The Peru History Timeline

The Peru History: Peru, officially the Republic of Peru (Spanish: República del Perú), 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 Pacific Ocean.

History on Peru

• Total area of Peru:  Total land area of 1,379,999 km and a total water area of 5,000 km .
• Capital of Peru: Lima
• Language of Peru: Spanish
• Continent of Peru: South America

Religion Ratio of Peru History

Religious Beliefs in Peru History.

Early History of Peru

The first inhabitants arrived in Peru almost 20,000 years ago. They carried stone instruments and devoted themselves to hunting and harvesting fruit. A few settled in Paccaicasa (Ayacucho). The oldest remains of a Peruvian (7,000 years old) give an account of a person with a wide figure, elongated head and a height of about 1.60 meters. The ancient Peruvians left some remains of rock art in Toquepala (Tacna, 7,600 BC) and remains of their dwellings in Chilca (Lima, 5,800 BC). The process of domestication of plants allowed the development of agriculture and the construction of villages and public centers of ceremonies.

New techniques have developed thanks to the integration of other cultures: textiles, metallurgy, ceramics have made spectacular advances.

History timeline of Peru

Pre-Inca cultures developed on the Peruvian coast and mountain throughout a period of 1,400 years. A few, with their power and influence, have dominated large areas of our territory. At the time of their decline, these crops allowed the development of small regional centers. All these cultures have been characterized by their very particular ritual ceramics, by a surprising adaptation to the environment, as well as by an excellent use of natural resources. Subsequently, the Inca culture was nourished by this vast knowledge.

The first Peruvian civilization was established in Huantar (Ancash) between 1,200 and 200 BC. His power, based on a theocratic order, was centered in the temple of Chavín de Huantar, whose walls and galleries were covered with an enormous amount of sculptures depicting ferocious gods with feline features.

The Incas
The Inca culture (1,400 AD) was the most important civilization in South America. The economic organization and distribution of wealth, its artistic manifestations and its architecture impressed the first chroniclers. The Incas worshipped the earth (Pachamama) and the sun (Inti). The Inca, sovereign of Tahuantinsuyo, was considered sacred and son of the sun, hence the legends of the origin of the Incas tell us that the sun sends their children (Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo or the four Ayar brothers and their wives) to found Cusco, sacred city and center of Tahuantinsuyo. The expansion of the Incas is attributed to their extraordinary organizing ability.

The population had as its central, family and territorial nucleus, the ayllu, and having to move away for work reasons, did not lose ties with it. The Inca mobilized large amounts of population as a reward or punishment and thus consolidated the expansion, while nourishing the knowledge of the cultures that had been previously developed. The kinship group of the Inca was the panaca, which was composed of relatives and their descendants, with the exception of the one who became Inca and formed a new panaca. The Spanish chroniclers of the sixteenth century pointed out that there were thirteen its sovereigns: from the legendary Manco Capac to the controversial Atahualpa, who lost his life during the Spanish conquest.

The Tahuantinsuyo or Inca Empire managed to extend to the current countries of Colombia to the north and Chile and Argentina to the south, including the territories of Bolivia and Ecuador. The members of the panacas were the Inca nobles, headed by the sovereign. The power of the panacas and the Inca is tangible throughout the Tahuantinsuyo, but it is in the Cusco architecture that reaches its splendor: the Koricancha or Temple of the Sun, the fortresses of Ollantaytambo and Sacsayhuamán and, above all, the city of Machu Picchu.

Peruvian culture

Peru history and cultures: Peruvian culture is a beautiful blend of Hispanic and native traditions. Quechua and Aymara are their two main native cultures, who also speak their own language. These Inca descendants have successfully preserved and developed their proud cultures, despite the progressive entry of globalization. In fact, the ancient Inca headquarters of Cuzco is still perceived by many as the cultural capital of the country.

The typical Peruvian dress is beautiful. In some regions, women wear layers of bright skirts called skirts. Some wear black skirts with a wide embroidered belt, or cotton petticoats underneath with elaborate designs. Peruvian ponchos are a must in the highlands, where the cold can be harsh. The ponchos of Cajamarca and Puno are long and printed, while those of Cuzco are shorter. Wool or straw hats are also common.

