Peru
 

Overview
Country, western South America.

Area: 496,218 sq mi (1,285,198 sq km). Population (2008 est.): 28,534,000. Capital: Lima. Almost half of the people are Quechua; nearly one-third are mestizos; and most of the remainder are Aymara and people of European ancestry. Languages: Spanish, Quechua, Aymara (all official). Religion: Christianity (predominantly Roman Catholic; also Protestant). Currency: nuevo sol. Peru is the third largest country in South America and may be divided into three geographic regions from west to east: the Costa (coast), which consists of a long, narrow belt of desert lowlands; the Sierra (highlands), which is the Peruvian portion of the Andes Mountains; and Amazonia, the vast forested eastern foothills and plains, consisting mainly of the tropical rainforests of the Amazon River basin. Peru has a developing mixed economy based largely on services, manufacturing, agriculture, and mining. Most industries, including the petroleum industry, were nationalized in the late 1960s and early ’70s, but many were privatized again in the 1990s. Peru is a unitary multiparty republic with one legislative house; its head of state and government is the president. Peru was the centre of the Inca empire, whose capital, Cuzco, was established in the 11th or 12th century. In 1533 the region was conquered by Spanish adventurer Francisco Pizarro, and it thereafter was dominated by Spain for almost 300 years as the Viceroyalty of Peru. It declared its independence in 1821, and freedom was achieved in 1824. Peru was defeated by Chile in the War of the Pacific (1879–83). In 1941 a boundary dispute with Ecuador erupted into war, which gave Peru control over a larger part of the Amazon basin; further disputes ensued until the border was demarcated again in 1998. The government was overthrown by a military junta in 1968; civilian rule was restored in 1980. The government of Alberto Fujimori dissolved the legislature in 1992 and promulgated a new constitution the following year. The government later successfully combated the Shining Path and Tupac Amaru rebel movements. Fujimori won a second term in 1995, but charges of fraud accompanied his election to a third term in 2000; his government crumbled later that year. Fujimori was succeeded by Alejandro Toledo (2001–06), Peru’s first democratically elected president of Quechuan ethnicity.

Profile
Official name República del Perú (Spanish) (Republic of Peru)
Form of government unitary multiparty republic with one legislative house (Congress [120])
Head of state and government President assisted by Prime Minister
Capital Lima
Official languages Spanish; Quechua (locally); Aymara (locally)
Official religion none1
Monetary unit nuevo sol (S/.)
Population estimate (2008) 28,534,000
Total area (sq mi) 496,218
Total area (sq km) 1,285,198
1The state recognizes Roman Catholicism as an important element in the historical and cultural development of Peru.

Main

country in western South America. Except for the Lake Titicaca basin in the southeast, its borders lie in sparsely populated zones. The boundaries with Colombia to the northeast and Brazil to the east traverse lower ranges or tropical forests, whereas the borders with Bolivia to the southeast, Chile to the south, and Ecuador to the northwest run across the high Andes. To the west, territorial waters, reaching 200 miles (320 km) into the Pacific Ocean, are claimed by Peru.

Peru is essentially a tropical country, with its northern tip nearly touching the Equator. Despite its tropical location, a great diversity of climate, of way of life, and of economic activity is brought about by the extremes of elevation and by the southwest winds that sweep in across the cold Peru Current (or Humboldt Current), which flows along its Pacific shoreline. The immense difficulties of travel posed by the Andes have long impeded national unity. Iquitos, on the upper Amazon, lies only about 600 miles (965 km) northeast of Lima, the capital, but, before the airplane, travelers between the cities often chose a 7,000-mile (11,250-km) trip via the Amazon, the Atlantic and Caribbean, the Isthmus of Panama, and the Pacific, rather than the shorter mountain route.

The name Peru is derived from a Quechua Indian word implying land of abundance, a reference to the economic wealth produced by the rich and highly organized Inca civilization that ruled the region for centuries. The country’s vast mineral, agricultural, and marine resources long have served as the economic foundation of the country, but by the late 20th century, tourism had also become a major element of Peru’s economic development. Favourite destinations for international travelers include Machu Picchu, a site of ancient Inca ruins located about 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Cuzco, and museums housing artifacts excavated from ancient tombs in northern coastal Peru.

Land
Relief
Peru is traditionally described in terms of three broad longitudinal regions: the arid Costa on the west; the rugged Sierra, or Andes, system in the centre; and the wet and forested Amazonia—the tropical Amazon Basin—on the east.

The Costa
The coastal plain can be readily divided into three parts—north, central, and south—on the basis of the amount of level land and the distance between the Andean ranges and the sea. Generally speaking, the amount of level coastal land diminishes from north to south. In the northern region, from Ecuador to Chimbote, the plain is typically some 20 to 30 miles (30 to 50 km) wide, with a maximum width of more than 90 miles (140 km) in the Sechura Desert south of Piura. The central coastal region, which stretches from Chimbote to Nazca, is narrower than the northern region and is characterized by areas of rough hills that extend from the Andes to the shores of the ocean. From Nazca southward to the Chilean border the coast is for the most part lined by low mountains; the southern valleys are narrow, and only in scattered spots are level lands found near the ocean.

The Sierra, or Andean, region
Along the western edge of South America, the Andes Mountains were created by tectonic activity in which the South American Plate overrode the Nazca Plate. The Peruvian Andes are typical of mountain regions of the Pacific Rim: they are young in geologic terms, and their continuing uplift is manifested by frequent earthquakes and much instability. Three main backbones protrude from the Peruvian Andes; they are commonly called the cordilleras Occidental, Central, and Oriental, although these designations are not used within Peru.

Slopes are relatively gentle in northern Peru, and maximum elevations seldom exceed 16,000 feet (about 5,000 metres). The Andes in central Peru are higher and more rugged. The ranges of the central zone form particularly difficult barriers to movement. The main pass east of Lima, for instance, is at an elevation of more than 15,000 feet (4,500 metres)—higher than many of the peaks in the north. Many of the mountains of central Peru are snowcapped and are a popular attraction for climbers and tourists. Of particular fame is the Cordillera Blanca, with the country’s highest peak, Mount Huascarán, at 22,205 feet (6,768 metres), and nearby Huascarán National Park (designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985). In southern Peru the character of the Andes changes to that of a high plateau region; this is the Puna, with vast tablelands and elevations between 13,000 and 16,000 feet (about 4,000 and 5,000 metres). Scattered peaks, with elevations of up to about 21,000 feet (6,400 metres), protrude above the broad southern plateaus. Beginning northwest of Arequipa, many of the southern peaks form a volcanic chain that stretches into northern Chile, including Ampato, Huacla Huacla, and Misti.

Amazonia
The lower slopes of the western Andes merge with the heavily forested tropical lowlands of the Amazon Basin to form the region known as Amazonia, which occupies more than three-fifths of the area of Peru. An area of dense cloud forests is found in the zone immediately adjacent to the Andes. This area is referred to as the Montaña; the jungle areas in the eastern part of Amazonia are referred to as the Selva. The physiography of the region is characterized by rolling hills and level plains that extend eastward to the borders with Colombia, Brazil, and Bolivia. Elevations are uniformly low, ranging from about 3,300 feet (1,000 metres) at the eastern edge of the Andes to about 260 feet (80 metres) above sea level along the Amazon River at the Peru–Brazil border.

Drainage
Distinctive drainage patterns dissect the Costa, the Sierra, and Amazonia. Of the more than 50 rivers that flow west from the Andes across the Costa, most are short (usually less than 200 miles [325 km] long) and precipitous, with highly seasonal rates of flow. Most have a period of peak flow (usually during the December to March rainy season) followed by a long dry period; only the largest of the Costa rivers, such as the Santa, have dependable year-round flows.

The Sierra not only contains the headwaters of the streams that flow to both the Pacific and the Amazon but also has a large area of internal drainage. In the south several rivers cross the altiplano in Peru to empty into Lake Titicaca, which is shared with Bolivia and is—at an elevation of 12,500 feet (3,810 metres)—the world’s highest navigable body of water.

Amazonia is characterized by great rivers. The Amazon, with the largest volume of flow of any river in the world, has headwaters that rise in several places in the Peruvian Andes; one of the main branches, the Ucayali, originates in southern Peru some 1,700 miles (2,700 km) from its juncture with the main river. The Amazon is navigable, but such large tributaries as the Marañón, Huallaga, and Ucayali can be navigated only for relatively short distances west of the port of Iquitos. These rivers flow northward in long deep valleys before turning east to join the Amazon, forming mostly hindrances to transportation rather than important trade routes.

Soils
Peru has a paucity of fertile soil. In the Costa region most of the river valleys have rich soils, derived from silts carried to the coastal plain by rivers flowing out of the Andes. In some areas, however, improper use of the land has led to deposition of salts, thus reducing soil fertility. The soils between valleys, derived largely from windblown sands, are also poorly developed. Sierra soils are fertile in some of the highland basins, but soils on the mountain slopes are often thin and of poor quality. Soils of low fertility covered by heavy forest growth typify Amazonia.

Climate
Three broad climatic regions can be readily distinguished in Peru paralleling the three main topographic regions: the Costa, the Sierra, and Amazonia.

Coastal desert
From the Peruvian–Ecuadoran border south to northern Chile, the west coast of South America has one of the Earth’s driest climates. This region is dry for three reasons: (1) the Andes block rain-bearing winds from the Amazon Basin; (2) air masses moving toward the coast out of the South Pacific high-pressure system produce little rainfall; and (3) northward-flowing cold water off the coast (the Peru Current, also known as the Humboldt Current) contributes little moisture to surface air masses. This is not a hot desert, however; average temperatures of the Costa range from 66 °F (19 °C) in winter to 72 °F (22 °C) in summer. Despite its dryness, some parts of the Costa receive sufficient moisture from winter fogs (locally known as garúa) to support some vegetation.

Mountain climates
Within the Sierra are a wide range of climates that vary according to such factors as latitude, elevation, local winds, and rain shadow effects. In general, temperatures decrease as elevation increases, and rainfall decreases from north to south and from east to west. During the December–March rainy season, the heaviest precipitation is in the north and along the eastern flanks of the Andes. Temperatures vary little seasonally, but there is a tremendous diurnal range (between daily highs and lows). For example, in Cuzco, at an elevation of 11,152 feet (3,399 metres), the January average temperature is 52 °F (11 °C), and the July average 47 °F (8 °C). The diurnal range, however, is frequently more than 40 °F (22 °C) between the midday maximum and the predawn minimum. Snow falls in the Sierra at higher elevations, and many peaks have permanent snow.

