, the royal city was created to resemble a
cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...
; the head, the main royal structure, formed what is now known as
Sacsayhuamán Sacsayhuamán ( ; ) or Saksaywaman (from Quechuan languages, Quechua , , ) is a citadel on the northern outskirts of the city of Cusco, Peru, the historic capital of the Inca Empire. The site is at an altitude of . The complex was built by t ...
. The empire's administrative, political, and military center was located in Cusco. The empire was divided into four quarters: Chinchaysuyu,
Antisuyu Antisuyu ( , ; ) was the eastern part of the Inca Empire which bordered on the modern-day Upper Amazon region which the Asháninka, Anti inhabited. Along with Chinchaysuyu, it was part of the ''Inca Government#Organization of the empire, Hanan ...
, Kuntisuyu and
Qullasuyu Qullasuyu ( Quechua and Aymara spelling, ; ''Collasuyu, Kholla Suyu''; ) was the southeastern provincial region of the Inca Empire. Qullasuyu is the region of the Qulla and related specifically to the native Qulla Quechuas who primarily resided ...
. The official language was
Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several Indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, an Indigenous South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language ...
, the language of a neighbouring tribe of the original tribe of the empire. Conquered populations—tribes, kingdoms, states, and cities—were allowed to practice their own religions and lifestyles, but had to recognize Inca cultural practices as superior to their own.
Inti Inti is the ancient Inca mythology, Inca solar deity, sun god. He is revered as the national Tutelary deity, patron of the Inca state. Although most consider Inti the sun god, he is more appropriately viewed as a cluster of solar aspects, since t ...
, the sun god, was to be worshipped as one of the most important gods of the empire. His representation on earth was the Inca ("Emperor"). The
Tawantinsuyu The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The Inca civilisation rose fr ...
was organized in dominions with a stratified society in which the ruler was the Inca. It was also supported by an economy based on the collective property of the land. The empire, being quite large, also had an impressive transportation system of roads to all points of the empire called the Inca Trail, and
chasquis A ''chasqui'' (also spelled chaski) was a messenger of the Inca Empire. Agile, highly trained and physically fit, they were in charge of carrying messages in the form of quipus, oral information, or small packets. Along the Inca road system the ...
, message carriers who relayed information from anywhere in the empire to Cusco.
Machu Picchu Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru on a mountain ridge at . Often referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas", it is the most familiar icon of the Inca Empire. It is located in the ...
(sometimes called the "Lost City of the Incas") is a well-preserved pre-Columbian Inca ruin located on a high mountain ridge above the
Urubamba Valley The Sacred Valley of the Incas (; ), or the Urubamba Valley, is a valley in the Andes of Peru, north of the Inca capital of Cusco. It is located in the present-day Peruvian region of Cusco. In colonial documents it was referred to as the "Vall ...
, about 70 km (44 mi) northwest of Cusco. Elevation measurements vary depending on whether the data refer to the ruin or the extremity of the mountain; Machu Picchu tourist information reports the elevation as 2,350 m (7,711 ft) Forgotten for centuries by the outside world (although not by locals), it was brought back to international attention by Yale archaeologist
Hiram Bingham III Hiram Bingham III (November 19, 1875 – June 6, 1956) was an American academic, explorer and politician. In 1911, he publicized the existence of the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu which he rediscovered with the guidance of local indigenous farm ...
. Bingham, often cited as the inspiration for Indiana Jones, "scientifically rediscovered" the site in 1911 and brought international attention to the site with his best-selling book ''Lost City of the Incas''. However,
Agustín Lizárraga Agustín Lizárraga Ruiz ( 12 June 1865 – 11 February 1912) was a Peruvian explorer and farmer who discovered Machu Picchu on 14 July 1902, nine years prior to American explorer Hiram Bingham. Biography Early life He was born in M ...
already reached the site on July 14, 1902 and left the inscription "A. Lizárraga 1902" on the Temple of Three Windows. Peru is pursuing legal efforts to retrieve thousands of artifacts that Bingham removed from the site and sold to the current owners at Yale University.


Spanish era


Spanish conquest (1532–1572)

The word ''Peru'' may be derived from ''Birú'', the name of a local ruler who lived near the
Bay of San Miguel The Bay of San Miguel or Gulf of San Miguel () is a bay of the Gulf of Panama, located on the Pacific coast of Darién Province in eastern Panama. The bay is located at . The bay is the drainage of the Geography of Panama#Chucunaque-Tuira Basi ...
,
Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
, in the early 16th century. When his possessions were visited by Spanish explorers in 1522, they were the southernmost part of the New World yet known to Europeans. Thus, when
Francisco Pizarro Francisco Pizarro, Marquess of the Atabillos (; ; – 26 June 1541) was a Spanish ''conquistador'', best known for his expeditions that led to the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Born in Trujillo, Cáceres, Trujillo, Spain, to a poor fam ...
explored the regions farther south, they came to be designated Birú or Peru. An alternative history is provided by the contemporary writer Inca Garcilasco de la Vega, son of an Inca princess and a conquistador. He says the name ''Birú'' was that of a common Indian happened upon by the crew of a ship on an exploratory mission for governor Pedro Arias de Ávila, and goes on to relate many more instances of misunderstandings due to the lack of a common language. The
Spanish Crown The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...
gave the name legal status with the 1529 '' Capitulación de Toledo'', which designated the newly encountered
Inca Empire The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...
as the province of Peru. Under Spanish rule, the country adopted the denomination
Viceroyalty of Peru The Viceroyalty of Peru (), officially known as the Kingdom of Peru (), was a Monarchy of Spain, Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in ...
, which became Republic of Peru after
independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...
. When the
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
landed in 1531,
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
's territory was the nucleus of the highly developed
Inca civilization The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The Inca civilisation rose fro ...
. Centered at
Cuzco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous province and department. The city was the capital of the Inca Empire unti ...
, the Inca Empire extended over a vast region, stretching from southwest
Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
to northern
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
.
Francisco Pizarro Francisco Pizarro, Marquess of the Atabillos (; ; – 26 June 1541) was a Spanish ''conquistador'', best known for his expeditions that led to the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Born in Trujillo, Cáceres, Trujillo, Spain, to a poor fam ...
and his brothers were attracted by the news of a rich and fabulous kingdom. In 1532, they arrived in the country, which they called Peru. (The forms ''Biru'', ''Pirú'', and ''Berú'' are also seen in early records.) According to
Raúl Porras Barrenechea Raúl Porras Barrenechea (23 March 1897 – 27 September 1960) was a Peruvian diplomat, historian and politician. He was President of the Senate in 1957 and Minister of Foreign Affairs between 1958 and 1960. A well-known figure of the student m ...
, Peru is not a
Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several Indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, an Indigenous South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language ...
n nor
Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
word, but Indo-Hispanic or hybrid. In the years between 1524 and 1526,
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...
, introduced from the conquistadors in Panama and preceding the Spanish conquerors in Peru through transmission among natives, had swept through the Inca Empire. Smallpox caused the death of the Inca ruler
Huayna Capac Huayna Capac (; Cuzco Quechua: ''Wayna Qhapaq'' ) (before 14931527) was the third Sapa Inca of Tawantinsuyu, the Inca Empire. He was the son of and successor to Túpac Inca Yupanqui,Sarmiento de Gamboa, Pedro; 2015, originally published in Sp ...
as well as most of his family including his heir, caused the fall of the Inca political structure and contributed to the
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
between the brothers
Atahualpa Atahualpa (), also Atawallpa or Ataw Wallpa ( Quechua) ( 150226 July 1533), was the last effective Inca emperor, reigning from April 1532 until his capture and execution in July of the following year, as part of the Spanish conquest of the In ...
and
Huáscar Huáscar (; Quechua: ''Waskar Inka'') also Guazcar (before 15271532) was Sapa Inca of the Inca Empire from 1527 to 1532. He succeeded his father, Huayna Capac and his brother Ninan Cuyochi, both of whom died of smallpox during the same year ...
. Taking advantage of this,
Pizarro Francisco Pizarro, Marquess of the Atabillos (; ; – 26 June 1541) was a Spanish ''conquistador'', best known for his expeditions that led to the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Born in Trujillo, Spain, to a poor family, Pizarro chose ...
carried out a ''
coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
''. On 16 November 1532, while the Atahualpa's victorious army was in an unarmed celebration in
Cajamarca Cajamarca (), also known by the Quechua name, ''Kashamarka'', is the capital and largest city of the Cajamarca Region as well as an important cultural and commercial center in the northern Andes. It is located in the northern highlands of Per ...
, the Spanish lured Atahualpa into a trap during the
Battle of Cajamarca The Battle of Cajamarca, also spelled Cajamalca (though many contemporary scholars prefer to call it the Cajamarca massacre), was the ambush and seizure of the Incan ruler Atahualpa by a small Spanish force led by Francisco Pizarro, on November ...
. The well-armed 168 Spaniards killed thousands of barely armed Inca soldiers and captured the newly minted Inca ruler, causing a great consternation among the natives and conditioning the future course of the fight. When Huáscar was killed, the Spanish tried and convicted Atahualpa of the murder, executing him by strangulation. For a period, Pizarro maintained the ostensible authority of the
Inca The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...
, recognizing
Túpac Huallpa Túpac Huallpa (alternatively ''Tupaq Wallpa'' or ''Huallpa Túpac)''; before July 1533 – October 1533), original name Awki Wallpa Túpaq, was the first vassal Sapa Inca installed by the Spanish conquistadors, during the Spanish conquest of ...
as the
Sapa Inca The Sapa Inca (from ; ) was the monarch of the Inca Empire (''Tawantinsuyu'' "the region of the four rovinces), as well as ruler of the earlier Kingdom of Cusco and the later Neo-Inca State at Vilcabamba, Peru, Vilcabamba. While the origins ...
after Atahualpa's death. But the conqueror's abuses made this facade too obvious. Spanish domination consolidated itself as successive indigenous rebellions were bloodily repressed. By 23 March 1534, Pizarro and the Spanish had re-founded the Inca city of Cuzco as a new Spanish colonial settlement. Establishing a stable colonial government was delayed for some time by native revolts and bands of the ''
Conquistadores Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...
'' (led by Pizarro and
Diego de Almagro Diego de Almagro (; – July 8, 1538), also known as El Adelantado and El Viejo, was a Spanish conquistador known for his exploits in western South America. He participated with Francisco Pizarro in the Spanish conquest of Peru. While subduing ...
) fighting among themselves. A long civil war developed, from which Pizarro emerged victorious at the
Battle of Las Salinas The Battle of Las Salinas was a military conflict and decisive confrontation between the forces of Hernando and Gonzalo Pizarro against those of rival conquistador Diego de Almagro, on April 26, 1538, during the Conquest of Peru. Both camps ...
. In 1541, Pizarro was assassinated by a faction led by
Diego de Almagro II Diego de Almagro II (1520 – September 16, 1542), called ''El Mozo'' (the lad), was the son of Spanish conquistador Diego de Almagro and Ana Martínez, a native Panamanian woman.Alvarez Gómez, OrielSor Imelda y la primera mujer foránea q ...
(''El Mozo''), and the stability of the original colonial regime was shaken up in the ensuing
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. Despite this, the Spaniards did not neglect the colonizing process. Its most significant milestone was the foundation of
Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...
in January 1535, from which the political and administrative institutions were organized. The new rulers instituted the ''encomienda'' system, by which the Spanish extracted tribute from the local population, part of which was forwarded to
Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
in return for converting the natives to Christianity. Title to the land itself remained with the
king of Spain The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...
. As governor of Peru, Pizarro used the ''encomienda'' system to grant virtually unlimited authority over groups of native Peruvians to his soldier companions, thus forming the colonial land-tenure structure. The indigenous inhabitants of Peru were now expected to raise
Old World The "Old World" () is a term for Afro-Eurasia coined by Europeans after 1493, when they became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia in the Eastern Hemisphere, previously ...
cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...
,
poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, Eggs as food, eggs or feathers. The practice of animal husbandry, raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typ ...
, and crops for their landlords. Resistance was punished severely, giving rise to the " Black Legend". The necessity of consolidating Spanish royal authority over these territories led to the creation of a
Real Audiencia A ''Real Audiencia'' (), or simply an ''Audiencia'' (), was an appellate court in Spain and its empire. The name of the institution literally translates as Royal Audience. The additional designation ''chancillería'' (or ''cancillería'', Catala ...
(Royal Audience). In 1542 or 1543, the
Viceroyalty of Peru The Viceroyalty of Peru (), officially known as the Kingdom of Peru (), was a Monarchy of Spain, Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in ...
(''Virreinato del Perú'') was established, with authority over most of Spanish-ruled South America.
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
,
Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
,
Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
(after 1571) and
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
were split off as the
Viceroyalty of New Granada The Viceroyalty of the New Kingdom of Granada ( ), also called Viceroyalty of New Granada or Viceroyalty of Santa Fe, was the name given on 27 May 1717 to the jurisdiction of the Spanish Empire in northern South America, corresponding to modern ...
(''Virreinato de Nueva Granada'') in 1717, and
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
,
Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
,
Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...
, and
Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...
were set up as the
Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata or Viceroyalty of Buenos Aires ( or Virreinato de Buenos Aires or ) meaning "River of the Silver", also called the "Viceroyalty of River Plate" in some scholarly writings, in southern South America, was ...
in 1776). After Pizarro's death, there were numerous internal problems, and Spain finally sent
Blasco Núñez Vela Blasco Núñez Vela (c. 1490 – January 18, 1546) was the first Spanish viceroy of South America ("Viceroyalty of Peru"). Serving from May 15, 1544 to January 18, 1546, he was charged by Charles V with the enforcement of the controversial ...
to be Peru's first viceroy in 1544. He was later killed by Pizarro's brother,
Gonzalo Pizarro Gonzalo Pizarro y Alonso (; 1510 – 10 April 1548) was a Spanish conquistador. He was the younger paternal half brother of Francisco Pizarro, who led the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Pizarro was the illegitimate son of Gonzalo Pizarro y ...
, but a new viceroy,
Pedro de la Gasca Pedro de la Gasca (June 1485 – 13 November 1567) was a Spanish bishop, diplomat and the second (acting) viceroy of Peru, from 10 April 1547 to 27 January 1550. He was known by his renowned political ability in spite of his physical deformi ...
, eventually managed to restore order. He captured and executed Gonzalo Pizarro. A census taken by the last
Quipu ''Quipu'' ( ), also spelled ''khipu'', are record keeping devices fashioned from knotted cords. They were historically used by various cultures in the central Andes of South America, most prominently by the Inca Empire. A ''quipu'' usually cons ...
camayoc indicated that there were 12 million inhabitants of Inca Peru; 45 years later, under viceroy Toledo, the census figures amounted to only 1,100,000 Inca. Historian
Noble David Cook Noble David Cook (1941 - April 8, 2024) was a historian and author who studied the history of colonial Peru. He taught at the Florida International University from 1992, and was made a professor emeritus there in 2017. Career Cook earnt a maste ...
estimates that their population decreased from an estimated 9 million in the 1520s to around 600,000 in 1620 mainly because of
infectious disease An infection is the invasion of tissue (biology), tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host (biology), host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmis ...
s. While the attrition was not an organized attempt at
genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...
, the results were similar. Scholars now believe that, among the various contributing factors,
epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of hosts in a given population within a short period of time. For example, in meningococcal infection ...
disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that adversely affects the structure or function (biology), function of all or part of an organism and is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical condi ...
such as
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...
(unlike the Spanish, the
Amerindians In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...
had no immunity to the disease) was the overwhelming cause of the population decline of the American natives. Inca cities were given Spanish Christian names and rebuilt as Spanish towns centered around a
plaza A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Rela ...
with a church or cathedral facing an official residence. A few Inca cities like Cuzco retained native masonry for the foundations of their walls. Other Inca sites, like Huanuco Viejo, were abandoned for cities at lower altitudes more hospitable to the Spanish.