A trip to Peru includes some exposure to the country’s art, both modern and ancient. Pre-Hispanic artifacts are striking examples of artistic expression, from jewelry and weaving to stone and metal sculptures. Mestizo and indigenous painting styles developed during the colonial period and have become a complex artistic culture.

Its architecture is impressive. The colonial city of Arequipa is the perfect example. From the cobbled streets rise cathedrals and white facades, and there are architectural treasures dotting the winding avenues, from former monasteries and mansions to country houses.

In the realm of ancient architecture, the lost city of Machu Picchu is unparalleled in its engineering and location. The stone temples and halls rise directly from the top of the mountain, which falls on all sides to the rivers below. Terraced gardens reveal the agricultural advances of the Incas, and astrological markers show incredible accuracy and knowledge of celestial events. The lost city is one of the great wonders of the world.

Peruvian music is distinctive, and will probably feature various tastes. A mixture of the pre-Columbian influences of wind and drum instruments with delicate Spanish stringed instruments.

 2. THE SPANISH CONQUEST (1525-1555) PERU HISTORY

History about Peru: After the death of Huayana Cápac (circa 1525), who divided his states between his two sons, Atahualpa (Quito) and Huáscar (Cuzco), civil war ravaged the Inca Empire. From Balboa, the Spaniards of Panama know of the existence of a country rich in gold, located further south, and some go to explore the coast.

who discovered Peru? Francisco Pizarro

Three Spaniards, Francisco Pizarro, Diego de Almagro and Hernando de Luque, joined forces in Panama to try the adventure. After a first unsuccessful attempt where they touched Guayaquil, they returned in 1529, Charles V having appointed Pizarro governor and captain general of a New Castile that remained to be identified and conquered. They landed there in 1531 with 180 men and 27 horses, and on November 15, 1532, after a long march, arrived at Cajamarca, where Atahualpa, caught up in the civil war against his brother and surrounded by an army of 40,000 men, let this handful of strangers come. The Inca was taken prisoner by Pizarro, who soon entered Cuzco.

In the Inca Civil War, Pizarro allied himself with the supporters of Huáscar, who had just been executed on the orders of his brother; the recently conquered southern ethnic groups – especially the Kañaris – joined him against the Incas, and the promise of their liberation provoked the uprising of the serfs, or yanaconas.

The execution of Atahualpa by Pizarro (August 1533), despite the payment of a fabulous ransom and his baptism, sealed the union of Pizarro and his native allies.

Pizarro then exercised power through a group of puppet Incas and began to organize the Spanish presence with the foundation of cities, including Lima – the “city of kings” – created in 1535, of which he made the capital. Rivalries between conquistadores for the division of the spoils began and only the departure of Almagro for the South and Chile prevented the conflict. The Indian revolt broke out in 1533: the Inca Manco Cápac II managed to escape and returned with a huge army, raised in Yucay, besieging Cuzco, where 200 Spaniards resisted for several months 50,000 Indians.

The return of Almagro in 1537 saved the Spaniards, and Manco had to retire to the distant Andes of Vilcabamba, where he reconstituted a neo-Inca state in Vitcos, whose resistance ended only with the capture and execution of the Inca. Túpac Amaru I^er (1572).

The victory of 1537 and the disappointment with a poor and difficult Chile opened the cycle of civil wars between the conquistadores of Peru, where Almagro and Pizarro, the leaders of the two opposing parties, perished, who clashed in a series of wars in which the Incas also intervened (1537-1544).

The promulgation in 1542 of the “New Laws” by Charles V, to protect the Indians from the excesses of the conquistadores, went hand in hand with the appointment of a viceroy, Nuñez de Vela, to impose royal authority. The attempt to enforce these laws in Peru provoked the revolt of the Spanish.