Tropical forest climates
Hot humid conditions characterize the Amazonia climate of eastern Peru. Rainfall throughout the region is high (Iquitos averages more than 90 inches [2,200 mm] annually), with precipitation common throughout the year, although it is somewhat heavier from December to March. There is little seasonal variation of temperatures, but the diurnal range again is relatively large. Daytime highs at Iquitos sometimes extend into the mid-90s °F (mid-30s °C), whereas at night temperatures may fall into the 60s °F (upwards of 15 °C).

El Niño
The most severe variation in Peruvian weather patterns occurs irregularly, at intervals of about a decade or so. This change, usually called El Niño (“The Christ Child,” because it usually begins around Christmas time), is but a small part of what is known as the Southern Oscillation, a pan-Pacific reversal of atmospheric and sea conditions. Although the causes of this phenomenon are not completely understood, the effects in Peru are quite clear: (1) warm water replaces the cold water of the Peru Current; (2) heavy rains fall in the coastal desert; and (3) drought occurs in the southern highlands. Severe occurrences of El Niño—such as those that took place in 1925, 1982–83, and 1997–98—cause ecological disasters, including widespread loss of bird and fish life and tremendous damage to modern infrastructure such as roads, canals, and agricultural land.

Plant and animal life
Peruvian plant and animal life can be classified according to the three main physiographic regions: the Costa, the Sierra, and Amazonia.

The Costa
Evidence of plant life is relatively rare in the barren desert of coastal Peru. Where coastal fog is heavy, lomas (a mix of grasses and other herbaceous species) are common. In the north coast region, some parts of the desert are covered by epiphytes or by stands of sapote or algarroba (mesquite). The most important feature of the coast, however, is the enormous amount of bird, marine mammal, and fish life that abounds in the coastal waters. The biomass includes such small fish as anchovies and such larger types as corvina (sea bass), tuna, swordfish, and marlin. Sea lions thrive in isolated parts of the coast. Bird life is heavy on islands off the coast. Among the most important bird species are pelicans, cormorants, gannets, and various gulls. Humboldt penguins, an endangered species, are found as far north as the Ballestas Islands near the Paracas Peninsula.

The Sierra
Two plant communities characterize the Peruvian highlands: puna grasslands at elevations from about 13,000 to 16,000 feet (about 4,000 to 5,000 metres) and, at lower elevations, a mixture of native and introduced species. The Puna has an abundance of forage grasses and is home to the llama, alpaca, vicuña, and guanaco, which are native to the region. At lower elevations grow such domesticates as potatoes, quinoa, and corn (maize). Several species of eucalyptus have replaced native tree species.

Amazonia
The eastern slopes of the Andes and the Amazon plains are covered by a heavy growth of tropical forest. In its woods and waters live thousands of plant, insect, and animal species. Interesting mammals of this region include the jaguar, capybara, tapir, and several species of monkey. Of special note is the wide and colourful variety of bird and fish life. Reptiles and insects abound. The forests have a broad assortment of hardwood and softwood species that produce a variety of forest products. Manú National Park, designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987, is home to many examples of Amazonia’s diverse plant and animal life. Scattered in isolated fields in the eastern foothills of the Andes, too, are plantations of coca, the plant from which cocaine is illegally produced.

The people
Pre-Hispanic groups
Throughout the pre-Hispanic period, the peoples of Peru were largely isolated from one another by the rugged topography of the country. At least three times, however, a unifying culture spread across the Andes. Beginning c. 1000 bc, the Chavín culture permeated the region, emanating possibly from the northern ceremonial site of Chavín de Huántar. After about ad 600, the Huari civilization, based at a site of the same name near modern Ayacucho, dominated most of the central Andean region. Finally, the Inca empire developed, eventually to control all of the territory from northern Ecuador to central Chile.

Ethnic groups
Quechua Indians constitute almost half of Peru’s population; mestizos (persons of mixed Indian and European descent), slightly less than one-third; and people of European ancestry, about one-eighth. There are also small minority populations of Aymara Indians, Japanese, and others.

Modern Peru’s complex ethnic mosaic is rooted in its history. The Spanish conquerors dominated the indigenous Indians and colonial Peruvian society, including politics, religion, and economics. They brought their European culture, the Spanish language, and the Roman Catholic religion to the region. The Spaniards introduced some African slaves, but the number of slaves transported to this part of South America was not significant; their descendants are found mainly in Lima and a few central coastal valleys. Following independence (1824) and the prohibition of slavery (1854), Chinese arrived to work as farm labourers, and new groups of Spaniards, northern Europeans, and Japanese were among other arrivals. These diverse ethnic groups have tended to intermarry over time.

Differences in lifestyles and attitudes are pronounced. Peruvians of Spanish descent and mestizos live mainly along the coast and control most of the country’s wealth. Typically, a small group of people of European ancestry hold the main power in government and industry. Mestizo culture is a blend of Indian and European ways known as criollo. The Spanish-speaking mestizos make up the middle class of Peruvian society. They hold managerial, administrative, and professional jobs, but some are also small landowners and labourers. The Indians of the Sierra live in extreme poverty in a harsh environment; many remain both indifferent to and outside the mainstream affairs of the country. Land reform acts in the 1960s and ’70s have brought some improvement, such as the dismantling of haciendas—typically large estates with absentee owners—and reallocation of the land in smaller segments to individuals or cooperatives. However, many highland Indians still shepherd llama herds or work tiny plots of land to eke out a living. The lowland Indians of Amazonia occupy a social position similar to that of the highland Indians.

Languages
During the pre-Hispanic period, the Inca spread their language, Quechua, across the highlands and along the coast, although some groups near Lake Titicaca spoke Aymara at the time of the Spanish conquest. Quechua and Aymara are still prevalent and have official usage, with Spanish, in regions where they are heavily spoken. Tropical forest areas were outside Incan influence, and the numerous languages and dialects now spoken in the Amazon region reflect the diverse linguistic heritage of the tropical forest peoples. Like their Inca ancestors, the overwhelming number of Indians read neither their own nor any other language. In major cities and tourist areas, however, English and other European languages are commonly spoken.

Religion
Peru’s constitution provides for freedom of religion. More than four-fifths of Peruvians are Roman Catholic; Protestants, other Christians, and followers of traditional beliefs form small religious minorities.

Ancient Peru had various polytheistic and pantheistic religions. The most important gods were Viracocha (lord, creator, and father of men) and Pachamama (Earth mother). The Sun, Moon, and such phenomena as lightning and mountains were also worshipped. Each culture raised temples to honour its local divinity.

The Hispanic conquest of the Incas brought new religious traditions to the Andean area. The Spanish indoctrinated the Indians and spread Roman Catholicism, built hundreds of churches, and held fiestas for patron saints in each village. The people were not strict in their practices, however. Protestant sects proliferated during the 20th century, and the Indians have mixed many pagan beliefs into the Roman Catholic rituals to produce a syncretic religion rich in traditions.

Settlement patterns
The nature of Peruvian life, whether urban or rural, varies by physiographic region. Modern patterns of settlement also reflect three major influences: (1) pan-Andean cultures of pre-Hispanic Peru; (2) colonial settlement of the Costa and the Sierra; and (3) migration to the cities and colonization of Amazonia.

Pre-Hispanic patterns
Diverse groups of indigenous Indians occupied Peru during the pre-Hispanic period. When the first migrants arrived in the Andean area, probably more than 13,000 years ago, they were at a hunting and gathering stage of cultural development. Over a long period of time, however, varied and more-sophisticated ways of life were developed. Along the coast, groups became specialized in fishing and shellfish collecting. In the Puna, hunting of vicuña and guanaco was replaced by herding of their related species, the llama and alpaca. Finally, in many parts of Peru agriculture was developed—including the domestication of numerous species of plants, such as beans, quinoa, and potatoes.

At the time of the Spanish arrival, the population of Peru largely resided in rural areas, with society organized around village-level clans (called by the Incas ayllus). The most densely settled areas were the irrigated coastal river valleys and some fertile basins in the highlands—for example, those of Cajamarca, the Mantaro Valley near Huancayo, and Cuzco, as well as the region around Lake Titicaca. Some urban centres had developed as the capitals of kingdoms or empires—such as the Chimú’s Chan Chán near Trujillo and the Inca’s Cuzco—or as religious centres—such as the pre-Incan Pachacamac, south of Lima.

Colonial patterns
The Spanish conquest of the Incas in 1532 was accompanied by several dramatic changes in Andean settlement patterns. First, the Spanish were oriented toward their European homeland. Thus, Spanish cities such as Piura (1532), Lima (1535), and Trujillo (1534) were established near ports that were the sea links to Spain. Second, Spanish settlements focused on the extraction of resources, leading to the establishment of mining centres in Huancavelica and at Potosí, in modern Bolivia. Third, after a period of rapid population decline caused mainly by the introduction of European diseases, the Spanish established new towns that brought together the remnants of the surviving rural population. Finally, the Spanish divided the rural agricultural zones into encomiendas, which later formed the basis for haciendas and kept the best farmland in the hands of a few wealthy owners. They established feudal systems based on peasant labour that lasted until the sweeping land reforms of the mid-20th century.

Twentieth-century migrations
In Peru, as in most Latin American countries, there was a mass migration to the cities during the 20th century, especially after the end of World War II. Lima was the principal destination during this rural exodus, but Trujillo in the north and Arequipa in the south also received large numbers of migrants. The lack of opportunity in rural regions is usually cited as a major reason for movement to the cities, where migrants seek better health care and educational opportunities, as well as jobs. Some migrants certainly do improve their lot, but others end up in city slums or in squatter settlements at the edges of the cities, where conditions may be little improved over those in the rural areas. Often the best hope for advancement has been in squatter settlements at the edges of the cities, where residents gradually invest in improved housing over a period of decades.

A second focus of migration in Peru has been eastward into the Amazon Basin. At the end of the 19th century, the world rubber boom caused many people to move to the eastern lowlands. Decades later, during the administrations of Fernando Belaúnde (1963–68; 1980–85), the Peruvian government developed programs to improve the economy of Amazonia—a main purpose of which was to divert migrants away from the already crowded coastal urban centres. The completion of roads from Chiclayo on the north coast to Tarapoto in the Huallaga basin and from Lima to Pucallpa along the Ucayali River stimulated this eastward movement. Further development along the eastern side of the Andes was designed to open new settlements in this region. Nevertheless, Amazonia remains the least densely populated of the three regions.

