Peru History
The Incas 1438-1572
The Inca empire is one of the most famous civilisations in history. The Incas were based in Cuzco and the surrounding valleys around the 12th century. The Empire was started by a small Inca tribe lead by Manco Capac who created the Cuzco region and became the first king of Cuzco. The Inca empire gradually took control of the surrounding Andes mountains until at its peak the Incas were in control of an estimated twenty million people. The Inca Empire covered four areas that all met in the capital of the Inca empire Cuzco. The four regions were known as provinces and were called Chinchay Sued located to the North West of Cuzco, Anti Suyu to the North East of the capital Kunti Suyu was the South Western area of the empire and finally Qualla Suyu to the South Eastern Direction of Cuzco. The language of the Incas was quechua as this was a language spoken before the formation of the Inca empire enabling them to communicate with all of the regions under their duristiction easily.
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Spanish Conquest 1532-1572
As it was known that the Inca empire had large amounts of silver and gold it was inevitable that this would lead to another nation trying to conquer the Incas. This became a reality in 1532 when the Spanish army lead by Francisco Pizzaro landed in Peru. The Spanish army overthrew the Inca Empire whilst the two princes Atahualpa and Huáscar were enbroilled in a five year civil war and many of the Inca people where also celebrating in Cajamarca. The Spanish maintained control of Cuzco despite unrest and fighting between the natives and in-fighting Spanish. Lima was founded in 1535 and became the centre of the Spanish reign of Peru. Many of the Inca cities were given new Spanish names and cathedrals and government buildings were introduced to the cities with many of the Inca sites abondoned for lower altitude sites.
Viceroyalty of Peru 1542-1824
The Spanish created the Viceroyalty of Peru with the aim of economic development through commercial monopoly and mineral extraction, mainly from the silver mines of Potosi. This organization transformed Peru into the principal source of Spanish wealth and power in South America.
Republic of Peru 1824-Present Day
Factors involved in Peru's independance started with an uprising of Spanish landowners led by José de San Martin and proclaimed independence of Peru in 1821 when the capital of Lima was freed from rule, this was official in 1824.