Viceroyalty of Peru (1542–1824)

In 1542, the Spanish Crown created the
Viceroyalty of Peru The Viceroyalty of Peru (), officially known as the Kingdom of Peru (), was a Monarchy of Spain, Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in ...
, which was reorganized after the arrival of Viceroy
Francisco de Toledo Francisco Álvarez de Toledo ( Oropesa, 10 July 1515 – Escalona, 21 April 1582), also known as ''The Viceroyal Solon'', was an aristocrat and soldier of the Kingdom of Spain and the fifth Viceroy of Peru. Often regarded as the "best of ...
in 1572. He put an end to the indigenous
Neo-Inca State The Neo-Inca State, also known as the Neo-Inca state of Vilcabamba, was the Inca state established in 1537 at Vilcabamba, Peru, Vilcabamba by Manco Inca Yupanqui (the son of Inca emperor Huayna Capac). It is considered a rump state of the Inca ...
in Vilcabamba and executed
Tupac Amaru I Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...
. He also sought economic development through commercial monopoly and mineral extraction, mainly from the silver mines of
Potosí Potosí, known as Villa Imperial de Potosí in the colonial period, is the capital city and a municipality of the Potosí Department, Department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the list of highest cities in the world, highest cities in the wo ...
. He reused the Inca '' mita'', a forced labor program, to mobilize native communities for mining work. This organization transformed Peru into the principal source of Spanish wealth and power in South America. The town of
Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...
, founded by Pizarro on 18 January 1535 as the "Ciudad de Reyes" (City of Kings), became the seat of the new viceroyalty. It grew into a powerful city, with jurisdiction over most of Spanish South America. Precious metals passed through Lima on their way to the
Isthmus of Panama The Isthmus of Panama, historically known as the Isthmus of Darien, is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North America, North and South America. The country of Panama is located on the i ...
and from there to
Seville, Spain Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...
for the Atlantic route. For the Pacific, it passed to Mexico and disembarked from the port of Acapulco and eventually arrived at the Philippines. By the 18th century, Lima had become a distinguished and aristocratic colonial capital, seat of a university and the chief Spanish stronghold in the Americas. Peru was thus wealthy and highly populated.
Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera Sebastian may refer to: People and fictional characters * Sebastian (name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Saint Sebastian, a Christian saint martyred in the 3rd century * Sebastian of Portugal (1554–1578 ...
, governor of
Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
settled
Zamboanga City Zamboanga City, officially the City of Zamboanga (; ; Subanen languages, Subanen: ''Bagbenwa Sembwangan''; Sama–Bajaw languages, Sama: ''Lungsud Samboangan''; ; ; ) is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city i ...
in the Philippines, where residents now speak a
Spanish Creole A Spanish creole (), or Spanish-based creole language, is a creole language (contact language with native speakers) for which Spanish serves as its substantial '' lexifier''. A number of creole languages are influenced to varying degrees by th ...
, by employing soldiers and colonists recruited from the towns of Peru. Nevertheless, throughout the eighteenth century, further away from Lima in the provinces, the Spanish did not have complete control. The Spanish could not govern the provinces without the help of local elite. This local elite, who governed under the title of Curaca, took pride in their Incan history. Additionally, throughout the eighteenth century, indigenous people rebelled against the Spanish. Two of the most important rebellions were that of Juan Santos Atahualpa in 1742 in the Andean jungle provinces of
Tarma Santa Ana de la Ribera de Tarma, known as Tarma, is the capital city of Tarma Province in Junín Region, Peru. The city has a population of 43,042 as of the 2017 census. History Pre-Hispanic era Recent archaeological excavations show that pri ...
and
Jauja Jauja (Shawsha Wanka Quechua: , or , formerly in Spanish , with pronunciation of "x" as "sh") is a city and capital of Jauja Province in Peru. It is situated in the fertile Mantaro Valley, to the northwest of Huancayo (the capital of Junín ...
, which expelled the Spanish from a large area, and the Rebellion of
Túpac Amaru II Tupac Amaru II (born José Gabriel Condorcanqui Noguera, – 18 May 1781) was an Indigenous ''cacique'' who led a Rebellion of Túpac Amaru II, large Andean rebellion against the Viceroyalty of Peru, Spanish in Peru as Self-proclaimed monarc ...
in 1780 around the highlands near Cuzco. At the time, an economic crisis was developing due to creation of the Viceroyalties of
New Granada New Granada may refer to various former national denominations for the present-day country of Colombia: *New Kingdom of Granada, from 1538 to 1717 *Viceroyalty of New Granada, from 1717 to 1810, re-established from 1816 to 1822 *United Provinces of ...
and
Rio de la Plata Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Fl ...
(at the expense of its territory), the duty exemptions that moved the commercial center from
Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...
to
Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...
and
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
, and the decrease of the mining and textile production. This crisis proved favorable for the indigenous rebellion of Túpac Amaru II and determined the progressive decay of the Viceroyalty of Peru. In 1808, Napoleon invaded the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...
and took the king,
Ferdinand VII Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (the Desired), and af ...
, hostage. Later in 1812, the Cadíz Cortes, the national legislative assembly of Spain, promulgated a liberal Constitution of Cadiz. These events inspired emancipating ideas between the Spanish Criollo people throughout the Spanish America. In Peru, the Creole rebellion of
Huánuco Huánuco (; ) is a city in central Peru. It had a population of 196,627 as of 2017 and in 2015 it had a population of 175,068. It is the capital of the Huánuco Region and the Huánuco District. It is the seat of the diocese of Huánuco. The met ...
arose in 1812 and the rebellion of
Cuzco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous province and department. The city was the capital of the Inca Empire unti ...
arose between 1814 and 1816. Despite these rebellions, the
Criollo Criollo or criolla (Spanish for creole) may refer to: People * Criollo people, a social class in the Spanish colonial system. Animals * Criollo duck, a species of duck native to Central and South America. * Criollo cattle, a group of cattle bre ...
oligarchy in Peru remained mostly Spanish loyalist, which accounts for the fact that the
Viceroyalty of Peru The Viceroyalty of Peru (), officially known as the Kingdom of Peru (), was a Monarchy of Spain, Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in ...
became the last redoubt of the Spanish dominion in South America.


Wars of independence (1811–1824)

Peru's movement toward independence was launched by an uprising of Spanish-American landowners and their forces, led by
José de San Martín José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras (; 25 February 177817 August 1850), nicknamed "the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru", was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and central parts of South America's succe ...
of
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
and
Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24July 178317December 1830) was a Venezuelan statesman and military officer who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bol ...
of
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
. San Martín, who had displaced the royalists of Chile after the
Battle of Chacabuco The Battle of Chacabuco, fought during the Chilean War of Independence, took place on February 12, 1817. The Army of the Andes, from the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata and led by Captain (land), Captain–General José de San Martín, ...
, and who had disembarked in Paracas in 1819, led the military campaign of 4,200 soldiers. The expedition, which included warships, was organized and financed by Chile which sailed from
Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...
in August 1820. San Martin proclaimed the independence of Peru in
Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...
on 28 July 1821, with the words "... From this moment on, Peru is free and independent, by the general will of the people and the justice of its cause that God defends. Long live the homeland! Long live freedom! Long live our independence!". San Martín received the title of "Protector of Peruvian Freedom" in August 1821 after partially liberating Peru from the Spanish.Arana, M., 2013, ''Bolivar'', New York: Simon & Schuster, On 26 and 27 July 1822, Bolívar held the Guayaquil Conference with San Martín and attempted to decide the political fate of Peru. San Martín opted for a constitutional monarchy, whilst Bolivar (Head of the Northern Expedition) favored a republic. Nonetheless, they both followed the notion that it was to be independent of Spain. Following the interview, San Martin abandoned Peru on 22 September 1822 and left the whole command of the independence movement to Simon Bolivar. The Peruvian congress named Bolivar dictator of Peru on 10 February 1824, which allowed him to reorganize the political and military administration completely. Assisted by general
Antonio José de Sucre Antonio José de Sucre y Alcalá (; 3 February 1795 – 4 June 1830), known as the "Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho" (), was a Venezuelan general and politician who served as the president of Bolivia from 1825 to 1828. A close friend and associate ...
, Bolívar decisively defeated the Spanish
cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...
at the
Battle of Junín The Battle of Junín was a large cavalry engagement of the Peruvian War of Independence, fought in the highlands of the Junín Region on 6 August 1824. The preceding February the royalists had regained control of Lima, and having regrouped in T ...
on 6 August 1824. Sucre destroyed the still numerically superior remnants of the Spanish forces at
Ayacucho Ayacucho (, , derived from the words ''aya'' ("death" or "soul") and ''k'uchu'' ("corner") in honour of the battle of Ayacucho), founded in 1540 as San Juan de la Frontera de Huamanga and known simply as Huamanga (Quechua: Wamanga) until 1825, i ...
on 9 December 1824. The war would not end until the last royalist holdouts surrendered the
Real Felipe Fortress The Real Felipe Fortress is a fortress located within the Monumental Zone of Callao, Peru. It was built to defend the main port of the country, as well as the city of Lima from pirates and corsairs during colonial times. The fortress was subject ...
in 1826. The victory brought about political independence, but there remained indigenous and
mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...
supporters of the monarchy and in Huanta Province, they rebelled in 1825–28, which is known as ''the war of the punas'' or the Huanta Rebellion. Spain made futile attempts to regain its former colonies, such as the
Battle of Callao The Battle of Callao (, as it is known in South America) occurred on May 2, 1866, between a Spanish Empire, Spanish fleet under the command of Admiral Casto Méndez Núñez and the fortified battery emplacements of the Peruvian port city of Cal ...
(1866), and only in 1879 finally recognized Peruvian independence.