Urban Peru
The massive 20th-century migration from the countryside brought rapid growth to Peruvian urban centres. Lima became the urban giant, much larger than the next-largest city, but other cities, particularly Trujillo and Chimbote in the north and Arequipa in the south, have also grown rapidly. Since World War II, Peru has changed from a country with a predominantly rural population to one that has more than two-thirds of its people living in cities; more than one-fourth of the country’s population lives within the greater Lima metropolitan area.

Ornate colonial architecture contrasts with modern high-rise buildings in Lima, which is the heart of Peru’s commerce and industry. Large factories are located in the city, but much of the industrial production takes place in the small workshops of the squatter settlements that surround the city. A difficult problem in Lima has been that of matching the urban infrastructure to the city’s growth rate. Lima has only a few freeways and lacks an up-to-date mass transit system. Basic public services are, in many neighbourhoods, rudimentary at best.

Arequipa in the Sierra and Trujillo in the Costa are other major urban centres. Arequipa is the largest city in southern Peru. Founded in 1540, it is often called the White City because most of the colonial-era buildings were constructed out of white volcanic rock (sillar); the historic city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000. Agriculture around Arequipa has improved with the completion of several important irrigation projects, and the area has become a major wool-processing and milk-producing region. Trujillo is a major centre in northern Peru but does not dominate the north as Arequipa does the south. That is because other cities, notably Chiclayo, Chimbote, and Piura, share power in the north, whereas Arequipa is rivaled only by Cuzco, which is in the mountains to the east. Trujillo is the historic power centre in northern Peru, however, and it has become an important commercial centre. Its industries include tractor and diesel motor factories as well as food-processing plants. Chavimochic, a massive irrigation scheme built in the 1990s, has greatly expanded agriculture in the Trujillo area. Chimbote, Peru’s best harbour, has a steel mill and numerous fish-processing plants. Chiclayo and Piura mainly serve as regional political and commercial centres.

Most highland cities are small. In the north the principal city, Cajamarca, has long been noted chiefly as the place where the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro captured and executed the Inca emperor Atahuallpa. The establishment of the Yanacocha gold mines, located about 30 miles (50 km) north of Cajamarca, led to much development in the city in the late 20th century. Huaraz, located near the spectacular peaks of the Cordillera Blanca, about 200 miles (320 km) north of Lima, is a rapidly growing tourist centre that was connected to Lima by a paved road in the mid-1970s. To the south, Cerro de Pasco, an important mining centre, is, at more than 14,200 feet (4,300 metres), one of the world’s highest cities. Huancayo, about 100 miles (160 km) due east of Lima, is a farming centre famous for its colourful Sunday market, where Indians sell such handicrafts as llama-wool blankets, ponchos, and sweaters. The best-known Andean centre is the ancient city of Cuzco, once the capital of the Inca empire. Tourists from all parts of the world visit Inca remains in Cuzco and its environs, as well as its many colonial churches. The Inca past is apparent in many places. Inca walls topped by Spanish-style structures stand along many streets around Cuzco’s main plaza. The most monumental Inca ruins are those of the fortress/sanctuary of Sacsahuamán, built on a hill overlooking the city. The bygone world of Spanish colonial power is evident in the tile-roofed houses and churches of Cuzco; among the most impressive is the cathedral, dating from around 1550. The city was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983 and serves as the starting point for visitors heading to Machu Picchu.

The major cities of eastern Peru are Iquitos and Pucallpa. Iquitos, on the upper Amazon, was a small jungle outpost until the rubber boom of the 1880s. When the boom ended, lumber became the major product of the area. More recently oil and tourism have contributed to its growth. Pucallpa, on the Ucayali River, is connected to Lima by road and to Iquitos by river vessels. The area around Pucallpa was a major colonization zone in the 1960s.

Demographic trends
The population of the Inca empire at the time of the Spanish conquest in 1532 is commonly estimated to have been around 12 million, although estimates vary. Not all of these people, of course, lived within the boundaries of modern Peru, but it is clear that Peru was the most densely settled area in pre-Hispanic South America. During the first century of Spanish domination, the Indian population declined by almost 80 percent—owing to overwork, malnutrition, and the introduction of such diseases as smallpox and measles. The country’s first accurate census (1791) showed the impact of Hispanic dominance of the Inca: the population had declined to slightly more than one million (which included Europeans, people of mixed ancestry, and black slaves). After independence the population gradually increased, mainly as a result of high birth rates. By the mid-1960s the population of Peru was about the same as that of the Inca society at its height—in other words, it took more than 300 years to replace the population lost in the first century of Spanish domination.

During the 20th century, the population of Peru grew rapidly, particularly in the middle decades, and became predominantly urban. The rapid population growth led to a surplus of population in many areas, particularly in the Andean highlands, and overpopulation of the rural areas was one root cause of the mass migration to the cities that occurred in Peru in the decades after World War II. There was a sharp decline in death rates in the period between 1940 and 1970, while, at the same time, birth rates remained very high. Growth rates peaked in the 1970s at more than 3 percent; since then, the spread of birth control (notwithstanding widespread opposition by the Peruvian Roman Catholic hierarchy) and the desire of urban dwellers for smaller families have slowed the rate of population growth. In the early 21st century, Peru’s birth rate and life expectancy were close to the world average; its death rate, slightly lower.

Economy
Peru is a less-developed country whose economy has long been dependent upon the export of raw materials to the more-developed countries of the Northern Hemisphere. It is one of the world’s leading fishing countries and ranks among the largest producers of bismuth, silver, and copper. In recent decades, the country has struggled to modernize its economy by developing nontraditional export industries as well as the manufacture of consumer items to meet local needs. Serious economic problems persist, however, in several areas. Extensive destruction of transportation and agricultural systems occurs periodically from earthquakes, landslides, El Niño rains, and other natural disasters. The limited agricultural areas do not meet the needs of the rapidly expanding population, resulting in continually rising imports of foodstuffs and difficult attempts to alter the country’s farming and dietary habits. To remedy these and other economic deficiencies, a military government nationalized the petroleum, mining, and other industries in the late 1960s and early 1970s and made extensive efforts at agrarian reform. Nationalization, however, created additional economic problems, including massive government debt, high rates of inflation, a large trade deficit, and strained relations with some of Peru’s trading partners. This caused successive Peruvian governments to reassess the role of the state in the economy and to reopen some economic sectors to private entrepreneurs. These actions, along with structural reforms implemented by the government in the 1990s, contributed to rapid economic growth in the early 21st century.

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
Traditionally, the primary economic activity in Peru was agriculture, although the importance of this sector of the national economy declined sharply in the last half of the 20th century. Peru imports large amounts of grain (particularly wheat, rice, and maize [corn]), soy, vegetable oils, and dairy products to feed its population. Although ambitious development plans have been designed to improve output, the scarcity of arable land is an extremely limiting factor in Peru.

The most productive agricultural areas are the irrigated valleys of the northern coastal region. Principal crops include sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, fruits, asparagus, soybeans, flowers, and pulses. In the Sierra, cropland is limited and soil fertility low. The main crops in the Sierra region are potatoes and grains, especially wheat, corn, and quinoa, an extremely high-protein cereal. There is little beyond subsistence agriculture in the Amazon region of Peru, although the lowland Indians have traditionally harvested the coca leaves for local use and for trade with the Sierra Indians.

In the 1950s and ’60s Peru’s fishing industry expanded rapidly, based on the harvest of enormous schools of anchovy. These fish were converted into fish meal and oil for export as animal feed. By 1963 Peru was the world’s leading fishing country, measured in terms of tonnage caught. Overfishing, combined with a severe occurrence of the El Niño current in 1971–72, sent the fishing industry into decline. Recovery took place during the late 1970s, although the catch did not approach earlier record levels. Increasing emphasis is put on fish for human consumption in the domestic and export markets. Forestry has been mainly concentrated in the eastern lowlands of Amazonia. Many varieties of commercial wood are found in the Amazon forests, but they are often inaccessible, and exploitation has been hampered by fears of ecological damage.

Resources and power
Peru has a wealth of mineral resources. Copper, iron, lead, zinc, bismuth, phosphates, and manganese exist in great quantities of high-yield ores. Gold and silver are found extensively, as are other rare metals, and petroleum fields are located along the far north coast and the northeastern part of Amazonia.

In spite of the country’s potential mineral wealth, exploitation lagged in much of the last third of the 20th century for a number of reasons, including diminished foreign investment, world price fluctuations, lack of transportation facilities, a scarcity of processing plants, the depletion of deposits in many traditional mining areas, and the limitations of the centralized state mining administration. Beginning in the 1970s—and particularly during the 1990s—many of the nationalized mines and unexploited deposits were sold to private Peruvian and international investors. As a result, new mines have been opened, such as the Yanacocha gold-mine complex near Cajamarca, which is now one of the largest producers of gold in the world. Difficulties of geography have hindered developments, however, because some of the most-promising deposits are located at elevations above 12,000 feet (3,600 metres) or in the Amazonian forests.

The hydroelectric potential of Peru is great, especially on the rivers that flow eastward out of the Andes Mountains to the Amazon Basin. Large power plants have been built on the Santa and Mantaro rivers, and other locations have been selected for future development. Most existing plants, both thermal and hydroelectric, have been connected to a coordinated national electric grid. About three-fourths of the country’s electrical energy is produced from hydroelectric sources; as a result, there are some shortages of power during times of drought. In the early 21st century, Peru pursued the development of natural gas as a more-accessible source of power. Much of the country’s power production and demand are in the Lima metropolitan area, where there is a heavy concentration of industry.

Manufacturing
Although the Peruvian government has tried to disperse industrial production, most Peruvian factories are located within the greater Lima area. To better utilize the country’s natural resources to achieve self-sustained growth, a strong push has been given to industries such as those producing petroleum, textiles, processed food, steel, cement, fertilizer, and chemicals. Many of these industries either were nationalized or benefited from special tax incentives and trade-protectionist policies during the 1970s; many were reprivatized in the 1990s.

Finance
The main institutions dealing with finance in Peru are the large state-owned banks, which control such areas as credit, currency regulation, bank regulation, and foreign exchange. Major financial institutions include the Central Reserve Bank of Peru, the National Bank, and the Development Finance Corporation. Peru’s national currency is the nuevo sol.

In the last decades of the 20th century, government monetary policies focused on inflation and foreign debt, which were serious problems in the 1970s and ’80s. By the mid-1990s, Peru had almost completely controlled inflation, and the growth of the country’s economy was among the fastest in the world. The Lima stock market now plays an important role in the national economy, particularly with the privatization of many former state-run industries.