The war lasted ten years (1544-1554) and experienced multiple episodes, from the death of the viceroy on the battlefield of Añaquito (1542) to the secession of Gonzalo Pizarro, who declared himself independent from Spain, and who was defeated and executed only in 1548 by Viceroy Pedro de La Gasca. It was only with the defeat of the last Pizarrist, Hernández de Girón, in 1554, and the arrival in Lima as viceroy of Andrés Hurtado de Mendoza, Marquis of Cañete, in 1555, that the great period of unrest ended.

3. THE COLONIAL ERA (1555-1781) HISTORY OF PERU

3.1. THE VICEROYALTY OF PERU

THE COLONIAL SYSTEM IN HISTORY PERU TIMELINE 

Colonial system in Peru history: The colonial system, developed by the Marquis of Cañete (1556-1561), was organized by Viceroy Francisco de Toledo (1569-1581), who copied the Inca organization; the Indians remain grouped into agricultural communities; some are placed under the tutelage (encomienda) of the conqueror who exploits them; the others paid tribute and mita (corvée instituted by the Incas) to the public authority, although the latter made many inhabitants flee to Lima or the coastal plain.

The Inca nobility integrated, while keeping a certain specificity, into the colonial aristocracy, and many inferior chiefs, the caciques, served as intermediaries between the indigenous communities and the Spanish administration. It will take a long effort by the religious to connect the Indians to Christian culture.

TRADE AND MINING IN HISTORY OF PERU

Mining on Peru history: Spanish settlers introduced olives, wheat and vines to the first Andes plateaus, brought slaves to sugar cane plantations based on the coast; Finally, they buy dye products, furniture, ecclesiastical ornaments, Mexican textiles, etc.

But Peru’s great wealth comes from its subsoil. The mercury mine of Huancavelica allows the amalgamation of silver in Mexico (1567), then in Peru itself (perhaps as early as 1572, at the latest in 1585).

The silver deposit of Potosí, discovered in 1545, dominated world production until the eighteenth century.^e century, and feeds for a very large part the commercial flows which, from El Callao, go to the isthmuses of Panama (main road) and Tehuantepec (ports of Huatulco, then, after the middle of the sixteenth century).^e century, from Navidad) and towards the Río de la Plata. This money, which both supported and disrupted the economy of the metropolis and of Europe as a whole, enriched colonial society.

But, after reaching its peak between 1610 and 1630, the silver production of Potosí quickly collapsed due to the exhaustion of the most accessible veins, the technical inadequacy of the exploitation and the flight of the Indian population to the coast, plantations and cities (especially Lima), where the mita did not exist; The appearance of a salaried system did not stop this process, the population decreasing overall until the end of the XVII^e century, after the catastrophic period of 1525 to 1600, which saw the population increase from about 10 million inhabitants to 1 million.

When the demographic recovery is felt in the eighteenth^e In the century, Potosí does not wake up, especially since in the meantime relations with the metropolis through the Pacific and the isthmus of Panama have been interrupted and the only remaining link with Spain is the long and dangerous road to Buenos Aires.

AUDIENCIAS

Isolated from Europe, the immense viceroyalty of Peru, which in fact extends over all of South America and is divided into seven audiencias (Panama, Santa Fe de Bogotá, Quito, Lima, Charcas, Chile and Buenos Aires), is gradually reduced to the current territory: the viceroyalty of Terre-Ferme or New Granada (1718), definitively organized in 1740, takes away Venezuela, present-day Colombia and Ecuador; in 1776, the creation of the Viceroyalty of La Plata (Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay) even removed the audiencia of Charcas (upper Peru, present-day Bolivia).

THE INSURRECTION OF TÚPAC AMARU II

Peru history: Finally, the Captaincy General of Chile, created in 1778, had a certain autonomy with regard to Lima, while the proclamation of freedom of trade (1778) shook the Spanish borders and already prepared for independence. The discrimination of colonial society, the modernization of its taxation and the excesses of many corregidors provoked in 1780 the revolt of José Gabriel Condorcanqui, who took the name of Túpac Amaru II and raised the Indian masses. He was defeated and executed in 1781.