Republican era

The republican era of Peru is usually considered to begin after the declaration of independence or the
Battle of Ayacucho The Battle of Ayacucho (, ) was a decisive military encounter during the Peruvian War of Independence. This battle secured the independence of Peru and ensured independence for the rest of belligerent South American states. In Peru it is conside ...
in 1824, and its periods are modelled after
Jorge Basadre Jorge Alfredo Basadre Grohmann (12 February 1903 – 29 June 1980) was a Peruvian historian known for his extensive publications about the independent history of his country. He served during two different administrations as Minister of Educati ...
's work, '' Historia de la República del Perú''.


Beginnings of the Republic (1824–1836)

After the
Battle of Ayacucho The Battle of Ayacucho (, ) was a decisive military encounter during the Peruvian War of Independence. This battle secured the independence of Peru and ensured independence for the rest of belligerent South American states. In Peru it is conside ...
, Spanish General José de Canterac signed the final capitulation of the Royalist Army in Peru. Despite the Spanish capitulation,
relations Relation or relations may refer to: General uses * International relations, the study of interconnection of politics, economics, and law on a global level * Interpersonal relationship, association or acquaintance between two or more people * ...
between both states would not be established until 1879. During this era, the First Militarism (), a period where several military figures held control of the country, started in 1827, with
José de La Mar José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...
's presidency.


Spanish resistance

By the time the capitulation had been signed, the royalist forces in Peru occupied the southern provinces, slowly surrendering to the rebels. Despite the apparent end of the successful
patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot(s) or The Patriot(s) may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American R ...
campaigns, two Spanish figures refused to accept the capitulation and established themselves in
Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists ...
and
Upper Peru Upper Peru (; ) is a name for the land that was governed by the Real Audiencia of Charcas. The name originated in Buenos Aires towards the end of the 18th century after the Audiencia of Charcas was transferred from the Viceroyalty of Peru to th ...
:
José Ramón Rodil José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...
and
Pedro Antonio Olañeta Pedro Antonio de Olañeta y Marquiegui (October 16, 1770 in Elgueta, Gipuzkoa, Spain – April 2, 1825 in Tumusla, Potosí Department, Bolivia) was a Royalist commander in the army of the Spanish Empire who fought against the South American insurg ...
, respectively. Additionally, a resistance in Ayacucho led by Antonio Huachaca would remain until its dissolution in 1839. Olañeta, who established himself in
Potosí Potosí, known as Villa Imperial de Potosí in the colonial period, is the capital city and a municipality of the Potosí Department, Department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the list of highest cities in the world, highest cities in the wo ...
, soon became the focus of a campaign commanded by
Antonio José de Sucre Antonio José de Sucre y Alcalá (; 3 February 1795 – 4 June 1830), known as the "Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho" (), was a Venezuelan general and politician who served as the president of Bolivia from 1825 to 1828. A close friend and associate ...
. The campaign began in January and ended in April 1825, with the
battle of Tumusla The Battle of Tumusla was the last battle between regular forces during the Bolivian War of Independence and one of the last encounters of the Spanish American wars of independence. This battle was fought on 1 April 1825, near the village of Tu ...
of April 1, where Olañeta was fatally wounded after being shot and died the day after. Rodil, on the other hand, established himself in the
Real Felipe Fortress The Real Felipe Fortress is a fortress located within the Monumental Zone of Callao, Peru. It was built to defend the main port of the country, as well as the city of Lima from pirates and corsairs during colonial times. The fortress was subject ...
of the port of Callao, near
Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...
, expecting Spanish reinforcements that would never come. The capital city itself had been retaken by Royalist troops until the arrival of reinforcements for the Patriot side. This led to Rodil's forces being besieged from December 5, 1824, to January 23, 1826, and becoming the final Spanish stronghold in South America. The deteriorating conditions of the besieged fortress eventually led to the surrender of Rodil and his forces due to their inability to continue the siege alive.


Bolivarian era

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24July 178317December 1830) was a Venezuelan statesman and military officer who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bol ...
, who became dictator of Peru on January 17, 1824, notified the
Constituent Congress A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
of his resignation of his office, which was not accepted, instead being extended until 1827. During this time, he travelled to southern and Upper Peru, and the final
flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...
and
coat of arms of Peru The coat of arms of Peru is the national symbolic emblem of Peru. Four variants are used: the coat of arms ''per se'', the National Coat of Arms (or the National Shield), the Great Seal of the State, and the Naval Coat of Arms. Official descrip ...
was established on February 25, 1825, the latter designed by . Upper Peru, whose public opinion was split between joining Peru or the United Provinces, soon saw a new train of thought establish itself, which suggested that the region become an independent state. Soon, the State of Upper Peru was established as an independent state, later becoming
Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
. Bolívar was in charge of the constitution, as well as Peru's and later Colombia's. The similarities between the constitutions was related to his desire to establish a federation in America, which led to the
Congress of Panama The Congress of Panama (also referred to as the Amphictyonic Congress, in homage to the Amphictyonic League of Ancient Greece) was a congress organized by Simón Bolívar in 1826 with the goal of bringing together the new republics of Latin Ameri ...
and later the anti-Bolivarian sentiment that led to him leaving Peru on September 3, 1826. A year later, the Constituent Congress was dissolved.


Conflict with Bolivia and Colombia

José de La Mar José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...
became president of Peru on August 22, 1827, having been chosen by the new Congress. Under his presidency, Peru went to war with Bolivia and Colombia due to the perceived disadvantage that Peru saw itself in due to being surrounded by Bolivarian countries. A Peruvian invasion of Bolivia headed by
Agustín Gamarra Agustín Gamarra Messia (27 August 1785 – 18 November 1841) was a Peruvian soldier and politician, who served as the 4th and 6th President of Peru. Gamarra was a Mestizo, being of mixed Spanish and Quechua descent. He had a military life s ...
began on May 1, 1828. The Peruvian Army soon occupied the Bolivian department of La Paz, established a pro-Peruvian government and successfully deported the Colombian troops stationed in the country via ships paid by Bolivia that departed from the Peruvian port of
Arica Arica ( ; ) is a commune and a port city with a population of 222,619 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica y Parinacota Region. It is Chile's northernmost city, being located only south of the border with Peru. The city is the ca ...
. The events in Bolivia led to war between Peru and Colombia, which ended with the Battle of Tarqui on February 27, 1829, after which an armistice was signed. The breach of the armistice almost led to a continuation of the war, an event that was prevented by the political instability in Peru that led to the deposition of La Mar by
Agustín Gamarra Agustín Gamarra Messia (27 August 1785 – 18 November 1841) was a Peruvian soldier and politician, who served as the 4th and 6th President of Peru. Gamarra was a Mestizo, being of mixed Spanish and Quechua descent. He had a military life s ...
, who signed a peace treaty with Colombia.


Later instability

A
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
broke out in 1834, by revolutionaries who opposed Orbegoso as a successor of Gamarra. Orbegoso proved popular with the population, and the revolution was eventually repressed, with Orbegoso, who had established himself in the Real Felipe Fortress, returning to Lima on May 3, 1834. Desires to unite the regions of lower and upper Peru eventually led to the
Salaverry-Santa Cruz War The Salaverry-Santa Cruz War, sometimes called the Peruvian Civil War of 1835–1836, was an internal conflict in Peru with the involvement of the Bolivian army of Andres de Santa Cruz. It ended with the defeat and execution of Felipe Santiago ...
, which itself led to the establishment of the Republic of South Peru on March 17, 1836, and the Republic of North Peru on August 11, 1836, with
Andrés de Santa Cruz Andrés de Santa Cruz y Calahumana (; 30 November 1792 – 25 September 1865) was a Bolivian general and politician who served as interim president of Peru in 1827, the interim president of Peru from 1836 to 1838 and the sixth president of ...
appointing himself the Supreme Protector of both states. The establishment of these states later ended with the establishment of the
Peru–Bolivian Confederation The Peru–Bolivian Confederation () was a short-lived state that existed in South America between 1836 and 1839. The country was a loose confederation made up of three states: North Peru and South Peru—states that arose from the division of th ...
.


Peru-Bolivian Confederation (1836–1839)

The establishment of the Peru-Bolivian Confederation soon led to war, as Peruvian exiles, as well as neighboring
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
and
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
opposed the existence of the state. Peruvian opposition manifested itself in the
War of the Confederation The War of the Confederation () was a military confrontation waged by the United Restoration Army, the alliance of the land and naval forces of Chile and the Restoration Army of Peru, formed in 1836 by Peruvian soldiers opposed to the conf ...
, which included the secession of North Peru, whose president, Luis de Orbegoso, established the Restoration Army of Peru that was defeated at the Battle of Guías; and the establishment by Peruvian exiles in Chile of the
United Restoration Army The United Restoration Army, also called simply as the Restoration Army, was a land military force that operated between the years 1837 and 1839, which had the objective of ending the Peru-Bolivian Confederation, led by General Andrés de Sant ...
, which fought against the confederation until its defeat in the
Battle of Yungay The Battle of Yungay (or Yungai) was the final battle of the War of the Confederation, fought on January 20, 1839, near Santo Domingo de Yungay, Yungay, Peru. The United Restoration Army, led by Chilean General Manuel Bulnes, consisting mainly ...
, which led to its dissolution. The conflict against the confederation also saw a southern theater, known as the War of Tarija, which was the conflict between Argentina and the Confederation over the territory of
Tarija Tarija or San Bernardo de la Frontera de Tarixa is a city in southern Bolivia. Founded in 1574, Tarija is the largest city and capital and municipality within the Tarija Department, with an airport ( Capitán Oriel Lea Plaza Airport, (TJA)) of ...
. Argentina annexed the territory as a result of the war, later being returned to Bolivia in March 1839. In addition to the conflict in Tarija, the conflict also began the Second Iquicha War, which led to the disestablishment of the royalist autonomy—that had seen conflict a decade earlier—led by Huachaca, who fled to the Apurímac jungle, choosing to remain there while denouncing the republicans as the "antichrists".


Restoration (1839–1841)

After the demise in the
War of the Confederation The War of the Confederation () was a military confrontation waged by the United Restoration Army, the alliance of the land and naval forces of Chile and the Restoration Army of Peru, formed in 1836 by Peruvian soldiers opposed to the conf ...
, the states of Peru and Bolivia were re-established as independent and separate from each other. The Constituent Congress meeting in
Huancayo Huancayo (; in , '(place) with a (sacred) rock', ) is the capital of the Junín Region and Huancayo Province, in the central highlands of Peru, in the Mantaro Valley and is crossed by the Shullcas, Chilca and Mantaro rivers. It was founded as a ...
ratified
Agustín Gamarra Agustín Gamarra Messia (27 August 1785 – 18 November 1841) was a Peruvian soldier and politician, who served as the 4th and 6th President of Peru. Gamarra was a Mestizo, being of mixed Spanish and Quechua descent. He had a military life s ...
as Provisional President on August 15, 1839, while the new Constitution was being written. Once this was approved, and after a general election, Gamarra was proclaimed Constitutional President of Peru on July 10, 1840. During this second government, treaties were signed with Brazil, the Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe school opened its doors, and ''El Comercio'' began its publications in 1839. Gamarra followed the same guidelines as his first government, being authoritarian and conservative, as circumstances required, after several years of civil war. He faced the challenge of pacifying the country, having to face the "regenerative" revolution that
Manuel Ignacio de Vivanco Manuel Ignacio de Vivanco Iturralde (15 June 1806 – 16 September 1873) was a Peruvian politician and military leader who served as the President of Peru from 1843 to 1844. He was born in Lima, Peru. He led part of the Peruvian forces in the c ...
led in
Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara language, Aymara and ), also known by its nicknames of ''Ciudad Blanca'' (Spanish for "White City") and ''León del Sur'' (Spanish for "South's Lion"), is a city in Peru and the capital of the eponymous Arequipa (province), ...
, where he proclaimed himself Supreme Chief of the Republic, in January 1841. To combat it, Gamarra sent his war minister,
Ramón Castilla Ramón Castilla y Marquesado (; 31 August 1797 – 30 May 1867) was a Peruvian ''caudillo'' who served as President of Peru three times as well as the Interim President of Peru (Revolution Self-proclaimed President) in 1863. His earliest p ...
, who after first suffering a defeat in Cachamarca, triumphed over the ''Vivanquistas'' in Cuevillas. After his defeat, Vivanco fled to Bolivia. Gamarra's desire to unite Bolivia and Peru dovetailed into an attempt to annex Bolivia that ultimately failed and turned into a protracted war. After reaching
La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...
without resistance, Gamarra participated in the
Battle of Ingavi The Battle of Ingavi occurred on November 18, 1841, during the Peruvian–Bolivian War of 1841–42, in the town of Ingavi, Bolivia. The Bolivian Army, commanded by José Ballivián, there met an invading Peruvian Army commanded by Agustín Ga ...
, where he was killed in action. In the aftermath of this battle, Bolivia occupied the south of Peru until a Peruvian resistance was established, which led to a counterattack that was ultimately successful due to the limited number of Bolivian troops. The two nations signed the Treaty of Puno on June 7, 1842, officially ending the war. Both countries agreed to remain as separate
sovereign state A sovereign state is a State (polity), state that has the highest authority over a territory. It is commonly understood that Sovereignty#Sovereignty and independence, a sovereign state is independent. When referring to a specific polity, the ter ...
s and the retreat of troops in Peruvian territory was accomplished eight days later. Bolivia unconditionally renounced all claims in southern Peruvian territory, but nevertheless, the treaty did not manage to solve the border problem or the unionist movement between the two states. The conflict ended with a return to the situation before the war. Despite this, Peruvian historiography argues that the victories seen in all the battles in Peruvian soil overshadow the defeat at Ingavi, leaving Peru in a more favorable outcome after the end of the war.