Trade
Foreign trade has been a mainstay of the Peruvian economy since colonial times. The country has historically depended on imported manufactured products, a situation that prompted the government to subsidize import-substitution industries. Peru’s imports have consisted primarily of foodstuffs, consumer goods, transportation equipment, and machinery and component parts for Peruvian industries. Petroleum products formed an expensive share of Peru’s imports in the early 1970s, but increased domestic production, particularly from the Amazon area, turned Peru into a net exporter of oil by 1980. Other important exports have been such primary commodities as ores and minerals (gold, copper, silver, lead, and zinc, for example) and such agricultural products as cotton, sugar, and coffee. Fish meal, a leading export since the 1960s, continued to be important into the 21st century, as did gold, copper, zinc, clothing and textiles, agricultural and livestock products, and petroleum.

The United States is Peru’s major trading partner. Other trading partners include China and South American countries such as Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, and Brazil. In 1969 Peru became a charter member of the Andean Common Market (now Andean Community), but economic problems during the 1980s and early ’90s hampered implementation of trade policies, and Peru suspended its membership in 1992–97. Peru also belongs to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the World Trade Organization.

Services, labour, and taxation
The leading employment sectors in Peru have long been agriculture and fishing, mining, and manufacturing, while the services sector was relatively undeveloped. As the population and economy grew in the latter half of the 20th century, the percentage of agricultural workers declined, the mining and manufacturing sectors were relatively stable, and the services sector grew rapidly, employing some three-quarters of the workforce by the early 21st century. However, between 1980 and 1990, wages in Peru fell dramatically; the average manufacturing wage, for example, dropped by almost two-thirds. Although wages did increase in the 1990s, they were still well below 1980 levels at the end of the 20th century. As a result, few workers earn above the official poverty line, and many must work multiple jobs to make ends meet. Unionized workers in the mining and government sectors have done better than those employed in other areas.

A large percentage of Peruvian workers are employed in the “informal” economy, outside government regulation and taxation and without the protections offered by legal employment. Workers in the informal sector include street vendors, those employed in small workshops in squatter settlements, drivers of jitney taxis in larger urban areas, and women making tourist trinkets in their homes. Most informal workers are underemployed in jobs that provide only a limited amount of work (and income) per week.

From the mid-1990s, significant investment in the tourism sector has led to improvements in the country’s economy. Further growth of this sector is anticipated as the government promotes policies to develop tourist infrastructure in various parts of the country.

Transportation and telecommunications
Peru’s transportation system faces the challenge of the Andes and of the complex Amazon River system. River traffic in Amazonia is underdeveloped because of the vast distances and low population density of that area. Roadways cross the country from north to south, or they form penetration roads that run east–west over the Andes. The most important road is the Pan American Highway, which parallels the coast from Ecuador to Chile. Other main roads include the trans-Andean, or Central Highway, which follows the Rimac River Valley east from Lima, crossing the Andes and connecting to the Mantaro Valley near Huancayo, and another main road that connects Arequipa to Bolivia through the Andes.

The major Peruvian railroad, the Central Railway, rises from the coast at Callao near Lima to cross the continental divide at about 15,700 feet (4,800 metres). It connects with a branch line to Cerro de Pasco, making it of great importance to the mining industry of the central Andes. A longer line, the Southern Railway, serves Cuzco, Arequipa, and other cities and ports such as Puno on Lake Titicaca; some of its traffic originates in Bolivia. Callao, on the Pacific Ocean, is the largest of Peru’s numerous ports. Iquitos, located on the Amazon some 2,300 miles (3,700 km) from the river’s mouth, is the major river port of eastern Peru.

The rough terrain of Peru compels the use of the airplane, but it also complicates flight. Air transport is especially important in hard-to-reach places of the heavily forested east. Commercial aviation began in 1928, and several domestic companies operate in addition to numerous foreign airlines. Jorge Chávez International Airport, which serves Lima, is the most important of Peru’s airports. Arequipa, Cuzco, and Iquitos are served by international airports as well.

Landline telephone service in Peru is generally of adequate quality, and usage continued to increase from the early 1990s into the 21st century. The use of mobile phones skyrocketed during that same period of time, and usage surpassed that of the traditional land telephone service. Internet service, although limited, began to expand steadily at the beginning of the 21st century.

Government and society
Constitutional framework
Peru’s political history has been punctuated by numerous military coups and changes of constitution. The 1993 Peruvian constitution, which has since been amended several times, decrees a government headed by a president who is popularly elected to a five-year term, renewable once, and who serves as chief of state and head of government. The president appoints and presides over the Council of Ministers (Cabinet) and is assisted by two vice presidents, also popularly elected. Legislative power is vested in the unicameral Congress, whose members are popularly elected to five-year terms.

Local government
For administrative purposes, the country is divided into 25 regions, which are further divided into departments, provinces, and districts. The regional level of government encompasses regions and departments; provinces, districts, and smaller population centres constitute the levels of local government.

Justice
The judiciary comprises the Supreme Court and lower courts and tribunals. The Supreme Court has nationwide jurisdiction and hears appeals from lower-court decisions; it also investigates the conduct of lower-court judges. All Supreme Court judges and some judges of lower courts are appointed by the National Council of the Magistracy. A Constitutional Court exists to review any challenges concerning the constitutionality of laws and acts of government. Members of the Constitutional Court are elected by Congress and serve five-year terms.

Political process
Voting is compulsory for all citizens ages 18–70. A wide spectrum of political parties—ranging from right-wing conservative to left-wing socialist and communist—participate in the political process, including the Nationalist Party United Peru (left-wing), the Peruvian Aprista Party (formerly left-wing but now moderate centre), and National Unity (right-wing). Traditional parties have been supplanted in many elections by hastily formed coalitions. For example, the winner of the 1990 presidential contest, Alberto Fujimori, created a new party expressly for that election. A law passed in 2003 requires that women constitute at least 30 percent of all candidates on party lists. In the early 21st century, women held slightly more than one-fourth of the seats in Congress.

Security
Peru’s military is composed of army, navy, air force, and marine contingents. Service is selective, and men 18 years of age and older are required to register with the government. Peruvian troops have served as United Nations Peacekeeping Forces on numerous missions.

Health and welfare
Numerous public agencies in Peru are involved with national health and social security. The government has invested heavily in the construction and equipping of new hospitals and clinics throughout the country. Nevertheless, there is a shortage of doctors, nurses, and health care facilities, particularly outside the Lima urban area, and the country faces a difficult path to adequate health service for its population. Sanitation is another major problem, with most cities lacking adequate sewerage as well as street lighting and paving.

Housing
Housing in Peru varies immensely, with single-family dwellings, high-rise apartment buildings, and informal squatter settlements all found within the country. The type of dwelling is dependent upon variables such as economic and social status of residents and location. Peru has a serious shortage of housing units, especially in the urban squatter settlements but also in the countryside. Large neighbourhoods of the country’s poorer residents are found around the margins of Lima and other Peruvian cities. Often these areas begin as squatter settlements, with families invading vacant land on the periphery of urban areas. Over time, crude huts of cardboard or cane mats are replaced by adobe houses, which in turn are later replaced by two- and three-story homes made from brick and concrete. Such amenities as running water, sewers, electricity, sidewalks, and paved streets are added only gradually; it may take 20 to 30 years for a neighbourhood to become fully developed. Each family’s dwelling also develops at its own pace, depending on individual financial situations and decisions. Thus, one house may remain at the initial stage of development while neighbours complete their homes with brick and concrete.

Education
Peru’s educational system is challenged by the steadily increasing percentage of young people in its population. Thus, the state must spend a disproportionate share of its resources on education, which is free and compulsory for all children between ages 6 and 15. Compulsory education is difficult to enforce, however, especially outside urban centres. Because of extremely large class sizes, inadequate facilities, and poorly trained teachers, the quality of education received by children in public schools is regarded as low. As a result, most middle- and upper-class parents send their children to private schools. Universities in Peru include such large, high-calibre institutions as the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, the University of Lima, and the National University of San Marcos, which was founded in 1551 and claims to be the oldest university in South America. There are also a number of provincial universities funded by the government, as well as many private institutions of higher education.

Cultural life
Cultural milieu
The complex ethnic and cultural mixture of Peru presents an entwining of aboriginal pantheism, Spanish mysticism, and African religious practices, manifested in the country’s music, literature, textiles, handicrafts, gold and silver work, and bounteous cuisine.

Daily life and social customs
There are distinct differences in the pattern of daily life for Peruvians, depending on their social class and whether they live in rural or urban settings. Most people who live in rural areas are very dependent on the agricultural cycle. The planting and harvesting periods, for example, are times that require a significant amount of hard work (much of it communal), whereas other times of the year do not demand such intensive labour. Most work is done during daylight hours; people rise early and go to bed early. The herding of sheep, llamas, and alpacas takes place at elevations above the limits of agriculture; pastoralists follow a distinct annual cycle that in many ways is more difficult (and certainly more isolated) than that of rural farmers. Religious festivals, weddings, baptisms, and similar occasions are often the only disruptions to the rigours of rural life, and these events are communal, with entire villages sharing in a family’s celebration.

The daily life of the residents of Peru’s cities varies with social class. Relatively few of the poorer residents have good jobs within the formal Peruvian economy; often they must work two or three jobs, and they have less leisure time than other Peruvians. Such people make up the majority of the population in squatter settlements that surround the major urban areas.

The life of the upper-middle class and more-affluent residents of Peru’s cities is much different from that of the urban poor. The most important meal is usually taken shortly after noon; most families assemble for this dinner. The early afternoon is reserved for the siesta (nap) hour, followed by a return to work for those who are employed; for those who are not, it is a time for relaxing, paying social visits, participating in sporting activities, or watching a favourite telenovela (soap opera). The evening meal is usually very late and often taken away from home—while visiting with friends or in a restaurant or neighbourhood bar. Extended families frequently get together for birthday parties, weddings, baptisms, and other social events.

For people of higher economic and social status, most daily tasks, such as cooking, house cleaning, and gardening, are performed by servants. Many wealthy families in Lima have more than one home: the main house may be in one of the city’s elite neighbourhoods; a second may be at the beach; and a third may be in the Andean foothills or overseas.

