The 12 most important historical facts of Peru (explained)

The Inca empire, the viceroyalty of Peru, independence, the Leguía dictatorship... There are many historical events that have shaped Peruvian culture and identity.

Peru is a Latin American nation that has witnessed many historical events, both national and international, which have deeply marked and have contributed to making it what today in day it is.

Among the many events that this country has experienced, below we present a compilation with the main historical facts of Peru, explained.

• Related article: "The 5 ages of History (and their characteristics)"

The 12 main historical events of Peru

Peru is a Latin American nation full of culture, art and, of course, history. There are many events that the Peruvian lands have witnessed, going from the rise of the Inca Empire to its fall before the arrival of the Spanish, passing through the first breaths of libertarian and emancipatory air in times of American independence and, later, the political instability and territorial conflicts of the country. These are 12 of the most important historical facts of Peru.

1. End of the Inca Empire

On November 15, 1532, the Spanish conquerors commanded by Francisco Pizarro entered Cajamarca, present-day Peru.. There Pizarro sets up an interview with the Inca chief Atahualpa for the next day, with an apparent diplomatic purpose, but everything is a trap. The Spaniards will prepare an ambush and, when the Inca arrives with his escort, they will rush on them without warning. They will manage to catch the great Inca, putting an end to the independence of the vast empire from him.

Atahualpa will try to get out of this situation by offering as a ransom for his freedom to fill the room where he is imprisoned with gold, silver and precious stones. At first, Pizarro accepts the offer, but Atahualpa will remain in prison for a few more months until, finally, he is accused of idolatry, fratricide and treason. For this reason he will be condemned to die at the stake, but his sentence will be commuted to that of the stick for having embraced the Catholic faith, being finally executed on July 26, 1533.

Later, Pizarro and his men managed to take the Inca city of Cuzco, the sacred capital of the Inca Empire, which at that time was inhabited by about 100,000 people. This conquest ends up completely weakening the few Inca resistances that were still standing, completely disintegrating to the Inca regime and contributing to the rebellion of the tribes that for centuries had been oppressed by this pre-Hispanic culture.

• You may be interested in: "The 16 most important historical events of Colombia"

2. Lima Foundation

Having already effective control over the ancient lands of the Incas, On January 6, 1535, three Francisco Pizarro's trackers explored the Rímac Valley, returning to the settlement of Pizarro to narrate the many wonders that they had found in the place.

Pizarro, amazed by all that his men claimed to have seen, He decides to found the new capital on the 18th of that same month, which he will baptize as the City of the Kings in honor of the Three Kings of the East, for the date the region was explored. With the passage of time, this same city would receive a new name: Lima, current capital of Peru.

• Related article: "The 6 forms of government that govern our social and political life"

3. Beginning of emancipation

On February 5, 1819, a treaty of alliance was signed in Buenos Aires between the government of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata and the Chilean, with the aim of ending the Spanish domination in Peru and thus beginning its emancipation process. General José de San Martín considers that it is urgent, since he believes that the independence of the United Provinces will not be totally safe until Peru ceases to be an important stronghold of forces realistic.

This alliance is signed by the Chileans Bernardo O'Higgins and Joaquín Echeverría and by means of this gesture the entire process of independence of Peru is started. Just a year later, On October 21, 1820, by means of a decree promulgated by the general of San Martín, the flag and shield of Peru were created. The objective of this is psychological, since by having a symbol with which to identify, the Peruvian forces would be more motivated and united when fighting against the Spanish Empire.

• You may be interested in: "The 15 most important historical events of Argentina (explained)"

4. Trujillo, first free city

On December 29, 1820, the city of Trujillo became a hot spot for Peruvian emancipation. After a few days ago the mayor of the city José Bernardo de Tagle received a letter from San Martín, dated November 20, 1820 and inviting him to the independence cause, the city's independence act is signed.

The Spanish flag is lowered, and the national flag of Peru is raised for the first time, making Trujillo the first city to complete independence from Spain.

5. Proclamation of the Independence of Peru

It is July 9, 1821 and the troops of the liberator José de San Martín enter Lima. Days later, on the 15th of that same month, San Martín will convene an open council and the Act of Independence of Peru will be signed. A little later, On July 28, in a public ceremony he will solemnly proclaim the independence of Peru from Spanish rule and from any foreign rule.. General San Martín, together with the red and white flag that accompanied the revolutionaries during the campaign, proclaims the following words:

“Peru from this moment is free and independent by the general will of the peoples and by the justice of their cause that God defends. Long live the Homeland! Long live freedom! Live the independence!."