Military anarchy (1841–1845)

After Gamarra's death,
Manuel Menéndez Manuel Menéndez Gorozabel (1793 – May 2, 1847) was a Peruvian politician who served as President of Peru The president of Peru (), officially the constitutional president of the Republic of Peru (), is the head of state and head of ...
was recognized as provisional president. However, several military leaders became involved in a struggle for power: in the north,
Juan Crisóstomo Torrico Juan Crisóstomo Torrico Vargas (January 21, 1808, Lima, Peru – March 27, 1875, Paris, France) served as the 16th President of Peru during a brief period in 1842. At age 34, he was Peru's youngest President ever. In 1820, Torrico participated ...
; in the south,
Antonio Gutiérrez de La Fuente Antonio Gutiérrez de la Fuente (8 September 1796 – 14 March 1878) was a Peruvian politician who also served in the Peruvian military. He briefly served as President of Peru from June 7 to September 1, 1829. Gutiérrez de la Fuente was born i ...
, Domingo Nieto and
Juan Francisco de Vidal Juan Francisco de Vidal La Hoz (April 2, 1800 in Lima, Viceroyalty of Peru – September 23, 1863 in Lima) served as the 8th President of Peru The president of Peru (), officially the constitutional president of the Republic of Peru (), is ...
; and in Arequipa,
Manuel Ignacio de Vivanco Manuel Ignacio de Vivanco Iturralde (15 June 1806 – 16 September 1873) was a Peruvian politician and military leader who served as the President of Peru from 1843 to 1844. He was born in Lima, Peru. He led part of the Peruvian forces in the c ...
. Menéndez could not maintain power, as he was deposed by Torrico. The anarchy led to the Peruvian Civil War of 1843–1844. By then, a government had been established by Vivanco, known as the Directory (). In contrast to this new government, a rebellion led by Domingo Nieto also sought to establish itself as the legitimate government. On September 3, 1843, the revolutionaries constituted a Provisional Government Junta of the Free Departments in Cuzco (), whose presidency was assumed by Domingo Nieto, who would be succeeded by Castilla after his death in 1844. The civil war reached its end in the Battle of Carmen Alto of July 22, 1844, between Vivanco and Castilla's troops near Arequipa. After the defeat of Vivanco's troops, Vivanco himself arrived in Callao on July 27, being arrested by Prefect of Lima,
Domingo Elías Domingo Elías Carbajo (July 19, 1805, Ica (city), Ica, Viceroyalty of Peru – July 3, 1867, Lima, Peru) served as President of Peru, Interim President of Peru (Self-proclaimed President) for a brief period between June and August 1844. Biograph ...
and exiled to Chile a few days later. With Castilla as the country's new leader, the anarchy came to an end.


"Fallacious prosperity" and the Guano Era (1845–1866)

After Castilla assumed the presidency of Peru, Peru entered a period of peace and economic prosperity, as the anarchic period had been put to an end, and Peru established a virtual international monopoly in the trade of
guano Guano (Spanish from ) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. Guano is a highly effective fertiliser due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. Guano was also, to a le ...
. This allowed the government to repay its external debt, earning it international economic prestige. Several reforms, including education, were put into place, and the economy continued to grow until the 1860s. Castilla was replaced by his advisor José Rufino Echenique in 1851, who continued his work, as the economy continued to grow. His government was of a conservative nature, which eventually led to conflict with the liberals. On October 23, 1851, Peru signed Colombian–Peruvian territorial dispute#1851 Treaty between Peru and Brazil, its first border treaty with Brazil, where it ceded territory in the Amazon rainforest Ecuadorian–Peruvian territorial dispute, disputed by Ecuador, who claimed the territory as its own.


Liberal Revolution (1854–1855)

Echenique was accused of corruption by its opponents, with some pointing out a lavish party that had been hosted by his wife, Victoria Tristán, as proof of his reckless spending, which appeared as an insult to the general poverty of the country. Others, such as Domingo Elías, made the accusation on the basis of Echenique being "too generous" regarding his payment of the country's external debt. Amid the growing conflict between the conservative government and the liberal opposition, the Liberal Revolution of 1854 broke out, with the liberals, soon headed by Castilla, defeating the government at the Battle of La Palma and Castilla being reinstated as president. Castilla summoned a National Convention whose representatives were elected by direct and universal suffrage, settling on July 14, 1855. This Convention authored the Constitution of Peru (1856), Liberal Constitution of 1856. Dissatisfied with the liberal regime that was being established, the conservatives rose up in Arequipa, led by the caudillo Manuel Ignacio de Vivanco, an old rival of Castilla. A Peruvian Civil War of 1856–1858, bloody civil war broke out, culminating in the triumph of Castilla after the Siege of Arequipa, capture of Arequipa on March 7, 1858.


Ecuadorian–Peruvian War (1857–1860)

Between 1857 and 1860 a Ecuadorian–Peruvian War (1857–1860), war broke out against Ecuador over disputed territories in the Amazon that Ecuador had allegedly sold to British companies to pay for its foreign debt. The Peruvian victory in the war prevented the Ecuadorian claims to settle in the area.


War with Spain

In 1865, Peruvian Civil War of 1865, civil war broke out, waged by the forces headed by Colonel Mariano Ignacio Prado against the government of President Juan Antonio Pezet, due to the weakness that he was alleged to have shown in solving the crisis caused by the Spanish occupation of the Chincha Islands, most specifically due to the signing of the Vivanco–Pareja Treaty. As a result, Pezet was overthrown, and Prado declared an alliance against Spain, alongside Chile, Bolivia and Ecuador, also declaring war on Spain. On May 2, 1866, the
Battle of Callao The Battle of Callao (, as it is known in South America) occurred on May 2, 1866, between a Spanish Empire, Spanish fleet under the command of Admiral Casto Méndez Núñez and the fortified battery emplacements of the Peruvian port city of Cal ...
took place, and a peace treaty was signed in 1879. The expenses caused by the war severely affected the Peruvian economy, which began to decline.


Economic and international crisis (1866–1884)

With Prado as provisional and later constitutional president, a Constitution of Peru (1867), new constitution was adopted. Its extremely liberal nature led to a Peruvian Civil War of 1867, civil war headed by Pedro Diez Canseco and José Balta, which ended Prado's presidency and re-established the Constitution of Peru (1860), 1860 constitution. The new Balta government appointed a young Nicolás de Piérola as Ministry of Economy and Finance (Peru), Minister of Economy, who signed a treaty with the History of the Jews in France, Jewish–French businessman Auguste Dreyfus. For its part, the House of Dreyfus paid Peruvian sol (1863–1985), S/. two million in advance, and undertook to pay at a rate of Peruvian sol (1863–1985), S/. 700 thousand each month and to cover the interest on the Peruvian foreign debt. As a result of the income from the Dreyfus contract, Peru embarked on a railroad-building program. The American entrepreneur Henry Meiggs built a standard gauge line from
Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists ...
across the Andes to the interior,
Huancayo Huancayo (; in , '(place) with a (sacred) rock', ) is the capital of the Junín Region and Huancayo Province, in the central highlands of Peru, in the Mantaro Valley and is crossed by the Shullcas, Chilca and Mantaro rivers. It was founded as a ...
; he built the line and controlled its politics for a while; in the end, he bankrupted himself and the country. Financial problems forced the government to take over in 1874. The labor conditions were complex, with conflicts arising from different levels of skill and organization among the North Americans, Europeans, Blacks, and the Chinese. Conditions were very brutal for the Chinese, and led to strikes and violent suppression. Elections were held in 1872, with Manuel Pardo (politician), Manuel Pardo of the Civilista Party being elected as the first civilian president of Peru. The ascension of a civil government disturbed many members of the military, who believed they would lose the privileges that they had enjoyed until then. Among the concerned were the Gutiérrez brothers, originally from Huancarqui District, Huancarqui. The brothers, headed by Colonel Tomás Gutiérrez, carried out a 1872 Peruvian coup d'état attempt, coup d'état against Balta on July 22, 1872. The new government lasted until the 26th, when the brothers were overthrown, with three of them being killed and only one surviving. Pardo became president on August 2, ending the ''First Militarism'' that had existed since 1827. Under his government, the Treaty of Defensive Alliance (Bolivia–Peru), Treaty of Defensive Alliance was signed with Bolivia, which would lead Peru to fight against Chile 7 years later.


War of the Pacific

In 1879, Peru entered the War of the Pacific, after Bolivia invoked its alliance with Peru against Chile. The Peruvian Government tried to mediate the dispute by sending a diplomatic team to negotiate with the Chilean government, but the committee concluded that war was inevitable. On 14 March 1879, Bolivia declared war and Chile, in response, declared war on Bolivia and Peru on 5 April 1879 with Peru following with its own declaration of war the next day. The Chilean land campaigns in Tarapacá campaign, Tarapacá, Tacna and Arica campaign, Tacna and Arica, Lima campaign, Lima and Sierra campaign, Breña eventually led to the Chilean occupation of Peru, Chilean occupation of these territories, which were administered from Occupation of Lima, occupied Lima. In parallel with the occupying administration, a collaborationist government was also established in Lima under the Protectorate, protection of Chile. The government was Francisco García Calderón, initially based in Palacio de la Magdalena (Peru), La Magdalena, and then in Miguel Iglesias government, Cajamarca. This government's legitimacy was disputed by the Resistance (War of the Pacific), Peruvian Resistance, which continued fighting in the ''sierra''. The Chilean Naval campaign of the War of the Pacific, naval campaign also proved crucial, and allowed for attacks in the northern coast of the country. One notable figure of this campaign, who is held in high esteem by Peruvians and Chileans alike, was Miguel Grau, who was killed in action during the Battle of Angamos, and whose ship, the Huáscar (ironclad), ''Huáscar'', was captured by the Chilean Navy. The war reached its peak after the Battle of Tacna, which effectively destroyed the Peruvian–Bolivian alliance, and ended with a Chilean victory over Peru and Bolivia, with the former's government in Lima signing the Treaty of Ancón in 1883, where the Tarapacá Department (Peru), Department of Tarapacá was ceded to Chile and the fates of the provinces of Tacna Province, Tacna and Arica Province (Peru), Arica were to be decided by a plebiscite that was meant to take place ten years after the treaty, but would eventually never take place. The question over the Peruvian provinces of Tacna and Arica would manifest itself as the Chilean–Peruvian territorial dispute, while the Bolivian reaction to the loss of its Litoral Department, and thus, its access to the sea, would manifest itself as the Atacama border dispute, Bolivian–Chilean territorial dispute, and commemorated annually with the ''Día del Mar''.


National reconstruction (1884–1895)

After the War of the Pacific, an extraordinary effort of rebuilding began, and military figures once again assumed control of the government due to the perceived weakness of civilian heads of state in a period of constant war, beginning the Second Militarism (). In contrast to the ''First Militarism'', the military leaders returned to the political arena, but no longer as triumphant heroes, but as the defeated. The government started to initiate a number of social and economic reforms in order to recover from the damage of the war. During this period, the occupied provinces of Tacna and Arica were subject to a process known as Chilenization of Tacna, Arica and Tarapacá, Chilenization, where Chilean culture was promoted in order to replace Peruvian culture. Groups known as Patriotic Leagues (Southern Cone), Patriotic Leagues were also established in order to encourage Peruvians to leave, while Chilean families soon began to emigrate to the region. Those who left established themselves mainly in Callao or participated in the colonization project carried out by the local government in Department of Loreto, Loreto to counter Colombian–Peruvian territorial dispute, Colombian claims over the region, establishing the settlements of Puerto Arica and Tarapacá, Amazonas, Tarapacá. After the signing of the Salomón–Lozano Treaty in 1922, these settlements would be ceded to Colombia, with some settlers moving to Peru and establishing the settlements of Nuevo Tarapacá and Puerto Arica (Maynas), Puerto Arica. Due to Iglesias' re-establishment of the Encomienda, indigenous tribute and abuses committed against Indians by landowners, on March 1, 1885, a Huaraz Rebellion, rebellion in Huaraz headed by Pedro Pablo Atusparía began, with the conflict coming to an end only in 1887.


