Early history: Inca empire
The Inca Empire, also called “Tahuantinsuyu” (using Spanish spelling), meaning "land of the four quarters", dominated western South America from the southern boundary of modern Colombia, to the northern regions of Chile and Argentina. In fact, only the emperor was called “Sapa Inca”. The empire originated from a tribe based in Cusco, which became the capital. Pachacuti was the first ruler to considerably expand the boundaries of the Cuzco state. His offspring later ruled an empire by violent and peaceful conquest. In Cusco, the royal city was created to resemble a puma; the head, the main royal structure, formed what is now known as Sacsayhuaman. The empire was divided into four quarters: Chinchasuyu, Antisuyu, Contisuyu and Collasuyu.
Quechua (Quichua) was the official language, imposed on the citizens. It was the language of a tribe neighbouring 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. For example, Inti, the sun god, was to be worshipped as one of the most important gods of the empire. Many strange and interesting customs were observed, for example the extravagant feast of Inti Raymi which gave thanks to Inti, and the young women who comprised the Virgins of the Sun, sacrificial virgins devoted to the sun god. The empire, for being so large, also had an impressive transportation system of roads to all points of the empire, and chasquis, message carriers who relayed information from anywhere in the empire to Cusco.
Spanish Rule
The Inca empire was defeated by the Spanish conquistadors’ superior firepower, and their greed for gold. Francisco Pizarro landed on the Peruvian coast in 1531, and by the end of the 1530s the Viceroyalty of Peru encompassed all of Spain's territories in South America.
The Viceroyalty was a major source of gold and silver for the Spanish Empire. Lima was one of the two most important cities in Spain's empire in America, the other being Mexico City. It is said that the country received its name from a Spaniard pronunciation of the Viru River. [1]
Independence
Peru declared its independence from Spain on July 28, 1821 thanks to an alliance between the Army of José de San Martín, and the Army of Simón Bolívar. Its first elected president, however, was not in power until 1827.
From 1836 to 1839 Peru and Bolivia were united in the Peru-Bolivian Confederacy lead by Andrés de Santa Cruz. The confederation dissolved due to internal conflicts and finally in a war with Chile with the support of Peruvian expatriates. Between these years, political unrest continued, and the Army was as an important political force.
In 1864, Spain organised a so-called naval science expedition, whose main objective was to recover control of its former colonies. Spain started occupying the Chinchas Islands and arresting Peruvian citizens in 1864, claiming that Spaniards were mistreated on Peruvian ground. After that, the Spaniard Fleet destroyed the Chilean harbour of Valparaiso. Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru signed an alliance to defeat Spain by the end of December 1865. The Spanish Fleet tried to destroy the harbour of Callao, but failed. Main naval battles fought where the Battle of Papudo in 1865, Battle of Abtao and Battle of Callao in 1866.
In 1879 Peru entered the War of the Pacific which lasted until 1884. 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. Chile declared war on April 5, 1879.
Almost five years of war ended with the loss of the department of Tarapacá and the provinces of Tacna and Arica, in the Atacama region. After the war, an extraordinary effort of reconstruction began. Political stability was achieved only in the early 1900s. In 1929 Peru and Chile signed a final peace treaty, (Treaty of Ancon) by which Tacna returned to Peru and Peru yielded permanently the rich provinces of Arica and Tarapaca, but keept certain rights to the port activities in Arica and decisions of what Chile can do on those territories.
During World War II, Peru aligned with the Unites States and its allies against Germany and Japan.
Between 1941 and 1995, Peru and Ecuador fought three wars over control of the territory in the northern part of modern-day Peru. The dispute officially ended in 1998, when Peru was awarded most of the territory.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Peru