4. LIBERATION AND POLITICAL INDEPENDENCE (1804-1884)

Peru history: The energetic Viceroy J. F. Abascal (1804-1816), who made Peru a royalist bastion based on the loyalty of the Indians and the passivity of the Creoles, who feared them, repelled the army of the rebellious Argentines. But, after the insurrection of Cadiz (1820), San Martin took the offensive at the head of the Argentines and Chileans; entering insurgent Lima, he imposed independence on Peru and received the title of “Protector” (July 28, 1821), which he relinquished in September 1822, after the meeting of Guayaquil with Bolívar (July 1822).

It was the army of the latter, proclaimed “Liberator” (September 1823), which completed the destruction of the royalist army (Junín and Ayacucho, 1824); the last colonial garrison, El Callao, capitulated in January 1826. The large landowners and military caudillos now took power in place of the Spanish administration, while the state disintegrated, and the abandoned Indian mountain and its communities lost their lands to liberal legislation.

Already political disorder has set in; even before Bolívar abandoned the country to its destiny (September 1826), there were two presidents of the Republic in two years. Peru will experience a multitude of pronunciamientos and constitutions. The traditional links between Lower and Upper Peru allowed Marshal Santa Cruz to create a Peruvian-Bolivian Confederation (1836), which was destroyed by the Chilean army (1839).

Ramón Castilla, President of the Republic twice (1845-1851 and 1855-1862), imposed his dictatorship, then abolished the tribute of Indians and slavery of Blacks, and developed the national economy; European capital was interested in the exploitation of guano and saltpeter, which were at the origin of the introduction of a Chinese workforce extremely abused (from 1849). A debt affair led the Spanish fleet to occupy the guano-rich Chincha Islands (1864), then to bombard El Callao (1866); eventually, Spain had to give up its dreams of colonial reconquest.

The saltpeter of the province of Tarapacá is at the origin of the War of the Pacific with Chile, which defeats Bolivia (1879-1880) and Peru (1879-1883). The latter ceded the province of Tarapacá to Chile, which occupied the other provinces of Tacna and Arica for ten years, before they decided their fate by plebiscite. In fact, the matter would not be settled until 1929, with Chile returning Tacna and keeping Arica.

Less serious border disputes were settled with Brazil (1909), with Colombia (cession of the Leticia trapezoid, 1934); on the other hand, the dispute with Ecuador (region north of Marañón) persists, despite the war between the two countries and the Rio de Janeiro Agreement (1942), which recognized Peru’s sovereignty over most of the disputed Amazonian territories (200,000 km).²). In January 1981, border incidents again pitted the two countries against each other over possession of this oil-rich region.

5. POLITICAL ALTERNATION AND MODERNIZATION OF THE COUNTRY (1884-1948)

Peru history: The War of the Pacific brought about profound changes in the Peruvian political universe. The figure of the caudillo, basing his power on popular legitimacy and appearing at the time of independence, disappears, while military and civilian will succeed each other in the presidency of the Republic.

5.1. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Economy in Peru history: The return of civilians to the head of state, with Nicolás de Piérola, president from 1879 to 1881, then from 1895 to 1899, was accompanied by a tremendous boom in the economy, thanks to the exploitation of rubber from the Amazon rainforest, and a modernization of the technical industry.

Under the two presidencies of Augusto Bernardo Leguía (1908-1912 and 1919-1930), the military returned to power and continued the policy of modernization of the country implemented by N. de Piérola.

After the opening of the Panama Canal and the First World War, sugar and cotton production expanded considerably. With labour shortages, planters relied on Japanese immigrants; thus, between 1899 and 1923, about 18,000 Japanese arrived in Peru as day labourers. But the policy of A. Leguía did not improve the situation of the Indians, who remained left behind by a system where caciquism and clientelism still existed. The penetration of too much foreign capital increased foreign debt, while the regime was weakened by the two economic crises of 1920 and 1925.

5.2. THE YEARS 1924-1939

• Who founded Peru? Peru founded in 1924 by Haya de la Torre.