Conflict between Iglesias and Cáceres

Miguel Iglesias' Miguel Iglesias government, Regenerator Government that had been established under Chilean occupation and signed the Treaty of Ancón continued to function as the constitutional government of Peru. During this period, Andrés Avelino Cáceres, who had fought the Sierra campaign, Breña campaign and was known as the ''Hero of Breña'', opposed Iglesias and received more popular support than Iglesias' government. Iglesias attempted to negotiate with Cáceres for his support. Eventually, negotiations failed and he demanded his unconditional submission. For his part, Cáceres proceeded to proclaim himself President on July 16, 1884, arguing the breakdown of the constitutional order. This disagreement led to the Peruvian Civil War of 1884–1885. The forces of Iglesias and Cáceres initially clashed in Lima and later in Trujillo. Faced with his defeats on the north coast, Cáceres withdrew to the south center: Cuzco, Arequipa, Apurímac and Ayacucho, where he was able to reorganize his army to attack again. He ordered his troops to be defeated near Jauja while he moved his best troops to Huaripampa District, Huaripampa, who cut off bridges that would've allowed Iglesias' troops return and eventually moved to Lima where they carried out a successful offensive against Iglesias, ending the civil war. Iglesias would be exiled to Restoration (Spain), Spain, only returning in 1895 after being elected as senator for Cajamarca, dying later in 1909.


Conflict between Cáceres and de Piérola

Cáceres assumed the presidency for the second time, on August 10, 1894. But he lacked legitimacy and popularity. The Anti-Cacerists formed the National Coalition, made up of democrats and civil supporters, who elected Nicolás de Piérola as leader, then exiled in Chile. Throughout Peru, groups of ''Montoneros'' arose that joined the cause of the Coalition. Piérola returned to Peru, disembarked in Puerto Caballas, in Ica, and went to Chincha Alta, Chincha, where he gave a Manifesto to the Nation, taking the title of National Delegate, and immediately campaigning on Lima, leading the Montoneros. They attacked the capital from March 17 to 19, 1895. Seeing himself deprived of the support of the people, turned massively towards the coalition partners, Cáceres resigned and went into exile. A Government Board was installed after the victory in Lima of Piérola's montoneros and the departure of Cáceres into exile, and Manuel Candamo was elected president of a Government Board, to which he did not belong, taking charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; He spent six months in that position, from March 20 to September 8, 1895, when he handed over the command to Piérola, winner of the elections. After a brief period in which the military once again controlled the country, civilian rule was permanently established with Pierola's election in 1895. His second term was successfully completed in 1899 and was marked by his reconstruction of a devastated Peru by initiating fiscal, military, religious, and civil reforms. With the county in a delicate state, political stability was achieved only in the early 1900s.


Aristocratic Republic (1895–1919)

With de Piérola elected president of Peru, the country began its period known as the ''Aristocratic Republic'' (), owing its name to the fact that most of the presidents that ruled the country during this period were from the country's social elite. Economic dependence on English and American capitalism was accentuated and new economic activities were developed: agro-export (sugar and cotton), rubber extraction and oil extraction. However, the country did not industrialize due to the fact that a purely Economism, economistic development perspective was formed through a rentier state, rentier and Primary sector of the economy, primary exporter state, which increased discrimination and exploitation of indigenous peoples through ''Correríos'', ''Yanaconajes'' and ''Enganches''. One such example was the Putumayo genocide, which took place during the Amazon rubber boom. The discomfort of the popular classes was manifested in the emergence of the anarcho-syndicalist labor movement and the outbreak of strikes. This period of history soon saw its first conflicts, with its first one taking place in 1896. Separatists in Loreto Loretan Insurrection of 1896, revolted against the government, seceded from Peru, and established the short lived Federal State of Loreto. The government's response was to send troops to the area in order to suppress the insurrection, which was accomplished. A couple of years later, Colonel and Prefect of Loreto Emilio Vizcarra seceded from Peru and proclaimed the Jungle Nation, Jungle Republic, an unrecognized secessionist state whose declared borders coincided with those of the Loreto Department, at the time composed of the modern departments of Department of Loreto, Loreto, Department of San Martín, San Martín, and Department of Ucayali, Ucayali. President Eduardo López de Romaña immediately sent troops to deal with the situation and the state ceased to exist in 1900. Salt Tax Revolt (Peru), Another conflict took place in Huanta, as a result of reforms, that included the establishment of a salt tax and the ban on circulation of Boliviano (1864–1963), Bolivian currency in the region. Among the participants of this conflict were veterans of previous conflicts, such as the Breña campaign and of the civil war of 1884–85.


The twenty-four friends

One group prevalent in the country's aristocracy was known as ''the twenty-four friends'' (), whose members were affiliated with the Civilista Party. Traditionally it is said that it was founded in a meeting on July 28, 1892. Most of the families that belonged to this group were rentiers, landowners, bankers, businessmen who produced sugar and cotton, newspaper owners, and renowned intellectuals and professionals who belonged to the Club Nacional (Peru), National Club, where they met weekly on Fridays. The members of the club were: *, diplomat and politician, minister during the government of Manuel Pardo y Lavalle *Luis Carranza: co-director of ''El Comercio (Peru), El Comercio''. *, businessman and politician. *José Antonio Miró Quesada: director and owner of ''El Comercio''. *Louis Dubois. *Narciso de Aramburú. *Ernest Malinowski, Polish engineer. *Armando Velez. *, businessman and landowner. *Isaac Alzamora, renowned lawyer. *: lawyer and minister during the government of Manuel Candamo. *Domingo M. Almenara Butler. *: lawyer and politician. *Pedro D. Gallagher Robertson-Gibbs: mining businessman, banker, president of the Chamber of Commerce. *Ezequiel Álvarez-Calderón *Manuel Álvarez-Calderón, businessman. *Calixto Pfeiffer *Carlos Ferreyros, politician. *, businessman and politician. *, businessman and politician. *, businessman and politician. *Alejandro Garland, businessman. *Leonidas Cárdenas Other characters that also would make up the select group were: * *Augusto B. Leguía * *Francisco Tudela y Varela *Antonio Miró Quesada de la Guerra * *


Territorial disputes

Augusto B. Leguía's first presidency took place during this period, during which he was faced with territorial disputes between all neighboring countries of Peru, of which only the Brazilian and Bolivian–Peruvian territorial dispute, Bolivian territorial disputes were solved on September 8 and Polo-Bustamante Treaty, 17 September, 1909, respectively. Skirmishes took place in 1910 with Ecuador and in 1911 with Colombia, the latter of which became known as the Battle of La Pedrera, La Pedrera conflict. Due to Chile's continuing Chilenization policies in Tacna and Arica, relations between both states were severed. Leguía also had to face internal conflict, including an 1909 Peruvian coup d'état attempt, attempted coup d'état in 1909, carried out by Nicolás de Piérola's brother Carlos with his children. Leguía separated from the Civilista Party, which split into two factions: those loyal to Pardo and those loyal to Leguía. In the last two years of his government, an acute economic crisis manifested itself, motivated by accelerated internal indebtedness, national defense expenses and the budget deficit. Guillermo Billinghurst wanted to favor the working class, which earned him opposition from conservative elements. He had a tenacious struggle with Congress, dominated by ''civilistas'' and ''leguiistas'', his political enemies. It was then proposed to dissolve parliament and summon the people to carry out fundamental constitutional reforms, which provoked the military uprising of Colonel Óscar R. Benavides, known as the ''hero of La Pedrera'', who overthrew Billinghurst on February 4, 1914. After assuming control of the government, Benavides faced the monetary problem and promised to restore the legal order. In 1915 he convened a Convention of the civilist, liberal and constitutional parties, so that they could launch a unified candidacy. The chosen one was former president José Pardo y Barreda, of the Civilista Party, who overwhelmingly won the elections that year, defeating the symbolic candidacy of Carlos de Piérola, of the Democratic Party. The second government of José Pardo was characterized by political and social violence, a symptom of the exhaustion of civil society and the world crisis. As a result of the First World War, the economic condition of the working class worsened and the field was prepared for the development of trade union action. There were successive strikes that demanded the reduction of subsistence prices and the implementation of the "8-hour work" day; the latter was finally granted, by decree of January 15, 1919. In the southern Andes, the abuses of landowners and gamonales on the native and peasant population motivated many indigenous uprisings, such as the one led in 1915 by Teodomiro Gutiérrez Cuevas, also known by his pseudonym ''Rumi Maqui''. Pardo called for elections in 1919, in which former president Augusto B. Leguía ran, who faced the official candidacy represented by . The elections, which were not deemed very fair, declared Leguía the winner, but numerous votes were annulled in the official recount. Faced with the danger that the elections would be annulled and that they would be transferred to Congress, where the civilistas had a majority, Leguía and his supporters staged a coup, with the support of the gendarmerie, on July 4, 1919. Thus ended the "Aristocratic Republic" and began what would become Leguía's ''Oncenio''.


The ''Oncenio'' (1919–1930)

As had happened with his previous government, the entrance of American capital became general and the bourgeoisie was favored. This policy, along with increased dependence on foreign investment, focused opposition from the most progressive sectors of Peruvian society against the landowner oligarchy. The presidency of Leguía coincided with the Centennial of the Independence of Peru, centennial celebrations of Peru's independence on July 28, 1921, and in 1924, commemorating the Battle of Ayacucho. Leguía referred to his government as the New Motherland (), which became known for its urban transformation of
Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...
to coincide with the aforementioned centennial.


Territorial disputes

A final peace treaty was signed between Peru and Chile in 1929, known as the Treaty of Lima (1929), Treaty of Lima. As per the treaty, Tacna Province (Chile), Tacna returned to Peru and Peru yielded permanently the formerly rich provinces of Arica and Tarapacá, but kept certain rights to the port activities in Arica and restrictions on what Chile can do on those territories. The treaty was controversial in Peru, but nevertheless put a major end to the Chilean–Peruvian territorial dispute. In 1921, Peruvian captain Guillermo Cervantes declared the Third Federal State of Loreto, Federal State of Loreto, which existed as a ''de facto'' Autonomy, autonomous region of the country. The rebel authorities authorized the distribution of provisional banknotes made out of cardboard used by locals as currency, and local ports were ordered shut, with local trade and navigation being tightly controlled. The revolution was quickly accepted by the local population, but was met negatively by Peru's president Augusto Leguía, who sent a few troops to the area, and shut down trade to the region. The local guerrillas' military inferiority soon became apparent, and by early 1922, a famished Iquitos had been occupied by Peruvian troops headed by Peruvian Captain Genaro Matos, while Cervantes had escaped on January 9 and sought refuge in the
Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
ian jungle and his army soon became little more than an insurgency. In 1922, another treaty, the Salomón–Lozano Treaty, was signed between Peru and
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
with the United States acting as a mediator, where a large amount of territory was ceded to Colombia allowing them access to the Amazon River, further reducing Peru's territory with the exception of a ''de jure'' Sucumbíos Triangle, exclave in Sucumbíos. This treaty also proved controversial, most notably in Loreto, as protests took place and local dissatisfaction would eventually lead to the Leticia Incident in 1932. Nevertheless, the treaty also ended the Colombian–Peruvian territorial dispute, although it was also disputed by Ecuador. In 1924, from Mexico, university reform leaders in Peru who had been forced into exile by the government founded the American People's Revolutionary Alliance, American People's Revolutionary Alliance (APRA), which had a major influence on the country's political life. APRA is largely a political expression of the university reform and workers' struggles of the years 1918–1920. The movement draws its influences from the Mexican Revolution and its 1917 Constitution, particularly on issues of agrarianism and indigenism, and to a lesser extent from the Russian Revolution. Close to Marxism (its leader, Haya de la Torre, declares that "APRA is the Marxist interpretation of the American reality"), it nevertheless moves away from it on the question of class struggle and on the importance given to the struggle for the political unity of Latin America. In 1928, the Peruvian Communist Party, Peruvian Socialist Party was founded, notably under the leadership of José Carlos Mariátegui, himself a former member of APRA. Shortly afterwards, in 1929, the party created the Confederación General de Trabajadores del Perú, General Confederation of Workers. After the worldwide crisis of 1929, numerous brief governments followed one another. The APRA party had the opportunity to cause system reforms by means of political actions, but it was not successful. This was a nationalistic movement, populist and anti-imperialist, headed by Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre in 1924. The Socialist Party of Peru, later the Peruvian Communist Party, was created four years later and it was led by José Carlos Mariátegui. This period would come to an end after a coup d'état carried out by Lieutenant colonel Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro and his sympathizers, with General Manuel María Ponce Brousset assuming the interim Presidency for two days until Sánchez Cerro's return to
Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...
from
Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara language, Aymara and ), also known by its nicknames of ''Ciudad Blanca'' (Spanish for "White City") and ''León del Sur'' (Spanish for "South's Lion"), is a city in Peru and the capital of the eponymous Arequipa (province), ...
.