On August 2 of that same year, San Martín will occupy the position of "protector of Peru", immediately beginning to organize the creation of a provisional government. In an effort to make Peru a truly independent nation, Simón Bolívar arrived on September 10, 1823 at the port of Callao, Peru., where he is dedicated to training and organizing the new army while he continues with his political activities and continues to prepare the complete independence of the entire American continent.

• You may be interested in: "The 14 branches of Geography: what are they and what do they study"

6. Battle of Ayacucho

On December 9, 1824, the battle of Ayacucho took place, a place that means in Quechua “the corner of the dead”. There the confrontation takes place that puts the final end to the Spanish domination of Peru and the continent, battle in which 5,000 American soldiers managed to defeat almost twice the royalist soldiers of Viceroy José de la Serna. At the end of the same month, the viceroyalty of Peru is without effect and, de facto, the nation is finally free.

7. Embrace of Maquinhuayo

On January 4, 1834, after the presidential election of Luís José de Orbegoso, Pedro Bermúdez was proclaimed Supreme Chief. With this proclamation, the young Peruvian nation enters a civil war, with Orbegoso's troops and those of the general and military José Rufino Echenique facing each other..

The conflict will end with what is known as the embrace of Maquinhuayo, when Echenique's rebel troops go over to those of President Orbegoso. Bermúdez, who no longer has de facto power or is the supreme head of anything, will be expatriated to Costa Rica with a 2,000-peso pension that the Orbegoso government will grant him.

8. Battle of Callao

In the context of the war of Spain against Peru and Chile, on May 2, 1866, the battle of Callao took place. Despite the fact that the Peruvian army was at an obvious disadvantage, Thanks to the help of Bolivian, Chilean and Mexican troops, the peoples of South America emerged victorious from the Spanish attacks.

This victory has a lot of merit, since the Spanish battery consisted of about 7 frigates major ships, plus an army of small ships that together totaled more than 245 pieces of artillery. On the other hand, the Peruvian army barely had a few ships, ill equipped for battle, but thanks Peruvian cunning and the help of other Latin American nations managed to kill many frigates Spanish.

• Related article: "Psychology of conflict: theories that explain wars and violence"

9. The War of the Pacific (1879-1883)

On April 5, Chile declares war on Peru's alliance with Bolivia, its casus belli interest in the nitrate fields of the Atacama desert, which is why this war in the Pacific is also called the War of Guano and Saltpeter. During the War of the Pacific, five campaigns occurred: the Maritime Campaign (1879), the Campaign of Tarapacá (1879), the Campaign of Tacna and Arica (1880), the Campaign of Lima (1880) and the Campaign of the Sierra (1881-1884).

On January 15, in the vicinity of Lima, the battle of Miraflores takes place where Chile defeats and besieges the capital of Peru, ending the war with Peru. Two years later the war would end definitively, signing the Ancón treaty by which Bolivia will end up losing its only outlet to the sea.

10. Discovery of Machu Picchu

On July 24, 1911, the American professor and adventurer Hiram Bingham, a true Indiana Jones of the time, discovers the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu. The ruins of this imposing city located 2490 meters above the sea were completely covered by vegetation, but today Machu Picchu is part of the select list of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.

• You may be interested in: "Inca proverbs and their meaning"

11. Leguía coup

On April 4, 1919, Augusto Bernardino Leguía gave a coup and began the Oncenio de Leguía. He himself appeared during the presidential elections of 1919, in which Leguía and his opponent Ántero Aspíllaga Barrera participated. Leguía was affected by numerous complaints that ended up canceling thousands of votes in his favor, in addition to the Peruvian parliament being opposed to his election.

Faced with this situation, he decided to carry out a coup, which ended with the deportation of President José Pardo and Barreda to the United States, in addition to the dissolution of Congress and the proclamation of Leguía as president provisional. But Leguía would not be in power forever, since he would be overthrown on August 22, 1930 thanks to several internal pronouncements and, furthermore, that the world economic crisis of 1929 had notoriously affected the stability from Peru.

Peace does not come after the overthrow, rather the opposite. Peru begins a period of revolts that led to Luis Sánchez assuming the provisional presidency of the nation. However, there were many who wanted to take power and, as a consequence, several popular revolutions that forced Sánchez to resign from office, causing even more instability in the country. It would not be until the elections of October 11, 1931, where there would be some stability again, with Luis Sanchez winning.

12. Cenepa War

On January 27, 1995, there was an armed confrontation between Peru and Ecuador, which had as its motive the dispute of 340 square kilometers of the border.. This war had as its main scenario the vicinity of the Cenepa River with six military settlements near the Cordillera del Cóndor. The fighting lasted just over a month, ending on March 2, leaving behind many wounded and dead on both sides. Finally, on October 26, 1998, a peace treaty was signed, putting an end to their historic territorial dispute.