Traditional Peruvian cuisine has much regional variation. In the highlands, most meals consist of potatoes along with other Andean tubers (oca and ulluco, for example), grains such as quinoa, and protein from the meat of llamas, guinea pigs, chickens, and fish. In coastal areas, traditional cooking is called criollo style, with lots of rice, cassava (yuca), tomatoes, onions, spicy peppers, and fresh seafood. Seviche (raw fish marinated in lemon or lime juice) is popular throughout Peru.

In urban areas, people dress in typical Western-style clothing. In rural areas, however, traditional clothing styles date back to the colonial period. Each region in the Andes has distinctive hats, ponchos, blouses, skirts, and belts, often fabricated from homemade traditional textiles.

Recreational activities vary as widely in Peru as do the social classes, but for everyone there are the fiestas, which are held by numerous communities across the country. These colourful events often celebrate religious themes, but some are held for secular holidays. Each village or town has at least one important annual festival that celebrates its patron saint; migrants to the cities often return home for these annual events. Several such celebrations have taken on national importance; the processions in Lima each October related to the Señor de los Milagros (“Lord of Miracles”; referring to a colonial-era image of Christ that survived an earthquake in 1655) are the most important. Other festivals—such as those that relate to the Cross of Motupe in northern coastal Peru, the Virgin of Copacabana near Lake Titicaca, Holy Week in Ayacucho, or the Lord of Coylluriti on Ocongate Mountain south of Cuzco —are still of great regional importance for the people of Peru. In Cuzco the winter solstice festival, Inti Raymi, is celebrated each year on June 24th but is now more of a tourist celebration than a native one. Corpus Christi, in honour of the Eucharist, is a movable celebration that is important throughout the country, particularly in Cuzco; it usually takes place in early June.

The arts
Folk culture
Peruvian folk culture is deeply tinged with ancestral inheritance. In both town and countryside, notable examples of pre-Hispanic and mestizo lore abound in myths, songs, superstitions, and dances. Handicrafts, popular with tourists and collectors, provide a close link with such pre-Hispanic crafts as weaving, ceramics, and metalworking.

Fine arts
The arts have long occupied a position of esteem among Peru’s educated minority. Since the late 19th century, most writers have felt a ceaseless duty to analyze their society. Ricardo Palma was among the first to utilize Peruvian themes in such works as Tradiciones peruanas (1872; “Peruvian Traditions”). Aves sin nido (1889; Birds Without a Nest), by Clorinda Matto de Turner, was the first of many books whose authors exposed the conditions of Indian life. César Vallejo is often regarded as Peru’s finest poet, and novelists José María Arguedas and Mario Vargas Llosa have received high critical acclaim in the post-World War II era. (See also Latin American literature.)

Painting reached its zenith with the famous Cuzco school during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most of the thousands of paintings and sculptures are anonymous, and the works show resemblances both to Byzantine and to Asian forms. Modern Peruvian art has followed an abstract course, notably in the work of the painter Fernando de Szyszlo and the sculptor Joaquin Roca Rey. Numerous galleries in Lima regularly display the works of contemporary Peruvian artists. (See also Latin American art.)

José María Valle-Riestra’s opera Ollanta and Vicente Stea’s Sinfonía autóctona (Aboriginal Symphony) were the major musical works of 19th-century Peru. Later, Luis Duncker Lavalle, who composed mainly for the piano, incorporated Peruvian motifs into Western forms. Lima is home to the National Symphony Orchestra and a philharmonic orchestra; both regularly perform the works of Peruvian as well as international composers. Indigenous music, descending from Inca roots, is often played on quenas (notched vertical flutes), zamponas (panpipes), charangos (small guitars with bodies commonly made from armadillo shells), harps, and drums. The sounds of this music can be heard today during festivals in rural areas, on street corners in tourist centres such as Cuzco, in the dining rooms of major hotels, and in penas (nightclubs) and chicherías (bars) throughout urban Peru. Peruvian panpipe ensembles have also performed throughout the world. Today indigenous forms of music have blended with Western forms to yield the huayno—an urbanized sound that emphasizes emotional lyrics and is a popular choice for dance music. A further mixing of huayno with other indigenous and Western musical styles results in chicha—Peruvian rock and roll.

The theatre is a popular institution in Peru, with a strong tradition dating to colonial times. National professional companies perform in major productions at the Municipal Theatre, which was built in Lima at the site of a colonial theatre dating to 1604. The concerts of the National Symphony Orchestra are also presented there, as are the performances of the main national and touring ballet and folk dance companies. Filmmaking in Peru is not well developed; most films produced there are short—full-length features being mostly imports. A number of Peruvian television programs, particularly telenovelas, are distributed throughout Latin America.

Cultural institutions
Much of the country’s cultural development is overseen by the National Institute of Culture, which seeks to make cultural activities available to all. The Peruvian museums are especially rich in their archaeological collections representing Peru’s pre-Hispanic past. The most noteworthy of these are in Lima and include such institutions as the National Museum, displaying a unique collection of archaeological objects, the National Museum of Art, the Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology, and the Larco Museum, which holds one of the most extensive collections of artifacts from the northern coastal region. Regional archaeological museums are found in many parts of the country; the Sican and Sipan museums in Lambayeque hold many objects recovered from the excavations of nearby river valleys. The main library collection is housed in the National Library in Lima and in the major university libraries.

The ancient Peruvians were great builders of houses, temples, palaces, and fortresses, adapting their architecture to the landscape. Later, Spanish colonization resulted in the addition of the colonizers’ own distinctive style of architecture. The historic centre of Lima (designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1988) contains a significant number of buildings that retain this colonial architecture, notably the cathedral, which was laid out on a site chosen by Francisco Pizarro; the present building, however, has been rebuilt numerous times after earthquakes. Nearby is Lima’s most important architectural jewel—the church and convent of San Francisco. Many fine colonial era mansions still exist, often converted to serve as modern-day businesses or museums. Contemporary architecture has been characterized by the so-called neo-Peruvian, or Peruvian Baroque, and by the introduction of modern concrete and steel structures.

Perhaps the best-known examples of Peru’s cultural past are the country’s Inca remains, most notably Machu Picchu (designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983). Once a “lost city,” secluded at an elevation of 7,710 feet (2,350 metres) in the Andes Mountains northwest of Cuzco, Machu Picchu may have been visited in 1867 by the German adventurer Augusto Berns. The site was definitely visited in 1911 by American archaeologist Hiram Bingham, who initiated archaeological investigations there. Surrounded by lush green, forested hills, Machu Picchu comprises hundreds of well-built agricultural terraces, a multitude of small stone houses, and several ceremonial temples constructed of carved rock. Research suggests that Machu Picchu was a royal estate of the Inca emperor Pachacuti. Other remains of Inca sites found in the area around Cuzco include the region known as the Sacred Valley (Urubamba River valley).

A less-visited site is the ruined city of Caral, in the Supe River valley of the Central Andes Mountains, north-northwest of Lima. It was deemed the oldest centre of civilization in the Americas in 2001, when radiocarbon dating showed that it had been built between 3000 and 2000 bce. The extensive complex, one of several settlements of the ancient Caral-Supe culture, features six pyramids arranged around a courtyard as well as the remains of an amphitheatre and housing complexes. The city of Caral was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2009. The Andes are also home to Chavín de Huántar, an impressive collection of pre-Colombian ruins of the Chavín culture, and Río Abiseo National Park, known for pre-Inca ruins as well as unique plant and animal life (both places were designated UNESCO World Heritage sites, in 1985 and 1990 respectively).

Thousands of other archaeological ruins dot the Peruvian countryside. Near Trujillo, several sites have been the focus of much archaeological research, including Chan Chan (designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1986), the capital city of Chimú state, and the Moche River valley, which is dominated by the massive Temple of the Sun and Temple of the Moon structures and was a major centre of the Moche (Mochica) culture. The Nazca Lines (designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1994), giant geogylphs or drawings on the desert plains south of Lima, are more than 1,500 years old, and they remain an enigma. Archaeologists and grave robbers have uncovered thousands of decorated jugs and bowls and embroidered textiles throughout the Peruvian countryside; the weavings of the Paracas culture and the ceramics of the Moche are especially distinguished. The dryness of the coast has helped to preserve many pre-Incan remains.

Sports and recreation
The most popular spectator sports, as in most other Latin American countries, are football (soccer) and bullfighting, the latter at the renowned Plaza de Acho bullring in Lima. Football is played in the National Stadium near downtown Lima, and there are a number of professional teams in Lima and the other major cities. Football games are also played throughout the country—any flat space large enough to accommodate two goals will be used by both children and adults. On a recreational level, a scaled-down version of football is regularly played on basketball courts, often by organized leagues of adults. Volleyball has become a popular sport, particularly for women; the Peruvian national team has had great success in international competition. Basketball, horse racing, and cockfighting are among other well-attended events.

Swimming and surfing are popular activities along the Pacific coast, especially during the summer months (December–February), when thousands of residents of Lima, Trujillo, and Chiclayo flock to the beaches during the midday siesta period. Other sports, such as golf, tennis, and yachting, are almost exclusively the provenience of the affluent, with private clubs offering the only facilities in most large cities.

Media and publishing
Although freedom of the press is guaranteed by the Peruvian constitution, the media have been periodically subjected to government control. The major dailies generally have a tradition of taking strong political stands in support of political parties of their choice. Most of the leading dailies, such as El Comercio, Expreso, and Ojo, are in Lima; others are published in Arequipa, Trujillo, and Chiclayo. Lima’s El Peruano, one of the oldest dailies in the Americas, was founded in 1825. Many of these papers and several Peruvian newsweeklies are now also available on the Internet.

The electronic media in particular have sometimes been subjected to political censorship, which became especially severe in the early 1970s when the national government assumed a majority ownership of all television stations and a significant stake in all radio stations. In the early 21st century, virtually all television and radio stations and newspapers were privately owned, and freedom of the press—guaranteed under the constitution—was generally respected by the national government. Lima has several television channels, and there are stations in all of the major cities. Cable and satellite providers offer international programming.

Javier Pulgar-Vidal
James S. Kus

History

Humans have probably lived in Peru for more than 13,000 years. Beginning about 1000 bce, several advanced cultures, such as the Chavín, Moche, Nazca, Tiwanaku, and Chimú, developed in different parts of Peru; however, the area was not unified politically until about 1400 ce, when the Inca set out from their base in the Cuzco Valley on a mission of conquest that, during the 15th century, brought under their control the area of present-day Peru (not including Amazonia), highland Bolivia, northern Argentina, central Chile, and highland Ecuador. Within this area, the Inca established a totalitarian state that enabled the tribal ruler and a small minority of nobles to dominate a passive population.