Third Militarism (1930–1939)

With Leguía overthrown, the country entered its Third Militarism (), as military figures once again took control of the government. A military junta was established, and Manuel María Ponce Brousset was the first to assume the presidency, being succeeded by the more popular Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro, who was the first Peruvian President to have Indigenous Peruvians, Indigenous Peruvian ancestry as well as allegedly also being of Afro-Peruvian Malagasy people, Malagasy descent based on a rumour he was from a part of Piura populated by descendants of Malagasy slaves. Other major events of this period were the beginning of the irruption of the organized masses in politics and the growth of the middle classes. Sánchez Cerro called for elections while in power, intending to run as a candidate. Due to this, a revolt took place in Arequipa, where Sánchez Cerro was forced to resign. As a result, then Archbishop of Lima, Monsignor took over the junta on April 1, 1931. After a few hours, Holguín transferred his power to Ricardo Leoncio Elías Arias, Leoncio Elías. Elías had called a meeting where it was agreed that David Samanez Ocampo would become the new head of state, but arrangements for this never took place, as he was overthrown by Gustavo Jiménez, who had returned from Arequipa, where he had travelled to stop the revolt. Nevertheless, Samanez Ocampo, who was chosen due to his popularity, assumed the presidency on March 11, 1931, and called for elections on October 11 of the same year. As a result, Sánchez Cerro was elected president of Peru. Sánchez Cerro's government was opposed by the left-wing American Popular Revolutionary Alliance, and, as a result, political repression was brutal in the early 1930s, with tens of thousands of ''Apristas'' were executed or imprisoned. A 1932 Trujillo uprising, revolt that took place in Trujillo and was brutally repressed was one such example. This period was also characterized by a sudden population growth and an increase in urbanization. According to Alberto Flores Galindo, "By the 1940 census, the last that utilized racial categories,
mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...
s were grouped with whites, and the two constituted more than 53 percent of the population. Mestizos likely outnumbered the indigenous peoples and were the largest population group." Under Sánchez Cerro's constitutional government, a Constitution of Peru (1933), new constitution would be adopted, and works such as the construction of the ''Carretera Central (Peru), Carretera Central'', which connected Lima with La Oroya,
Tarma Santa Ana de la Ribera de Tarma, known as Tarma, is the capital city of Tarma Province in Junín Region, Peru. The city has a population of 43,042 as of the 2017 census. History Pre-Hispanic era Recent archaeological excavations show that pri ...
and La Merced, Junín, La Merced and the investment in the Peruvian Armed Forces took place. The latter proved to be an important part of the government, as all three branches of the Armed Forces would soon become involved in the Colombian–Peruvian territorial dispute, conflict with Colombia, that would erupt into armed conflict in September 1932.


Conflict with Colombia

The foreign policy of Sánchez Cerro's government was initially intended to respect the border treaties signed up to that point, but public opposition to the Salomón–Lozano Treaty eventually led to a Leticia Incident, civilian takeover of the port town of Leticia, Amazonas, Leticia, which ended up being supported by the government. The event led to protests in
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
, and the beginning of the Colombia–Peru War on September 1, 1932. On April 30, 1933, while reviewing troops in the El Campo de Marte, Santa Beatriz Hipodrome, Sánchez Cerro was Assassination of Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro, assassinated by Abelardo González Leiva, who shot him three times. It was later publicized that González was a member of the APRA Party, leading to speculation on whether he had been ordered to carry out the attack or had acted alone. Sánchez Cerro's was succeeded as Supreme Chief of his political party, Revolutionary Union (Peru), Revolutionary Union, by Luis A. Flores, who reconstructed the party into a more Fascism, fascist direction, modelling it after the National Fascist Party of Italy under fascism, Italy.


Final years

Óscar R. Benavides assumed the presidency as a result of Sánchez Cerro's assassination and upheld the Salomón–Lozano Treaty with Colombia, leading to the end of the war. He also signed the General Amnesty Law on August 9, 1933, which favored the ''Apristas''. But after a revolutionary attempt in El Agustino, the anti-''Aprista'' persecution resumed. The ''Apristas'' responded with terrorist acts throughout the country, including the assassination of Antonio Miró Quesada de la Guerra, Antonio Miró Quesada, owner of ''El Comercio'', and his wife on May 15, 1935. Under Benavides' government, new ministries were created and tourism was promoted. The Government Palace, Peru, Government Palace was renovated in 1937, the Legislative Palace (Peru), Legislative Palace and Palace of Justice, Lima, Palace of Justice were finished, and social works were put into place, including the construction of dining rooms and sewers. During this period, the Spanish Civil War began in 1936. As a result, pro-Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republican and pro-Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist factions were established by the Spanish residents in Peru, as well as their Peruvian sympathizers. The former was more popular among left-leaning groups, including the ''Apristas'', while the latter was more popular among the aristocracy and the Spanish expatriates living in Peru, evoking the feeling of the ''Hispanidad''. A ''Spanish–Peruvian Clothing Fund'' () was established in Lima, which was nominally in charge of delivering clothing to the children of both factions, but ended up assisting the Nationalist faction almost exclusively. As a result of its support of the Francisco Franco, Francoist side, Peru did not receive Spanish Republican government in exile, Republican exiles after the war, instead continuing its relations with the new government in Francoist Spain, Spain. The conflict increased the divide between the right and left-leaning sectors of society, most notably in cities such as
Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara language, Aymara and ), also known by its nicknames of ''Ciudad Blanca'' (Spanish for "White City") and ''León del Sur'' (Spanish for "South's Lion"), is a city in Peru and the capital of the eponymous Arequipa (province), ...
. During the last years of the Benavides government, the weariness of the population became noticeable. On February 19, 1939, General Antonio Rodríguez Ramírez attempted a coup, apparently with great support from various sectors. Although said caudillo was killed in the Government Palace after being machine-gunned by a police officer, Benavides understood the message and called for 1939 Peruvian general election, general elections, that took place on October 22 of the same year. The government's candidate and the son of former President Mariano Ignacio Prado, banker Manuel Prado Ugarteche, easily beat his opponent, lawyer . As a result, there was talk of electoral fraud.


Democratic Spring (1939–1948)

With Prado as president, the Democratic Spring () began. Despite the new civilian government, this era would be characterized by two major military conflicts: the Ecuadorian–Peruvian War and World War II. Manuel Prado assumed the presidency on December 8, 1939, beginning what would be his first government. A previously largely unknown politician, he was predicted to not last long in office, but he displayed a strategic flexibility that eventually earned him support. His government largely continued the work started by General Benavides, maintaining strong links with the oligarchy. It was a relative democracy. He kept the Aprista Party outlawed and received the support of the Peruvian Communist Party, Communist Party. During his tenure as president, skirmishes took place with Ecuador starting on July 5, 1941, beginning the Ecuadorian–Peruvian War. With the events escalating to a point where the Peruvian Air Force, Peruvian Air Corps was bombarding Ecuadorian outposts along the Ecuador–Peru border, border, an Battle of Zarumilla, offensive by Peru began on July 23, with Peruvian troops marching into the Ecuadorian provinces of El Oro Province, El Oro, as well as Loja Province, Loja, and . A ceasefire was declared effective on the afternoon of July 31, which was preceded by an Occupation of Puerto Bolívar, aerial assault carried out by Paratrooper Company, Peruvian paratroopers on the port of Puerto Bolívar, near Machala, which was also occupied. An agreement known as the ''Talara Accord'' () was signed on October 2, under which a demilitarized zone was established in Ecuador under Ecuadorian administration, and the province of El Oro was Peruvian occupation of Ecuador, occupied by Peru until the signing of the Rio Protocol in January 1942, with Peruvian troops withdrawing the following month. The treaty signed in Rio established a border commission in charge of delimiting the border between Ecuador and Peru, which was accomplished with the exception of a small part of the border that eventually continued the dispute. As a result of the delimitation of the border in the coast, integration between both countries continued to grow during the following years. Peru remained neutral during World War II, continuing its relations with countries in both factions, but nevertheless favoring the Allied faction. On 12 February 1945, Peru was Allies of World War II#After the Declaration by United Nations, the fourth South American nation to join the Allies of World War II, Allied forces against the Axis Powers, Axis – following Brazilian Expeditionary Force#Overview, Brazil on 22 August 1942,
Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
on 7 April 1943 and
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
on 26 November 1943. As part of the Japanese-American internment program, the country rounded up around 2,000 of its Japanese immigrant population and shipped them to the United States, where they were placed in concentration camps. Despite the late entry of the country into the conflict, some volunteers had already left for Europe beforehand. One example was Jorge Sanjinez Lenz, who enlisted in the Belgian government in exile, Belgian Independent Belgian Brigade, Piron Brigade, and fought in the Battle of Normandy.


Bustamante administration

Following the Allied victory in World War II by 2 September 1945, Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre (founder of the APRA), together with José Carlos Mariátegui (leader of the Peruvian Communist Party), were two major forces in Peruvian politics. Ideologically opposed, they both managed to create the first political parties that tackled the social and economic problems of the country. Although Mariátegui died at a young age, President José Bustamante y Rivero, Bustamante y Rivero hoped to create a more democratic government by limiting the power of the military and the oligarchy. Elected with the cooperation of the APRA, conflict soon arose between the President and Haya de la Torre. Without the support of the APRA party, Bustamante y Rivero found his presidency severely limited. The President disbanded his ''Aprista'' cabinet and replaced it with a mostly military one. In 1948, Minister Manuel A. Odría and other right-wing elements of the Cabinet urged Bustamante y Rivero to ban the APRA, but when the President refused, Odría resigned his post.


The ''Ochenio'' (1948–1956)

In a military coup on 27 October, Gen. Manuel A. Odría became the new president. Odría's presidency was known as the ''Ochenio''. He cracked down on APRA members and sympathizers, momentarily pleasing the oligarchy and all others on the right, but followed a Populism, populist course that won him great favor with the poor and lower classes. A thriving economy allowed him to indulge in expensive but crowd-pleasing social policies. At the same time, however, civil rights were severely restricted and political corruption, corruption was rampant throughout his régime. It was feared that his dictatorship would run indefinitely, so it came as a surprise when Odría allowed new elections. During this time, Fernando Belaúnde Terry started his political career, and led the slate submitted by the National Front of Democratic Youth. After the National Election Board refused to accept his candidacy, he led a massive protest, and the striking image of Belaúnde walking with the flag was featured by news magazine ''Caretas'' the following day, in an article entitled "Así Nacen Los Lideres" ("Thus Are Leaders Born"). Belaúnde's 1956 candidacy was ultimately unsuccessful, as the dictatorship-favored right-wing candidacy of Manuel Prado Ugarteche took first place.


Moderate civil reform (1956–1968)

Belaúnde ran for president once again in the national elections of 1962; this time with his own party, Popular Action (Peru), Acción Popular (Popular Action). The results were very tight; he ended in second place, following Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre (APRA), by less than 14,000 votes. Since none of the candidates managed to get the constitutionally established minimum of one third of the vote required to win outright, selection of the President should have fallen to Congress; the long-held antagonistic relationship between the military and APRA prompted Haya de la Torre to make a deal with former dictator Odria, who had come in third, which would have resulted in Odria taking the Presidency in a coalition government. However, widespread allegations of fraud prompted the Peruvian military to depose Prado and install a military ''junta'', led by Ricardo Pérez Godoy, Ricardo Perez Godoy. Godoy ran a short transitional government and held 1963 Peruvian general election, new elections in 1963, which were won by Belaúnde by a more comfortable but still narrow five percent margin. Belaúnde First presidency of Fernando Belaúnde, took office on July 28 of the same year. His presidency would continue until its interruption in 1968. Throughout Latin America in the 1960s, communist movements inspired by the Cuban Revolution sought to win power through guerrilla warfare. The Revolutionary Left Movement (Peru), Revolutionary Left Movement, or MIR, launched an insurrection that had been crushed by 1965, but Peru's internal strife would only accelerate until its climax in the 1990s.