Peru history of foundation: New political forces emerged, including the Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana (APRA), founded in 1924 by Haya de la Torre, then in exile. This political movement, which claimed to be of non-communist Marxist and anti-North American inspiration, declared itself in favor of a nationalization of land and industry and a policy that would take into account the interests of the Indians: it would remain one of the engines of Peruvian political life until the end of the 1980s. A populist party, it will often be favoured by the people and the regimes in place will not be able to avoid counting on it, because of its ability to mobilise the masses.

In 1930, a military uprising supported by the people overthrew President Leguía. General Luis Sánchez Cerro was in power for seven months, then he organized elections. Haya de la Torre, who is running on behalf of her party, was narrowly defeated by L. Sánchez Cerro in elections, presumably rigged. The president-elect had his opponent arrested and imprisoned and declared APRA outlawed. In 1932, supporters of Haya de la Torre’s party attempted a coup in the city of Trujillo in order to overthrow the government. But the rebellion failed and the repression was particularly harsh and bloody.

After the assassination of President Sánchez Cerro in 1933, Oscar Benavides succeeded him until 1936, the year of the elections. Once again, the results tilted in favor of APRA, but President Benavides suspended the election and banned the party; Haya de la Torre is exiled. In 1939, a banker, Manuel Prado y Ugarteche was elected president (1939-1945); He continued the modernization of the country and gradually restored constitutional legality.

5.3. FIRST FREE ELECTIONS

Peru history Elections: During the Second World War, the opposition developed and exerted significant pressure (strikes, student and trade union movements) for democratization, the acquisition of more freedoms and greater participation in political life. The unions side with APRA, which, although banned, retains strong political influence. Mr. Prado’s regime, like that of his predecessors, is mainly at the service of the large producers and exporters who make up the sugar oligarchy of the coast, eager to get rid of APRA, which hinders its financial and political interests.

The end of the war coincided with the end of Prado’s term in office, which in 1945 called free elections. The victory of the Allied troops making it difficult to keep APRA illegal, and the continuation of an overly authoritarian policy risking tarnishing relations with the United States, an important trading partner, the government was forced to negotiate with Haya de la Torre: in exchange for legalization and participation in power, the revolutionary party supported Dr. José Luis Bustamante Rivero, who was elected in July 1945.

For the next two years, the agreement (convivencia) with APRA deteriorated, and in 1947 the party left the government to resume its place as leader of the opposition. Social unrest develops (major strikes and student uprisings). In 1948, General Arturo Odría seized power with the support of the oligarchy, thus ending Peru’s first democratic experiment.

6. FROM MILITARY DICTATORSHIP TO DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION (1950-1990)

The new leaders of the country then implemented a policy of liberal economy, based on the free movement of goods and capital, after devaluing the currency. In this way, the budget deficit was reduced, and prices remained somewhat stable from 1950 to 1953. The State creates jobs by launching major projects for the construction of administrative and health buildings. In addition, agriculture is expanding.

Thus, the population, although still on the margins of political decisions and deprived of a legal means of expression, is relatively satisfied with living conditions, which seem to be improving. However, success is limited to the economic level, as there is no political majority in Parliament. In 1954, economic difficulties reappeared, and the trade balance began to destabilize.

In the elections scheduled for 1956, Haya de la Torre’s party returned to the centre of the political arena. Again, APRA and the government are negotiating on terms close to those of 1945. The candidate Manuel Prado y Ugarteche, who promised to repeal the bans on APRA, was then elected. Then in 1962, during the presidential elections, Haya de la Torre was elected, against Fernando Belaúnde Terry, candidate of a new party, the Popular Action, center-right, Christian Democrat; But the army cancelled the elections. This coup d’état, carried out by the entire army, and not by a single man supported by a few, differs from the previous ones because it is considered institutional (golpe institucional).

The army then bases its power on the theory of national security according to which the military are the guarantors of the Constitution and the protectors of the Republic; new elections were held in 1963, and the military elected Fernando Belaúnde as president. However, imports continue to increase, and external debt continues to rise. In 1967, the president had to devalue the soil; but his room for manoeuvre was narrow, as he did not have a comfortable majority in Congress, and he was overthrown in 1968 by a new intervention of the army, which brought to power General Juan Velasco Alvarado.