The Inca
Like the Aztec, the Inca came late upon the historical scene; even their legends do not predate 1200 ce, with the supposed arrival in Cuzco of the first emperor, Manco Capac. Like Old World peoples, and unlike other aboriginal Americans, the Inca recounted their history by kingly reigns. Most of the accounts agree on 13 emperors (see pre-Columbian civilizations: The Inca). The first seven emperors were legendary, local, and of slight importance; their traditions are full of impossible or improbable events, especially those of Manco Capac, the founder of the dynasty. In this period the Inca were a small tribe, one of many, whose domain did not extend many miles beyond their capital, Cuzco. They were almost constantly at war with neighbouring tribes.

The incredibly rapid expansion of the Inca empire began with Viracocha’s son Pachacuti, one of the great conquerors—and one of the great individuals—in the history of the Americas. With his accession in 1438, reliable history also began, almost all the chroniclers being in practical agreement. Pachacuti was called by the British geographer-historian Sir Clements Markham “the greatest man that the aboriginal race of America has produced.” He and his son Topa Inca Yupanqui may be aptly compared to Philip and Alexander of Macedon. Pachacuti was evidently a great civic planner as well; tradition ascribes to him the city plan of Cuzco as well as the erection of many of the massive masonry buildings that still awe visitors to that ancient capital.

The sudden expansion of the Inca empire was one of the most extraordinary events of history. It covered a little less than a century, from the accession of Pachacuti in 1438 to the conquest by Francisco Pizarro in 1532, and most of it was apparently accomplished by Pachacuti and Topa Inca in the 30 years between 1463 and 1493. First the Aymara-speaking rivals in the region of Lake Titicaca, the Colla and Lupaca, were defeated, and then the Chanca to the west; the latter attacked and nearly captured Cuzco. After that there was little effective resistance. The peoples to the north were subjugated as far as Quito, Ecua., including the powerful and cultured “kingdom” of Chimú on the northern coast of Peru. Topa Inca then took over his father’s role and turned southward, conquering all of northern Chile as far as the Maule River, the southernmost limit of the empire. His son, Huayna Capac, continued conquests in Ecuador to the Ancasmayo River, the present border between Ecuador and Colombia. At its maximum the empire extended from the present Colombia-Ecuador border to central Chile, a coastal distance of more than 2,500 miles (4,000 km), encompassing approximately 380,000 square miles (985,000 sq km), about equal in area to France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Italy combined.

Discovery and exploration by Europeans
Spanish interest in the west coast of South America grew after Vasco Núñez de Balboa discovered the Pacific Ocean in 1513, but it was not until 1524 that Francisco Pizarro, aided by another soldier, Diego de Almagro, and a priest, Hernando de Luque, undertook explorations that led to the conquest of Peru. By 1527 they were convinced of the wealth of the Inca empire. Failing to win further cooperation from Panama’s governor, Pizarro returned to Spain, where he received authorization from Charles I to conquer and govern the area extending 600 miles (950 km) south from Panama. When Pizarro, accompanied by his brothers, returned to Panama, Almagro was outraged by the vast powers Pizarro had acquired for himself. Nevertheless, he continued to collaborate. Pizarro embarked for Peru in late 1530 or early 1531 with 180 men. Establishing a base at San Miguel de Piura in the Sechura Desert of northern coastal Peru, Pizarro rode into the mountains to make contact with the Inca Atahuallpa, who had recently been victorious in civil war against his half-brother Huascar and who was then encamped near Cajamarca with an army of about 30,000 soldiers. Atahuallpa, scornful of the tiny band of invaders, accepted Pizarro’s invitation to meet in Cajamarca. The next day Atahuallpa was taken prisoner in the middle of the city square after he refused to accept Spanish suzerainty. After his agents had collected a large ransom for his promised release, Atahuallpa was executed for his presumed responsibility for the murder of Huascar. As a means of controlling the Indians, Pizarro then recognized Manco Capac II, Huascar’s brother and namesake of the mythical first Inca king, as emperor. In November 1533 the Spaniards occupied Cuzco, the Inca capital.

Colonial period
The consolidation of Spanish control proceeded. The city of Quito was subdued, and Almagro left to conquer his domain of Chile. Pizarro organized a Spanish-type municipal government for Cuzco and in 1535 established a new city, Lima, on the coast, to facilitate communications with Panama. Lands were allotted to the conquerors, who were provided with a labour force by grants of encomiendas, which enabled them to collect tribute from the Indians in a specific area.

Serious trouble then erupted. An unsuccessful Indian rebellion led by Manco Capac II in 1536 was followed by his retreat to the Vilcabamba region in the tropical forest north of Cuzco. The years after Manco’s rebellion were followed by open conflict between the conquerors over the division of the spoils. Almagro, disillusioned by Chile’s relative poverty, sought to seize Cuzco from the Pizarros. Almagro was defeated and executed in 1538, but his adherents continued to conspire with his son, and they succeeded in assassinating Francisco Pizarro in 1541. However, an agent of the Spanish crown, sent to establish order, refused to recognize the younger Almagro, who was captured and executed in 1542.

Difficulties persisted nonetheless. The king of Spain, impelled by humanitarianism and by fear that the encomienda system might promote feudalism, promulgated in 1542 the New Laws, which threatened the existence of the encomiendas that were so important to the conquerors. When Viceroy Blasco Núñez Vela arrived in Peru in 1544 to enforce the New Laws, the conquerors, led by Gonzalo Pizarro, revolted and executed the viceroy. Pizarro maintained control for two years until Pedro de la Gasca, a Spanish agent, undermined his power.

It was nearly a decade before unruly conquerors were controlled under Viceroy Andrés Hurtado de Mendoza (1555–61), and not until the viceregal administration of Francisco de Toledo (1569–81) was systematic control of the huge Indian population attempted. Toledo adapted Indian institutions to the purposes of Spanish authority. He ordered Indian chieftains to administer local Indian affairs according to native customs and traditions and made them responsible for collecting tribute and providing forced labour. Spanish agents (corregidores) were appointed to protect the interests of both crown and Indian in the Indian communities. Fearing that Manco Capac II’s son, Tupac Amaru, and the few remaining “free” Incans in Vilcabamba and the forests north of Cuzco might prove dangerous to Spanish authority, Toledo ordered Spanish troops to invade the area and capture Tupac Amaru, which led to Amaru’s beheading in Cuzco in 1572.

By the end of Toledo’s administration, the Viceroyalty of Peru had assumed the form that it retained into the 18th century. Its territory included all of South America except Venezuela and Portuguese Brazil. Although ranching, agriculture, and commerce were carried on, the mining of precious metals, particularly silver, was the basic industry, making the colony the most important in the Spanish empire. The discovery of the fabulous Potosí mines in 1545 had been followed in 1563 by the opening of the Huancavelica mines, which produced the mercury essential to efficient processing of silver. Because the viceroyalty’s mineral resources, except for the gold of New Granada (Colombia), were in Peru proper and Upper Peru (Bolivia), these areas became the most highly developed and richest.

The centre of wealth and power for the entire region was the viceregal capital of Lima. There, during the 16th and 17th centuries, a series of viceroys ruled over most of Spanish South America. The elaborate viceregal court was the apex of a highly stratified society based upon forced Indian labour. It attracted not only the politically oriented but also the wealthy, the artistic, and the intellectual.

Lima was also important as seat of the audiencia, which administered royal justice, and as a religious, cultural, and commercial centre. The archbishop of Lima was head of the church in Peru. Many religious orders established monasteries and convents there, and the tribunal of the Inquisition worked to extirpate religious heresy. In Lima also was the capstone of the educational system—the University of San Marcos. Adding to the wealth and importance of Lima was the privileged position that its merchants enjoyed under the monopolistic Spanish trade system. Lima, with the nearby port of Callao, was the entrepôt for trade between Europe and the commercial centres of South America, ranging from Quito to Chile on the Pacific coast and to Buenos Aires on the Atlantic. Under the Spanish system the bulk of legitimate trade to and from these areas had to pass through merchants in Lima.

During the later 17th century, Peru experienced difficulties. Some of these, such as increasing contraband trade with non-Spanish merchants, attacks by pirates, and the growth of venality among government officials, reflected the internal decay of Spain and the decline of its international power. Contributing to Peruvian difficulties was the decline of its production of precious metals.

A series of governmental reforms complicated Peru’s problems in the 18th century. The Bourbon dynasty, which in 1700 had replaced the Habsburgs as rulers of Spain, undertook a program of reform during the 18th century, seeking to promote the economic development of their colonies, improve colonial defenses, and provide more efficient government. The first to seriously affect Peru was the establishment of the new Viceroyalty of New Granada, ending Peru’s control over northern South America and resulting in its loss to New Granada of the thriving port of Guayaquil (now in Ecuador). For the next few decades Bourbon reforms, together with overall expansion of the economy, improved conditions in Peru. In 1777–78, however, the Spanish government established another viceroyalty, that of Río de la Plata, this time depriving the Peruvian viceroy of authority over Upper Peru and the areas of present-day Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Chile was reconstituted as a virtually autonomous captaincy general. Following the disastrous loss of the silver mines of Upper Peru, the Viceroyalty of Peru was still more weakened by reforms in the trade system, which permitted merchants in ports on the Atlantic and the Pacific to trade directly with Spain.

Internal strife created further complications. The Indians, who had from the time of the conquest suffered oppressive taxation and enforced labour, revolted in 1780 under Tupac Amaru II, a descendant of the last Inca emperor and a man of wealth and education. The revolt spread throughout Peru and into Upper Peru and Ecuador. Although Tupac Amaru II was captured and executed in 1781, the Indians continued to fight the Spaniards until 1783, causing considerable disruption.

Nevertheless, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Peru experienced a period of intellectual development that was the result of the influence of the utilitarian ideas of the European Enlightenment, taken to Peru in books and by European participants in scientific expeditions in 1778 and 1793. Its chief manifestation was the establishment of a literary and scientific club in Lima, the Society of Friends of the Country.

Achievement of independence
The Napoleonic invasion of Spain in 1808 sparked the Creoles (those of European descent born in America) in other Spanish colonies to struggle for independence between 1810 and 1821. But Peru remained loyal because of the conservative attitude of the Peruvian aristocracy, the presence of many Spaniards in Peru, the concentration of Spanish military power in Lima, and the effective suppression of Indian uprisings. Peru’s independence was, consequently, achieved primarily by outsiders.