Radical military reform (1968–1980)

After a crisis involving the missing last page of a document signed between the Peruvian government and the International Petroleum Company, General Juan Velasco Alvarado overthrew elected President Fernando Belaúnde Terry in a 1968 Peruvian coup d'état, successful coup d'état in 1968. As part of what has been called the "first phase" of the Revolutionary Government of the Armed Forces of Peru, military government's nationalist program, Velasco undertook an extensive Agrarian bonds in Peru, agrarian reform program and nationalized the fish meal industry, some petroleum companies, and several banks and mining firms. The Velasco administration saw its worst moment during the ''Limazo'', a period of civil unrest and rioting in Lima after a strike carried out by members of the Civil Guard (Peru), Civil Guard and the Republican Guard (Peru), Republican Guard. In 1971, the country celebrated its Sesquicentennial of the Independence of Peru, 150th anniversary since its independence. As a result, the Revolutionary Government established the ''National Commission for the Sesquicentennial of the Independence of Peru'' () to manage the celebrations. General Francisco Morales Bermúdez Tacnazo, overthrew Velasco in 1975, citing Velasco's economic mismanagement and deteriorating health. Morales Bermúdez moved the revolution into a more conservative "second phase", tempering the radical measures of the first phase and beginning the task of restoring the country's economy. A constitutional assembly was created in 1979, which was led by Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre. Morales Bermúdez presided over the return to civilian government in accordance with a new constitution drawn up in 1979, calling a 1980 Peruvian general election, general election in 1980.


Terrorism and the ''Fujimorato'' (1980–2000)

During the 1980s, cultivation of illicit coca was established in large areas on the eastern Andean slope. Rural insurgent movements, like the Shining Path (''Sendero Luminoso'', SL) and the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) increased and derived significant financial support from alliances with the narcotics traffickers, leading to the Internal conflict in Peru. In the May 1980 elections, President Fernando Belaúnde Terry was returned to office by a strong plurality. One of his first actions as president was the return of several newspapers to their respective owners. In this way, freedom of speech once again played an important part in Peruvian politics. Gradually, he also attempted to undo some of the most radical effects of the ''Agrarian Reform'' initiated by Velasco and reversed the independent stance that the military government of Velasco had with the United States. Belaúnde's second term was also marked by the unconditional support for Argentina, Argentine forces during the Falklands War with the United Kingdom in 1982. Belaúnde declared that "Peru was ready to support Argentina with all the resources it needed". This included a number of fighter planes and possibly personnel from the Peruvian Air Force, as well as ships, and medical teams. Belaunde's government proposed a peace settlement between the two countries, but it was rejected by both sides, as both claimed undiluted sovereignty of the territory. In response to
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
's support of the UK, Belaúnde called for Latin American unity. The nagging economic problems left over from the previous military government persisted, worsened by an occurrence of the "El Niño" weather phenomenon in 1982–83, which caused widespread flooding in some parts of the country, severe droughts in others, and decimated the schools of ocean fish that are one of the country's major resources. After a promising beginning, Belaúnde's popularity eroded under the stress of inflation, economic hardship, and terrorism. In 1985, the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA) won the presidential election, bringing Alan García to office. The transfer of the presidency from Belaúnde to García on 28 July 1985 was Peru's first exchange of power from one democratically elected leader to another in 40 years. With a parliamentary majority for the first time in APRA's history, Alan García started First presidency of Alan García, his administration with hopes for a better future. However, economic mismanagement led to hyperinflation from 1988 to 1990. García's term in office was marked by bouts of hyperinflation, which reached 7,649% in 1990 and had a cumulative total of 2,200,200% between July 1985 and July 1990, thereby profoundly destabilizing the Peruvian economy. Owing to such chronic inflation, the Peruvian currency, the Peruvian sol (1863–1985), sol, was replaced by the ''Inti (currency), Inti'' in mid-1985, which itself was replaced by the Peruvian nuevo sol, nuevo sol ("new sun") in July 1991, at which time the new ''sol'' had a cumulative value of one billion old soles. During his administration, the ''per capita'' annual income of Peruvians fell to $720 (below the level of 1960) and Peru's Gross Domestic Product, GDP dropped 20%. By the end of his term, national reserves were a negative $900 million. The economic turbulence of the time exacerbated social tensions in Peru and partly contributed to the rise of the violent rebel movement Shining Path. The García administration unsuccessfully sought a military solution to the growing terrorism, committing human rights violations which are still under investigation. In June 1989, demonstrations for free education were severely repressed by the army: 18 people were killed according to official figures, but non-governmental estimates suggest several dozen deaths. This event led to a radicalization of political protests in the countryside and ultimately led to the outbreak of the Shining Path's armed and terrorist actions.


Fujimori's presidency and the Fujishock (1990–2000)

Concerned about the economy, the increasing terrorist threat from Shining Path, Sendero Luminoso and MRTA, and allegations of official corruption, voters chose a relatively unknown mathematician-turned-politician, Alberto Fujimori, as president in 1990. The first round of the election was won by well-known writer Mario Vargas Llosa, a conservative candidate who went on to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2010, but Fujimori defeated him in the second round. Fujimori implemented drastic measures that caused inflation to drop from 7,650% in 1990 to 139% in 1991. The currency was devalued by 200%, prices were rising sharply (especially gasoline, whose price is multiplied by 30), hundreds of public companies were privatized and 300,000 jobs were being lost. The majority of the population had not benefited from the years of strong growth, which ultimately only widened the gap between rich and poor. The poverty rate remained at around 50%. Fujimori dissolved Congress in the 1992 Peruvian self-coup d'état, self-coup of 5 April 1992, in order to have total control of the government of Peru. He then eliminated the constitution; called new congressional elections; and implemented substantial economic reform, including privatization of numerous state-owned companies, creation of an investment-friendly climate, and sound management of the economy. Fujimori's administration was dogged by several insurgent groups, most notably Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path), which carried on a terrorist campaign in the countryside throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He cracked down on the insurgents and was successful in largely quelling them by the late 1990s, but the fight was marred by atrocities committed by both the Peruvian security forces and the insurgents: the Barrios Altos massacre and La Cantuta massacre by government paramilitary groups, and the bombings of Tarata bombing, Tarata and Frecuencia Latina bombing, Frecuencia Latina by Shining Path. Those examples subsequently came to be seen as symbols of the human rights violations committed during the last years of violence. With the capture of Abimael Guzmán (known as ''President Gonzalo'' to the Shining Path) in September 1992, the Shining Path received a severe blow which practically destroyed the organization. In December 1996, a group of insurgents belonging to the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, MRTA Japanese embassy hostage crisis, took over the Japanese embassy in Lima, taking 72 people hostage. Military commandos stormed the embassy compound in April 1997, which resulted in the death of all 15 hostage takers, one hostage, and 2 commandos. It later emerged, however, that Fujimori's security chief Vladimiro Montesinos may have ordered the killing of at least eight of the rebels after they surrendered. Fujimori's constitutionally questionable decision to seek a third term and subsequent tainted victory in June 2000 brought political and economic turmoil, including the Four Quarters March of July 26–28, which left several dead and injured, and destroyed the building of the Bank of the Nation (Peru), ''Banco de la Nación'' (Bank of the Nation). A bribery scandal that broke just weeks after he took office in July forced Fujimori to call new elections in which he would not run. The scandal involved Vladimiro Montesinos, who was shown in a video broadcast on TV bribing a politician to change sides. Montesinos subsequently emerged as the center of a vast web of illegal activities, including embezzlement, graft, drug trafficking, as well as human rights violations committed during the war against Sendero Luminoso.


Business republic (2000–2016)

In November 2000, Fujimori resigned from office and went to Japan in self-imposed exile, avoiding prosecution for human rights violations and corruption charges by the new Peruvian authorities. His main intelligence chief, Vladimiro Montesinos, fled Peru shortly afterwards. Authorities in Venezuela arrested him in Caracas in June 2001 and turned him over to Peruvian authorities; he is now imprisoned and charged with acts of corruption and human rights violations committed during Fujimori's administration. A caretaker government presided over by Valentín Paniagua Corazao, Valentín Paniagua took on the responsibility of conducting new presidential and congressional elections. The 2001 Peruvian general election, elections were held in April 2001; observers considered them to be free and fair. Alejandro Toledo (who led the opposition against Fujimori) defeated former President Alan García. The newly elected government took office on 28 July 2001. The Toledo Administration managed to restore some degree of democracy to Peru following the authoritarianism and corruption that plagued both the Fujimori and García governments. Innocents wrongfully tried by military courts during the war against terrorism (1980–2000) were allowed to receive new trials in civilian courts. On 28 August 2003, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Peru), Truth and Reconciliation Commission (CVR), which had been charged with studying the roots of the violence of the 1980–2000 period, presented its formal report to the President. President Toledo was forced to make a number of cabinet changes, mostly in response to personal scandals. Toledo's governing coalition had a minority of seats in Congress and had to negotiate on an ''ad hoc'' basis with other parties to form majorities on legislative proposals. Toledo's popularity in the polls suffered throughout the last years of his regime, due in part to family scandals and in part to dissatisfaction among workers with their share of benefits from Peru's macroeconomic success. After strikes by teachers and agricultural producers led to nationwide road blockages in May 2003, Toledo declared a state of emergency that suspended some civil liberties and gave the military power to enforce order in 12 regions. The state of emergency was later reduced to only the few areas where the Shining Path was operating. On 28 July 2006, former president Alan García Second presidency of Alan García, was reelected as the President of Peru. He won the 2006 Peruvian election, 2006 elections after winning in a runoff against Ollanta Humala. In May 2008, President García was a signatory to the UNASUR Constitutive Treaty of the Union of South American Nations (USAN). Peru has ratified the treaty. On 5 June 2011, Ollanta Humala was Presidency of Ollanta Humala, elected president in a run-off against Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of Alberto Fujimori and former First Lady of Peru, in the 2011 Peruvian general election, 2011 elections, making him the first leftist president of Peru since Juan Velasco Alvarado. In December 2011, a state of emergency was declared following popular opposition to some major mining project and environmental concerns.


Political crisis (2016–present)

Pedro Pablo Kuczynski was Presidency of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, elected president in the 2016 Peruvian general election, general election in July 2016. His parents were Polish Jews fleeing from Nazism. Kuczynski was committed to integrating and acknowledging Peru's indigenous populations, with state-run TV beginning daily news broadcasts in Quechuan languages, Quechua and Aymara language, Aymara. Kuczynski was widely criticized on Pardon of Alberto Fujimori, pardoning former President Alberto Fujimori, going against his campaign promises against his rival, Keiko Fujimori. In March 2018, after a failure to impeach the president, Kuczynski faced yet again the threat of impeachment on the basis of corruption in Electoral fraud, vote buying and bribery with the Odebrecht, Odebrecht corporation. On 23 March 2018, Kucyznski was forced to resign from the President of Peru, presidency, and has not been heard from since. His successor was his first vice president, engineer Martín Vizcarra. Vizcarra has announced publicly that he has no plans in seeking for re-election amidst the 2017–2021 Peruvian political crisis, political crisis and instability. However, the Congress impeached President Martin Vizcarra in November 2020. His successor, interim president Manuel Merino, resigned after being in office for only five days. Merino Presidency of Francisco Sagasti, was succeeded by interim president Francisco Sagasti, the third head of state in under a week. On 28 July 2021, coinciding with the Bicentennial of the Independence of Peru, left-wing Pedro Castillo was Presidency of Pedro Castillo, sworn in as the new President of Peru after a narrow win against Keiko Fujimori in the 2022 2021 Peruvian general election, election. As a result of economic stagnation during the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru, between ten and twenty percent of Peruvians fell below the poverty line in 2020, reversing a decade of poverty reduction in the country and resulting in a poverty rate of 30.1% that year. Following the global economic reverberations resulting from International sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War, Western-led sanctions against Russia due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian invasion of Ukraine beginning in February 2022, inflation in Peru rose sharply. As a result, on 28 March 2022 March–April 2022 Peruvian protests, mass protests began. The government responded to the rioting by deploying the Peruvian Armed Forces, Armed Forces. President Castillo declared a state of emergency and enforced a total curfew in Lima for the entire day of 5 April. In November 2022, thousands of opponents of the government marched through the capital's center to call for the removal of President Pedro Castillo. After Pedro Castillo#Removal attempts, multiple attempts to remove Castillo were unsuccessful, Castillo 2022 Peruvian self-coup d'état attempt, attempted a self-coup on 7 December 2022 and was subsequently impeached and removed from office. Castillo's vice president Dina Boluarte was sworn in as the new president later that day, becoming the country's Presidency of Dina Boluarte, first female president. Following Castillo's removal, his supporters started December 2022 Peruvian protests, nationwide protests demanding his release and Boluarte's resignation. On 14 December 2022, Peru's new government declared a 30-day national state of emergency to stop violent demonstrations.


