Peru: From Ancient Civilizations to Modern Republic

Peru's history spans 11,000+ years of human occupation, culminating in the Inca Empire and a complex colonial and republican trajectory.

Pre-Columbian Foundations

• Caral (3000–1800 BCE) – oldest urban center in Americas.
• Chavín (900–200 BCE) – pan-Andean religious horizon.
• Moche (100–700 CE) – north coast; irrigation, metallurgy, portrait pottery.
• Wari & Tiwanaku (600–1000) – first Andean empires.
• Chimú (900–1470) – Chan Chan, largest adobe city.
• Inca (1438–1533) – Tawantinsuyu, 40M people, 4,000 km roads, quipu records.

Conquest & Colony (1532–1821)

• 1532: Pizarro captures Atahualpa at Cajamarca; ransom, execution.
• 1535: Lima founded as Viceroyalty of Peru capital (all Spanish South America).
• Silver (Potosí) fueled global trade; forced labor (mita) decimated Indigenous population.
• 18th c. Bourbon Reforms split viceroyalty (New Granada, Río de la Plata).

Independence & Republic

• 1821: San Martín declares independence in Lima.
• 1824: Sucre wins Ayacucho; Spanish rule ends.
• 19th c.: caudillos, guano boom, War of the Pacific (1879–84, lost nitrate lands to Chile).
• 20th c.: military coups, APRA party, 1968–80 Velasco reforms, 1980–2000 Shining Path conflict (70k dead).
• 2001–: democratic continuity, commodity-driven growth, corruption scandals (Odebrecht), 2022 Castillo impeachment.

Modern Peru

• Economy: Mining (Cu, Au, Zn), agro-export (avocado, blueberry, asparagus), tourism (Machu Picchu).
• Demographics: 34M; 45% Indigenous (Quechua, Aymara), 37% mestizo, 15% white/other.
• Challenges: inequality, informality (70%), climate vulnerability, political fragmentation.