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| The Republic of Peru is a
study in contrasts. Despite its proximity to the equator, Peru
possesses a tropical climate only in the eastern reaches of the country, from
which the Amazon River begins its journey to the Atlantic Ocean.
Along the Pacific coast, the cold Humboldt Current produces mild
temperatures and desert conditions. The Andes Mountains, whose
highest peaks reach over 20,000 feet, dominate the central section of the
country. This geographic and climactic diversity supports an
astounding variety of plant and animal species, earning Peru a UN
designation as one of the 17
biologically "megadiverse" countries of the world. |
| Peru also boasts an impressive cultural
diversity, despite centuries of Spanish dominance. One out of every five
Peruvians speaks Quechua or Aymara, the nation's other two official
languages. Peruvian civilization can be traced back at least 8,000
years, with dozens of cultures leaving their mark over the centuries.
Among the coastal tribes, the Chavín first tamed llamas; the Moche produced remarkable pottery; the Nazca scratched out enigmatic
geoglyphs;
and the Chimú built the largest pre-Columbian city in South America at
Chan Chan. |
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But it was the Incas, based in their
mountain metropolis of Cuzco, who had come
to dominate the region by the time the Spanish arrived on the scene in
1532. Their empire stretched from modern-day Colombia to Chile, with
perhaps 12 million inhabitants before the European conquest. Despite
their military superiority, the Spanish were unable to conquer the
remnants of the Inca empire until 1572. Periodic native uprisings
continued in subsequent centuries, including a 1780 rebellion led by the
great-grandson of the last Inca ruler, Túpac Amaru. |
| The Viceroyalty of Peru, which
originally included virtually all of South America, became the most
prosperous and powerful of all the Spanish colonies, owing to the rich
silver mines at Potosí, in present-day Bolivia. Peru's fortunes began
to decline in the 18th century, and José de San Martín declared Peruvian
independence from Spain in 1821. Defeat in the 1879-83 War of the
Pacific prompted a number of social and economic reforms, but military
dictatorships again dominated after WWII. The restoration of
democracy in 1980 was accompanied by a resurgence of Communist-inspired
guerilla movements, including the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path)
and Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA). Thankfully, the
threat of revolutionary upheaval has largely subsided in the last decade,
and Peru has become a much more stable and tourist-friendly destination. |
In October 2007, we joined our friends Cathy &
Gary for over two weeks of adventures in Peru.
| The city quickly became the epicenter of
Spanish colonial power in South America. |
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Ironically, the original indigenous name of
the community — Lima — persisted. |
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| Lima served as capital of the
Viceroyalty of Peru, established by in 1542. |
It was also seat of the Real
Audiencia, which exercised legislative and executive functions. |
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The city flourished during the
17th century as the center of an extensive trade network, which stretched
to Europe and the Philippines. |
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| Inevitably, Lima became the target of pirates
and privateers prowling the Pacific. |
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These predations prompted the construction of
a wall around the city in 1684-87. |
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Lima has also been periodically shaken by earthquakes, which devastated
the city in 1630, 1687, 1746, and 1940. |
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A recent Peruvian trembler in August 2007 — a month before our visit —
killed over 500 people south of the capital, but caused only minor damage
in Lima itself. |
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In the 1850s, Lima began to
profit from the export of guano, bird droppings used for fertilizer and as
an ingredient in explosives. |
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The capital resumed its expansion in the decades after the war.
Immigration from the hinterlands swelled the city's population, which grew
from less than 200,000 in 1920 to nearly eight million today.
Nowadays, the Lima metropolitan area is home to one-third of all
Peruvians, and is the fifth-largest conurbation in South America. |
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Other Peruvian cities we visited:
Cuzco ~
Puno
~ Arequipa
This page was first published 11 November 2007, and last
updated 17 August 2008.
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