See also

* Timeline of Peruvian history *
Viceroyalty of Peru The Viceroyalty of Peru (), officially known as the Kingdom of Peru (), was a Monarchy of Spain, Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in ...
* Politics of Peru * President of Peru


Notes


References


Citations


Sources

* "Historia del Peru". Lexus Editores, Barcelona, 2000.


Further reading

* Dobyns, Henry F. and Paul L. Doughty, ''Peru: A cultural history''. New York : Oxford University Press, 1976. * Higgins, James. ''A history of Peruvian literature'' (Francis Cairns, 1987) * Werlich, David P. ''Peru: a short history'' (Southern Illinois Univ Pr, 1978)


Conquest

*Pedro de Cieza de León, Cieza de León, Pedro de. ''The Discovery and Conquest of Peru: Chronicles of the New World Encounter''. Ed. and trans., Alexandra Parma Cook and
Noble David Cook Noble David Cook (1941 - April 8, 2024) was a historian and author who studied the history of colonial Peru. He taught at the Florida International University from 1992, and was made a professor emeritus there in 2017. Career Cook earnt a maste ...
. Durham: Duke University Press 1998. *Hemming, John. ''The Conquest of the Incas''. New York: Harcourt Brace Janovich, 1970. *James Lockhart (historian), Lockhart, James. ''The Men of Cajamarca; a social and biographical study of the first conquerors of Peru'', Austin, Published for the Institute of Latin American Studies by the University of Texas Press [1972] *Titu Cusi Yupanqui, Yupanqui, Titu Cusi. ''An Inca Account of the Conquest of Peru''. Trans. Ralph Bauer. Boulder: University Press of Colorado 2005.


Spanish era

* Andrien, Kenneth J. ''Crisis and Decline: The Viceroyalty of Peru in the Seventeenth Century''. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press 1985. * Andrien, Kenneth J. ''Andean Worlds: Indigenous History, Culture, and Consciousness under Spanish Rule, 1532–1825''. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press 2001. * Bakewell, Peter J. ''Silver and Entrepreneurship in Seventeenth-Century Potosí: The Life and times of Antonio López de Quiroga''. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press 1988. * Baker, Geoffrey. ''Imposing Harmony: Music and Society in Colonial Cuzco''. Durham: Duke University Press 2008. * Bowser, Frederick P. ''The African Slave in Colonial Peru, 1524–1650''. Stanford: Stanford University Press 1973. * Bradley, Peter T. ''Society, Economy, and Defence in Seventeenth-Century Peru: The Administration of the Count of Alba de Liste (1655–61)''. Liverpool: Institute of Latin American Studies, University of Liverpool 1992. * Bradley, Peter T. ''The Lure of Peru: Maritime Intrusion into the South Sea, 1598–1701''. New York: St Martin's Press 1989. * Burns, Kathryn. ''Colonial Habits: Convents and the Spiritual Economy of Cuzco, Peru'' (1999), on the crucial role that convents played in the Andean economy as lenders and landlords; nuns exercised economic & spiritual power. *Cahill, David. ''From Rebellion to Independence in the Andes: Soundings from Southern Peru, 1750–1830''. Amsterdam: Aksant 2002. *Chambers, Sarah C. ''From Subjects to Citizens: Honor, Gender, and Politics in Arequipa, Peru, 1780–1854''. University Park: Penn State Press 1999. *Charnay, Paul. ''Indian Society in the Valley of Lima, Peru, 1532–1824''. Blue Ridge Summit: University Press of America 2001. * Dean, Carolyn. ''Inka Bodies and the Body of Christ: Corpus Christi in Colonial Cuzco, Peru''. Durham: Duke University Press 1999. * Fisher, John. ''Bourbon Peru, 1750–1824''. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press 2003. * Fisher, John R., Allan J. Kuethe, and Anthony McFarlane, eds. ''Reform and Insurrection in Bourbon New Granada and Peru''. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press 2003. * Garrett, David T. ''Shadows of Empire: The Indian Nobility of Cusco, 1750–1825''. New York: Cambridge University Press 2005. * Griffiths, Nicholas. ''The Cross and the Serpent: Religious Repression and Resurgence in Colonial Peru''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press 1996. * Hyland, Sabine. ''The Jesuit and the Incas: The Extraordinary Life of Padre Blas Valera, S.J.'' Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press 2003. * Jacobsen, Nils. ''Mirages of Transition: The Peruvian Altiplano, 1780–1930'' (1996) * Lamana, Gonzalo. ''Domination Without Dominance: Inca-Spanish Relations in Early Colonial Peru''. Durham: Duke University Press 2008. * James Lockhart (historian), Lockhart, James. ''Spanish Peru, 1532–1560: A Social History'' (1968), a detailed portrait of the social and economic lives of the first generation of Spanish settlers in Peru & the development of Spanish colonial society in the generation after conquest * MacCormack, Sabine. ''Religion in the Andes: Vision and Imagination in Colonial Peru''. Princeton: Princeton University Press 1991. * Mangan, Jane E. ''Trading Roles: Gender, Ethnicity, and the Urban Economy in Colonial Potosí''. Durham: Duke University Press 2005. * Marks, Patricia. ''Deconstructing Legitimacy: Viceroys, Merchants, and the Military in Late Colonial Peru''. University Park: Penn State Press 2007. * Philip Ainsworth Means, Means, Philip Ainsworth. ''Fall of the Inca Empire and the Spanish Rule in Peru: 1530–1780'' (1933) * Miller, Robert Ryal, ed. ''Chronicle of Colonial Lima: The Diary of Joseph and Francisco Mugaburu, 1640–1697''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press 1975. * Mills, Kenneth. ''Idolatry and Its Enemies: Colonial Andean Religion and Extirpation, 1640–1750''. Princeton: Princeton University Press 1997. * Osorio, Alejandra B. ''Inventing Lima: Baroque Modernity in Peru's South Sea Metropolis''. New York: Palgrave 2008. * Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala, Poma de Ayala, Felipe Guaman, ''The First New Chronicle and Good Government: On the History of the World and the Incas up to 1615''. Ed. and trans. Roland Hamilton. Austin: University of Texas Press 2009. * * Premo, Bianca. ''Children of the Father King: Youth, Authority, and Legal Minority in Colonial Lima''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press 2005. * Ramírez, Susan Elizabeth. ''The World Turned Upside Down: Cross-Cultural Contact and Conflict in Sixteenth-Century Peru''. Stanford: Stanford University Press 1996. * Serulnikov, Sergio. ''Subverting Colonial Authority: Challenges to Spanish Rule in Eighteenth-Century Southern Andes''. Durham: Duke University Press 2003. * Spalding, Karen. ''Huarochirí: An Andean Society Under Inca and Spanish Rule''. Stanford: Stanford University Press 1984. * Stavig, Ward. ''The World of Tupac Amaru: Conflict, Community, and Identity in Colonial Peru'' (1999), an ethnohistory that examines the lives of Andean Indians, including diet, marriage customs, labor classifications, taxation, and the administration of justice, in the eighteenth century. * Tandeter, Enrique. ''Coercion and Market: Silver Mining in Colonial Potosí, 1692–1826''. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press 1993. *TePaske, John J., ed. and trans. ''Discourse and Political Reflections on the Kingdom of Peru by Jorge Juan and Antonio Ulloa''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press 1978. *Thomson, Sinclair. ''We Alone Will Rule: Native Andean Politics in the Age of Insurgency''. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press 2003. * Van Deusen, Nancy E. ''Between the Sacred and the Worldly: the Institutional and Cultural Practice of Recogimiento in Colonial Lima''. Stanford: Stanford University Press 2001. * Varón Gabai, Rafael. ''Francisco Pizarro and His Brothers: The Illusion of Power in Sixteenth-Century Peru''. Trans. by Javier Flores Espinosa. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press 1997. * Charles F. Walker, Walker, Charles F. ''Shaky Colonialism: The 1746 Earthquake-Tsunami in Lima, Peru, and Its Long Aftermath''Stay (2008) * Wightman, Ann M. ''Indigenous Migration and Social Change: The Forasteros of Cuzco, 1570–1720''. Durham: Duke University Press 1990.


Republican era

* Blanchard, Peter. ''Slavery and Abolition in Early Republican Peru''. Wilmington: Scholarly Resources 1992. * Bonilla, Heraclio. "The War of the Pacific and the national and colonial problem in Peru". ''Past & Present'' 81#.1 (1978): 92–118. * Cueto, Marcos. ''The return of epidemics: health and society in Peru during the twentieth century'' (Ashgate, 2001) * Hünefeldt, Christine. ''Paying the Price of Freedom: Family and Labor Among Lima's Slaves, 1800–1854''. trans. by Alexandra Minna Stern. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press 1994. * Kenney, Charles Dennison. ''Fujimori's coup and the breakdown of democracy in Latin America'' (Univ of Notre Dame Press, 2004) * Larson, Brooke. ''Trials of Nation Making: Liberalism, Race, and Ethnicity in the Andes, 1810–1910''. New York: Cambridge University Press 2004. * Méndez G., Cecilia. ''The plebeian republic : the Huanta rebellion and the making of the Peruvian state, 1820–1850''. Durham: Duke University Press, 2005. * Miller, Rory. ''Region and Class in Modern Peruvian History'' (1987) * Pike, Frederick B. ''The Modern History of Peru'' (1967) * Starn, Orin. "Maoism in the Andes: The Communist Party of Peru-Shining Path and the refusal of history". ''Journal of Latin American Studies'' 27#2 (1995): 399–421. * Walker, Charles F. ''Smoldering Ashes: Cuzco and the Creation of Republican Peru, 1780–1840''. Durham: Duke University Press 1999.


Economic and labor history

* De Secada, C. Alexander G. "Arms, guano, and shipping: the WR Grace interests in Peru, 1865–1885". ''Business History Review'' 59#4 (1985): 597–621. * Drake, Paul. "International Crises and Popular Movements in Latin America: Chile and Peru from the Great Depression to the Cold War", in ''Latin America in the 1940s'', David Rock (historian), David Rock, ed. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press 1994, 109–140. * Gootenberg, Paul, ''Between silver and guano: commercial policy and the state in postindependence Peru''. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1989. * Gootenberg, Paul, ''Andean cocaine: the making of a global drug''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2008. * Greenhill, Robert G., and Rory M. Miller. "The Peruvian Government and the nitrate trade, 1873–1879". ''Journal of Latin American Studies'' 5#1 (1973): 107–131. * Keith, Robert G. ''Conquest and Agrarian Change: The Emergence of the Hacienda System on the Peruvian Coast'' (1979) * Peloso, Vincent C. ''Peasants on Plantations: Subaltern Strategies of Labor and Resistance in the Pisco Valley, Peru'' (Duke University Press, 1999) * Purser, Michael, and W. F. C. Purser. ''Metal-mining in Peru, past and present'' (1971) * Quiroz, Alfonso W. ''Domestic and foreign finance in modern Peru, 1850–1950: financing visions of development'' (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1993) * Stewart, Watt. ''Henry Meiggs: Yankee Pizarro'' (Duke University Press, 1946), on 1870s


Primary sources


Higgins, James (editor). ''The Emancipation of Peru: British Eyewitness Accounts'' (2014).


Historiography

* Bonilla, Heraclio. "The New Profile of Peruvian History", ''Latin American Research Review'' Vol. 16, No. 3 (1981), pp. 210–22
in JSTOR
* Fryer, Darcy R. "A Taste of Spanish America: Reading Suggestions for Teachers of Colonial North America"
''Common-Place'' 15#2 (2015)
* Heilman, Jaymie Patricia. "From the Inca to the Bourbons: New writings on pre-colonial and colonial Peru", ''Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History'' Volume 12, Number 3, Winter 2011 * Restall, Matthew. ''Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest'' (Oxford University Press, 2003) * Thurner, Mark. ''History's Peru: The Poetics of Colonial and Postcolonial Historiography'' (University Press of Florida; 2010) 302 pages; a study of Peruvian historiography from Inca Garcilaso de la Vega (1539–1616) to Jorge Basadre (1903–80)
full text online


External links


Machu Picchu information, photos, maps and more



State of Fear
is a documentary that tells the story of Peru's war on terror based on the findings of the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
"An Account of a Voyage up the River de la Plata, and Thence over Land to Peru: With Observations on the Inhabitants, as Well as Indians and Spaniards, the Cities, Commerce, Fertility, and Riches of That Part of America"
from 1698 {{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Peru History of Peru,