What we know of the early Peru history is a result of the many important Peruvian archaeology finds. Its history covers a few thousand years from early or ancient times up to the present.
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Peruvian
history can be broken down into 5 major periods:
For countless centuries before the invasion of Spanish adventurer and
European culture, Peru was the home to an amazing number of advanced
cultures and civilizations.
Here we discuss the major stages of the history of Peru to arrive at its current modern and bustling society with all its progress and improvements as well as it problems and challenges.
What we know
of the early history of Peru is a result of the many important Peruvian
archaeology finds. Its history covers a few thousand years from early
or ancient times up to the
present.
Peru is a
country of varied climate because the influence of the following
phenomena:
The territory now covered by Peru included ancient
cultures such as the Chavin
Culture and the Moche
Civilization among other
significant civilizations.
The best known of
these early cultures, the Inca
Empire, was the largest
state in Pre-Columbian
America and later played a large role in Peru history.
The
Incas were conquered by the Spanish
Empire in the
16th century. During this time span in the history of Peru, Spain set
up a Viceroyalty, that is to say, a
district ruled by a
colonial administration, which held authority over most of the other
Spanish South America territories.
The next big change
in Peru
history was from the Viceroyalty or Colonial period to
Peruvian Independence, first
set up in 1821 but not in control until 1824 after the
decisive
battle of Ayacucho.
Since 1824, this phase in the history of Peru has been essentially that
of an independent republic.
The oldest
civilizations in the geographical
area
of modern-day Peru are thousands of years old (see
Peru Cultures Timeline).
The earliest are found on the
coast in Paracas
and Chilca Provinces and in the mountains in the
beautiful Callejon de Huaylas.
During this long formative stage of Peru history, there was a gradual change from the initial nomadic type of civilization to an agriculturally-oriented lifestyle.
Main crops appear to have been corn for food and cotton for other uses. Wild animals native to the areas were eventually domesticated. These changes in the history of Peru resulted in what we seen in the Peru of today - the guinea pig, alpaca, and llama.
Crafts such as pottery, weaving baskets, using cotton and wool for textiles became widespread.
Some of the more significant cultures during this period: Followed later by the:The biggest and most well known of the pre-Columbian civilizations was the Inca dynasty.
It reached its maximum size in the early 1500s, reaching from the
southern mountains of Colombia in the north, covering most of Peru and
a large part of Bolivia, and reaching into Argentina and Chile in the
south.
"Along
with my wife, daughter, and mother-in-law, I visited Machu Picchu
several years ago and was amazed at the extent and amount of ruins in the surrounding area that
you hardly hear about.
Another couple visiting us with Lin's mother (we lived in Bolivia
at the time) made the comment that in all their
travels to famous sites, Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley was the
best, even beating the
Great Wall of China."
~ David Schneider at Inside-Peru.com
The capital of the
Inca Empire was Cuzco, located in the high Andes
Mountains
in the far south of Peru.
Along with Cuzco, the most well-known site and destination of travel
for modern-day visitors is Machu
Picchu, a fascinating and highly-picturesque ruin located
on the top of a mountain ridge with precipitous drops on all sides,
falling away to the Urubamba River valley, "The Sacred Valley."
Although Machu Picchu is the best-known of the Inca ruins, many scores
of other well-preserved ruins are to be found in the Sacred Valley and
surrounding areas.
Must read:
The White Rock: An Exploration of the Inca Heartland
by Hugh Thomson, who rediscovers Llactapata, an amazing Inca city near
Machu Picchu, and othe "lost cities of the Incas." Read our special book
review here.
Gold! That was the
byword of adventurers returning from to Spain from
Peru.
A not-so-happy era in Peru history was a result of these tales of
fabulous wealth to be had for those with an adventurous and loose
spirit. Among those drawn to this new world was a man named Francisco
Pizarro along with his brothers.
Pizarro became a famous, perhaps infamous, name in the course
of the history of Peru.
While a civil war ensued between two of the main Incas, and taking
advantage of a time of local festivities, these brothers captured
the Atahualpa in 1532, putting an unofficial end to the Inca sovereign
system.
During bloody
reprisals against Inca protests,
the Spaniards finally abolished the entire Inca system and established
a
colonial regime.
However, Spanish royal authority was firmly set up until the official
Viceroyalty of Peru in 1542.
During the decades
after the establishment of the Spanish colonial rule
under the Viceroyalty, Peru became the basis for Spain's wealth and
authority in South America.
In spite of the iron hand of Spain, indigenous uprisings plagued the
Viceroyalty for the next 270 years, culminating in wars and finally the
Peruvian
declaration of independence in 1821.
Freedom from
Spanish rule,
however, did not come until the Spanish army was defeated
and Peruvian
independence gained in 1824.
During the
following decades, disputes over borders with neighboring
countries were frequent.
Wars and broken treaties with Ecuador and
Chile left scars that have not healed up to the present time.
After the world economic
crisis following 1929, Peru was plagued with
unrest and military reprisals.
The following years were notable for the
formation of various political parties, both leftist and far right, the
roots of which are found in Peruvian politics at the present time.
Out of this unstable time in Peru history came more turmoil.
Finally, in 1948,
iron-handed military dictatorships became the norm
and dominated the country until 1979, although the country was
nominally a republic.
Finally, in 1980, the president assumed more power and took steps to
diminish the power of the military
and restore a measure of rule by popular support.
Now, despite various corrupt and self-serving administrations over the
past few decades, Peru has come
out of much of its political and financial turmoil and has attained, to
a certain extent,
stability.
The history of Peru, as in all countries, faces an uncertain future.
However, in many ways for many of its people, life is better than
it was in the past
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