Among them was Gen. José de San Martín of Argentina, whose aims were to secure Argentine control of Upper Peru’s silver from the Spanish forces that had occupied Upper Peru and to ensure Argentina’s independence by destroying the remaining Spanish power in South America. Because Argentine forces had previously been defeated in Upper Peru, San Martín determined to surround the Spaniards by liberating Chile and using it as a base for a seaborne attack on Peru. Chile was freed in 1818 and a fleet was readied, which enabled San Martín to occupy the Peruvian port of Pisco in September 1820. When the viceroy withdrew his forces into the interior, San Martín entered Lima. Peruvian independence was declared on July 28, 1821.

Lacking power to attack the strong Spanish forces in the interior, San Martín sought aid from Simón Bolívar, who had liberated northern South America, but Bolívar declined, refusing to share leadership. San Martín then withdrew, and Bolívar assumed power in Peru to carry on the struggle for liberation. At the battles of Junín (Aug. 6, 1824) and Ayacucho (Dec. 9, 1824), Spanish power was broken and Peru’s independence ensured.

Robert N. Burr
Thomas M. Davies, Jr.
James S. Kus

Peru from 1824 to 1884

The end of Spanish rule did not, however, provide a solution to the many political, social, and economic problems facing the country. The transition from a colonial dependency to a modern state proved difficult.

Struggle for power
At the outset of Peru’s national existence, military leaders (caudillos) who had gained prominence in the struggle for independence sought to seize power. The departure of Bolívar in 1826 removed a stabilizing influence. The aims of the caudillos were furthered by the absence of a tradition of self-government, by the prevalence of a feudal society of Creoles and Indians, and by the reluctance of civilians to assume political responsibility. Despite military influences, a liberal constitution was adopted in 1828. This did not prevent Gen. Agustín Gamarra from taking government power by illegal means. He was succeeded in 1835 by another self-seeking caudillo, Gen. Felipe Salaverry.

The ambitions of Gamarra and Salaverry were thwarted by Andrés de Santa Cruz, a military commander of Spanish-Indian descent who proposed a confederation of Peru and Bolivia. For three years Santa Cruz, though born in La Paz, was backed by influential groups in Peru and maintained the political union. But his hopes were shattered at the Battle of Yungay in 1839 by a joint force of nationalist-minded Peruvians and of Chileans fearing a threat to the balance of power in the Pacific.

Establishment of order
During the initial period of statehood in Peru, liberal and conservative parties with ill-defined programs emerged. Their rivalry exacerbated the political instability of the country.

Gen. Ramón Castilla assumed the presidency in 1845. Castilla dominated the political scene from 1845 to 1851 and from 1855 to 1862, in spite of his mestizo background. His greatest accomplishment for the promotion of national wealth was the exploitation of the guano deposits along the coast and offshore islands. Taxes on this industry, which was controlled by foreign corporations, furnished the principal source of government revenue for several decades. Castilla appealed to liberals by abolishing the payment of tribute by Indians and by emancipating the black slaves. Landowners on the coastal plantations, however, were permitted to import thousands of Chinese workers in order to have a sufficient labour supply. As an additional concession to the liberals, Castilla established a system of state education at the primary and secondary levels. Through his influence, an assembly in 1860 adopted a constitution that lasted into the 1900s.

In the second half of the 19th century, Peru’s history was characterized by many setbacks. In 1864 Spain dispatched a naval force to the Pacific, ostensibly to protect the rights of Basque immigrants but in reality to attempt to reestablish domination over its former colony. In 1869, after meeting with the determined opposition of Peru and Chile, Spain withdrew and recognized Peru’s independence for the first time, but the conflict was a heavy drain on Peru’s treasury.

Dissatisfaction with military rule resulted in 1871 in the formation of the Civilian Party, representing an oligarchy of landowners and merchants (see Civilista). This party, headed by Manuel Pardo (president, 1872–76), approved a costly program of internal development, which included the construction of railroads across the Andes. Corruption on the part of government officials and contractors characterized the work, which decreased the isolation of the Peruvian interior but increased enormously the national debt.

The War of the Pacific (1879–83)

Another untoward event was the War of the Pacific with Chile, caused mainly by rivalry over the exploitation of rich nitrate deposits in the Atacama Desert (then part of Peru, now in Chile). Chile’s superior resources and military discipline brought overwhelming defeat to Peru and its ally Bolivia.

At the Battle of Iquique (then in Peru, now in Chile), on May 21, 1879, the Peruvians suffered the loss of one of their best warships, the Independencia; the Huáscar was then sunk on October 8, and this eventual surrender of control of the sea permitted a Chilean army to land on the Peruvian coast. On Jan. 17, 1881, Chilean forces captured the capital, Lima. Looting and pillaging followed, and the National Library was destroyed. According to the terms of the Treaty of Ancón (Oct. 20, 1883), Peru turned over to Chile full possession of the province of Tarapacá and the administration for 10 years of the provinces of Tacna and Arica, after which a plebiscite was to determine their future sovereignty.

Peru from 1884 to 1930
Expenditures for the war, and the consequent loss of revenue from the nitrate fields, created the possibility of imminent bankruptcy. To avert this disaster, the Civilian regime accepted in 1889 a plan proposed by the bondholders for handling the debt. The Peruvian Corporation, representing the creditors, with headquarters in London, was to control the railroads for 66 years, to mine up to three million tons of guano, and to receive 33 annual payments of £80,000 each. The plan worked satisfactorily but was hated by the Peruvian people.

Social reforms and economic development
The decline in national prestige created an atmosphere conducive to political change. The Democratic Party was formed, and in 1895, under the leadership of Nicolás de Piérola, it won the presidential election. Having a broad, popular base, it championed direct suffrage and the restoration of municipal elections. Public education was fostered, but schools for the children of the poor were lacking.

An orderly political scene, marked by rivalry between the Democratic and Civilian groups, accelerated economic development. There was an increase in the production of minerals, notably copper, and of such agricultural commodities as cotton, sugar, and wool. In the mining of copper, U.S. capital acquired important interests.

Augusto Bernardino Leguía y Salcedo, chief spokesman for the Civilians, assumed the presidency in 1908. His first term in office (1908–12) was marked by the expansion of sugar and cotton production and the settlement of the boundary dispute with Brazil. During Leguía’s second term (1919–30), he embarked upon expensive public works projects, financed by loans from U.S. banks. Rights to the oil fields of La Brea-Pariñas were given to the U.S.-owned International Petroleum Company, which built a refinery to supply the country with gasoline and oil.

Leguía supported the adoption of a new constitution in 1920. Among its progressive provisions was Article 58, which protected the communal lands of the Indians from sale and seizure. Failure to implement this provision, however, gave rise to a significant development of Indianism. While most intellectuals urged gradual reforms, more radical measures were advocated by the Peruvian Communist Party and others.

Formation of the Aprista movement
The American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA), known as the “Aprista movement,” was formed in 1924 in Mexico City by Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre, an intellectual then in exile. Internationally, it expressed the ideals of the unity of American Indians and the elimination of U.S. imperialism. Internally, it proclaimed the need to end the exploitation of the Peruvian masses through the institution of a planned economy and the nationalization of foreign-owned enterprises. Its anticapitalist and anti-imperialist stand appealed to intellectuals, to the Indians, and to the lower middle class.

By 1930 Leguía had experienced a definite loss in popularity. Final settlement of the long-standing Tacna-Arica dispute with Chile, by which Peru ceded the province of Arica, angered the extreme nationalists, while the effects of worldwide economic depression (see Great Depression) cost Leguía the support of business groups.

Peru from 1930 to 1968

In 1930 a military junta headed by Col. Luis Sánchez Cerro overthrew Leguía, and Sánchez Cerro defeated Haya de la Torre, the APRA candidate, in the presidential elections of 1931. APRA claimed that the elections were fraudulent and instigated a campaign to discredit the regime. The threat from the left led to the emergence of a fascist group, whose chief exponent was the historian José de la Riva Agüero. In July 1932 Apristas organized an uprising in Trujillo, on the northern coast, which included a bloody takeover of the Trujillo military garrison. In response, Sánchez Cerro ordered the bombing and recapture of the city, during which many Trujillo Apristas were killed; this ultimately led to the retaliatory assassination of Sánchez Cerro by an Aprista in 1933. These incidents created an enduring enmity between the military establishment and APRA that would last for more than 50 years.

Troubled democracy
Sánchez Cerro’s successor (1933–39) was Gen. Oscar Benavides, who restored confidence in the economy. He also settled a dangerous boundary controversy with Colombia over the port of Leticia on the upper Amazon and a finger of land giving access to the river, both of which had been ceded to Colombia in a treaty of 1922. To avoid war Benavides returned the territory to Colombia. Benavides reduced the strength of APRA by declaring the party illegal, by a relentless persecution of its leaders, and by the adoption of social assistance projects. In the presidential election of 1939, the Apristas supported Manuel Prado, a banker and a member of an aristocratic family of Lima.

During World War II, Peru cooperated with the United States, authorized Allied use of airfields and ports, and arranged to sell the Allies petroleum, cotton, and minerals. In 1942 Peru severed diplomatic relations with the Axis powers, and in 1945 it declared war on them. During the war Peru succeeded, with U.S. support, in getting a favourable settlement of a boundary dispute with Ecuador, which it had invaded.

World War II brought not only economic prosperity but also hope for real democracy. Prado, swayed by public opinion, approved the presidential candidacy in 1945 of José Luis Bustamante y Rivero, a lawyer from Arequipa with liberal leanings, who represented a coalition of middle- and upper-class elements. APRA, again a legal party, obtained a majority of seats in the lower house and half the seats in the Senate. Bustamante generally followed an independent course, and the Apristas withdrew their support. After Apristas staged an abortive insurrection in Callao, near Lima, the president outlawed the party.

The dictatorship of Manuel Odría
In October 1948 Gen. Manuel Odría seized power, protesting the president’s lack of firmness in dealing with the radicals, and extreme measures were taken to suppress the Apristas. Haya de la Torre found refuge in the Colombian embassy, where he stayed for five years before leaving Peru.

Odría led an authoritarian regime in which political stability allowed the revival of prosperity. The Korean conflict of the early 1950s benefited foreign trade because of heavy U.S. demand for Peruvian minerals, and a friendly policy toward foreign capital prompted large-scale investments.

Return to elected government
In the election of 1956, Manuel Prado, who was supported by Odría, won a second term, defeating Fernando Belaúnde Terry. A surprising feature of the election was the decline of APRA, some of whose members joined Belaúnde’s National Front Party.

