Peru: History

Pre-20th-Century History

The first inhabitants of Peru were nomadic hunter-gatherers who lived in caves in the coastal regions. The oldest site, Pikimachay cave, dates from 12,000 BC. Crops such as cotton, beans, squash and pepper chilis were planted around 4000 BC. Later, advanced cultures such as the Chavín introduced weaving, agriculture and religion to the country before inexplicably disappearing around 300 BC. Over the centuries, several other cultures - including the Salinar, Nazca, Paracas Necropolis and Wari (Huari) - became locally important. By the early 15th century, the Incan empire had control of much of the area, even extending its influence into Colombia and Chile.

Between 1526-28, the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro explored Peru's coastal regions and, drawn by the riches of the Incan empire, returned to Spain to raise money and recruit men for another expedition. Return he did, marching into Cajamarca, in northern Peru, before capturing, ransoming and executing the Inca emperor, Atahualpa, in 1533. Pizarro subsequently founded the city of Lima in 1535, but was assassinated six years later. The rebellion of the last Inca leader, Manco Inca, ended ingloriously, with his beheading in 1572.

The next 200 years proved peaceful, with Lima becoming the major political, social and commercial center of the Andean nations. However, the exploitation of indigenous Peruvians by their colonial masters led to an uprising in 1780 under the self-styled Inca Tupac Amaru II. The rebellion was shortlived and most of the leaders were rounded up and executed. Peru remained loyal to Spain until 1824, when the country was liberated by two 'outsiders': the Venezuelan, Simón Bolívar, and the Argentinian, José de San Martín. In 1866, Peru won a brief war with Spain but was humiliated by Chile in the War of the Pacific (1879-83), which resulted in the loss of lucrative nitrate fields in the northern Atacama Desert.

Modern History

In 1941, Peru went to war with Ecuador over a border dispute. The 1942 treaty of Río de Janeiro ceded the area north of the Río Marañón to Peru, but the decision was contested by Ecuador.

Cuban-inspired guerrilla uprisings in 1965 were unsuccessful. In the 1980s, however, nationwide strikes and a violent insurgency by Maoist Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) guerrillas caused political instability.

Alberto Fujimori's 1990 presidential election victory over Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa, and the 1992 capture of MRTA and Sendero Luminoso leaders, buoyed hopes for peace.

Unemployment and poverty remained the main threat to domestic stability, despite Peru's fast-growing economy. Fujimori was re-elected in 1995, beating former UN secretary general, Javier Pérez de Cuéllar. A treaty was signed with Ecuador in 1998, resolving the 57-year-old border dispute and paving the way for increased foreign investment in both countries. However, much of the unexploded ordinance (UXO) along the border has yet to be cleaned up. In November 1999, Peru and Chile settled a territorial dispute over Arica.

In 2000, Alejandro Toledo, an indigenous Andean who became a World Bank economist, gave Fujimori the election run of his life. Though Fujimori was ultimately victorious he resigned in November and fled to Japan following charges of human rights violations and corruption made against his intelligence advisor.

Toledo became the country's first indigenous president in 2001, but the path to bringing Fujimori to justice was torturous. It was revealed that some 69,000 Peruvians died during decades of fighting between rebel and government forces.

In 2002, a car bomb exploded near the US Embassy in Lima, killing 10 people. It was thought to have been detonated by the Shining Path guerrilla group.

Recent History

By 2003, the currency was strong but Peruvians faced unemployment, stagnant wages and a higher cost of living - and Toledo's popularity was at an all-time low. In November 2005, Fujimori returned to South America, announcing plans to run for the presidency once again. He was quickly arrested in Chile on an extradition warrant. With Fujimori out of the way, the 2006 presidential elections narrowed to a face-off between the populist nationalist Ollanta Humala, and ex-president lan García. Voters elected the more conservative García.

However, though Peruvians may be better off now than they were under Fujimori, the seemingly intractable problems of poverty and unemployment remain.

Labor strikes for higher wages and political protests happen quite often. This unrest can be tiresome for travelers, who may find their trip suddenly delayed. It's not really a big deal to Peruvians, though, who are used to accepting such disturbances as facts of life.

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