Prado countered the financial crisis inherited from Odría by appointing as minister of the treasury Pedro Beltrán, whose policies contributed to a 41/2 percent annual increase in the gross national product. The fishing industry based on the massive harvest of anchovies in the cold waters off the coast expanded. Beltrán’s measures did not, however, lessen the pressure from the landless Indians and the underpaid urban proletariat.

With political tension at a high level in 1962, none of the presidential candidates received the one-third vote necessary for election; the decision went to the congress, but the military forces seized the government. A new election called in 1963 by the junta permitted Belaúnde’s party, now called Popular Action, to be victorious.

Belaúnde promised solutions to the country’s economic and social problems. An agrarian act of 1964 provided for expropriation of unused or misused agricultural properties; by 1966 more than 500,000 acres (200,000 hectares) had been distributed. Community development projects and irrigation schemes were instituted, and a network of roads was planned. Indians were encouraged to colonize land in the foothills east of the Andes. Education was promoted with the establishment of new universities and with attacks on illiteracy.

Military rule (1968–80)

On Oct. 3, 1968, the military forced the resignation of Belaúnde. The junta, headed by Juan Velasco Alvarado, imprisoned opposing politicians and suspended constitutional liberties. On October 9 the government expropriated the holdings of the International Petroleum Company, straining relations with the United States.

Economic nationalism
In 1969 the junta embarked on a program of economic nationalism that would affect U.S. capital investments totaling $600 million. In 13 months three basic reform measures were enacted: the Agrarian Law (June 24, 1969), the Mining Law (April 14, 1970), and the Industrial Law (July 30, 1970). Accordingly, on Aug. 22, 1969, the government seized the Paramonga sugar plantation, which belonged to W.R. Grace and Company, one of the largest U.S. interests in Peru. Other large plantations of the north coast were taken over as well. The military junta also sought to control essential industries and public services through outright ownership and by “Peruvianization”—insistence that a majority of the stock of a foreign company be held by Peruvian nationals. The occurrence on May 31, 1970, of a major earthquake in northern Peru—which killed between 70,000 and 80,000 people, left 140,00 injured and more than 500,000 homeless, and caused millions of dollars of damage—jeopardized the financial stability of the regime.

The junta appealed to the highland peasants by expropriating many of the landed estates, which thereafter were operated by government-directed collectives or by individuals or Indian communes. The opening up of arid lands was part of the new agricultural program, and the junta signed a contract in July 1971 with a Yugoslav company for the construction of a canal in the Piura Valley to irrigate 330,000 additional acres (135,000 hectares). Two more major construction projects were subsequently initiated. Commercial fishing was to be encouraged, but the disappearance of the anchovies in 1972 because of El Niño brought about a suspension of fish exports and dealt a serious blow to the economy. In 1973 the government moved to nationalize the fish meal industry, valued at $500 million. With the organization of Petroperú, a state-owned company, the petroleum industry expanded.

An education reform bill, promulgated in March 1972, was to put in force “a system of learning from the cradle to the grave.” Major features were recognition of the equality of women, the establishment of rural schools, the granting of autonomy to the universities, and the use of the Indian languages Quechua or Aymara in the schools in the Andes and east of the Sierra.

To prevent criticism of its tight dictatorship, the junta censored the press, closed or confiscated some radio stations and newspapers, and acquired control of privately owned television stations. In foreign relations the junta initiated a two-China policy, hoping to arrange the sale of minerals and fish meal to the People’s Republic of China. As part of an innovative trans-Pacific policy, Japanese investments and contacts were encouraged by the government. Friendship with the Soviet Union led to the exchange of ambassadors with communist-bloc countries.

The second junta
Economic factors fostered resentment among many groups toward the Velasco regime. The decline in fish meal exports and in copper prices ended the economic boom, while loans obtained abroad for agrarian reform and huge copper and petroleum projects increased foreign debt. On Aug. 29, 1975, a new junta was formed, headed by Gen. Francisco Morales Bermúdez Cerrutti, former minister of finance and economy, and Peruvian policies were constantly altered as repeated changes in the cabinet took place. Morales shifted toward more moderate right-wing policies. The National Agrarian Confederation was dissolved in 1978; the state fishing enterprise was denationalized; mining projects were opened to private investors; and more foreign investment was encouraged.

Return to civilian rule
The Morales government committed itself to reestablishing constitutional rule, and a popularly elected Constituent Assembly was summoned in June 1978 to draft a new constitution. The Apristas formed the largest bloc of the assembly, and Haya de la Torre was elected president. The new constitution was signed on July 12, 1979.

Elections were scheduled for May 1980, with the expectation that Haya de la Torre and the Apristas would win. Prior to the election, however, Haya de la Torre died, and Belaúnde won the election with a plurality of votes, returning to the office he held before the 1968 military coup. His party, Popular Action, headed a majority coalition in the legislature. Belaúnde immediately returned newspapers that had been confiscated by the military junta to their previous owners. The new legislature issued a package of decrees designed to reorganize the economy with a view toward reducing government involvement and encouraging private enterprise, but these were insufficient to ameliorate the growing economic and political crisis. The economy was hurt by an increase in imports due to Belaúnde’s free-market policies, lower world prices for Peru’s major export commodities, high international interest rates on the country’s burgeoning foreign debt, and a devastating El Niño in 1982–83. Aggravating the economic problems was the rise of the guerrilla movement, led by the neo-Maoist Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) and the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, which forced the government to commit ever-increasing resources to combating the guerrillas and to repairing the damages inflicted in the conflict. When the inflation rate rose a staggering 3,240 percent between July 1980 and June 1985, the economy almost collapsed. Moreover, the national currency, the sol, lost so much of its value that a new monetary unit, the inti, was created in 1986.

In the 1985 elections APRA, capitalizing on the country’s plight, had its presidential candidate elected for the first time in its history. The new leader—young, charismatic Alan García Pérez—shocked the international community when he announced that Peru would pay no more than 10 percent of its export earnings toward a nearly $14 billion foreign debt. Adopting a populist stance domestically, García attempted to reactivate the economy, end human rights abuses in the war against the guerrillas, gain control over the drug traffickers, and rally the population, but the International Monetary Fund dealt a blow to the country when it declared Peru ineligible for future loans and credits until García adopted more orthodox economic and debt-repayment measures. Facing a deteriorating economic situation, the president moved to nationalize the banks in 1987, an act that eroded his personal popularity. The end of García’s term was marked by runaway inflation, a series of crippling general strikes, and even rejection by his own party.

With inflation, the guerrilla war, and the drug trade as major concerns, the 1990 presidential elections resulted in a runoff between Mario Vargas Llosa of the Democratic Front Movement, or Fredemo, and Alberto Fujimori of Change 90. Vargas Llosa, a distinguished novelist, advocated a drastic anti-inflation program that alarmed many of Peru’s poor. His support among the European-descended coastal elite was not enough to defeat Fujimori, the son of Japanese immigrants and an agricultural engineer. Much of Fujimori’s support was gained by decrying Vargas Llosa’s plan and was drawn from the upwardly mobile lower-middle class, evangelical Christians, the residents of the squatter settlements around most of the large cities, and highland Indians. However, less than two weeks after taking office, Fujimori instituted austerity measures as harsh as those he had earlier decried, including suddenly raising the price of gasoline by 3,000 percent. The program wiped out inflation but caused immediate hardships, notably among the poor.

In April 1992 the military assisted Fujimori in staging an autogolpe (“self-administered coup”), in which Congress was dissolved. Another legislature was soon elected, and a new constitution was promulgated the following year. Fujimori promoted neoliberal economic policies such as privatizing state-owned mines and utility companies; his policies led to a rapid recovery of the Peruvian economy. He also took credit for successful antiterrorism campaigns that included capturing Abimael Guzmán Reynoso, the leader of the Shining Path, in 1992 and storming the Japanese ambassador’s residence in Lima in 1996, where dozens of hostages had been held by Tupac Amaru members. Fujimori won a second term in 1995, but charges of fraud and unconstitutionality accompanied his election to a third term in 2000. His government crumbled later that year after Vladimiro Montesinos, the head of the secret police and one of his closest advisers, was found to have bribed a congressman. Amid growing allegations of corruption, Fujimori fled to Japan.

The country was governed by a caretaker administration until Alejandro Toledo was elected president and took office in 2001. Toledo was Peru’s first democratically elected Quechua president, and his ethnic background enhanced his popularity among Peru’s poor. However, Toledo inherited challenging political and economic situations: he did not have majority support in Congress, and Peru was in the midst of a significant economic recession. Hampered by these conditions, the popularity he initially enjoyed plummeted during his term.

Also in 2001, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established to determine the extent of the killings, assassinations, and human rights abuses that occurred between 1980 and 2000 when the Shining Path committed most of their acts of violence. The commission’s investigation concluded in 2003, and its report was released later that year. Among the most alarming findings, the commission determined that the number of those killed by both Shining Path guerrillas and government forces was approximately 70,000—twice the number previously cited. The commission’s report generated concern from all sides: some interpreted the findings as sympathetic to the guerrillas; others, especially military officers and politicians in office at the time, feared the findings might make them vulnerable to charges of human rights abuse.

In November 2005 Fujimori left Japan and returned to South America, arriving in neighbouring Chile. He hoped to organize a campaign for president in the 2006 election, even though the Peruvian Congress had previously barred him from holding public office until 2011. Shortly after his arrival in Chile, Fujimori was taken into custody under outstanding warrants for corruption and human rights abuse; he was eventually released on bail in May 2006, but in September of the next year, he was extradited to Peru. During his detention Fujimori challenged the Peruvian ruling that barred him from standing in the presidential election, but it was upheld.

With Fujimori not in the running, former president García Pérez, was victorious in the 2006 election—despite criticism of his performance during his previous term (1985–90). The fact that his opponent, Ollanta Humala, was openly supported by Venezuela’s high-profile but polarizing president, Hugo Chávez, ultimately helped García in his bid for a second term. García’s second administration focused on addressing the social inequalities still in existence in the country while building on the economic progress Peru recently enjoyed.

John Preston Moore
Thomas M. Davies, Jr.
James S. Kus

García, using special powers given to him by Congress, signed laws in 2008 permitting foreign companies to exploit resources in the Amazonia region—one of the conditions for implementing a free-trade agreement with the United States. However, the new laws caused a backlash. Amazonian Indians in northern Peru led protests, followed by weeks of strikes, throughout the area beginning in early 2009. Clashes between the police and the Indians turned violent, and dozens of people were killed. Congress revoked the laws in June 2009.

Ed.