History of Peru

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History of Peru
By chronology Pre-Columbian Peru Ancient civilizations Inca Empire Spanish conquest Viceroyalty Independence Protectorate of Peru Peru–Bolivian Confederation Guano era Chincha Islands War War of the Pacific Occupation of Peru Occupation of Lima Ecuadorian–Peruvian War Military Junta Internal conflict Peruvian political crisis
By political entity History of the Inca Empire History of the Viceroyalty of Peru History of the Republic of Peru
By topic Demographic history Economic history Constitutional history Peruvian wars
See also Timeline Years in Peru
Peru portal
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The history of Peru spans 15 millennia,^[1] extending back through several stages of cultural development along the country's desert coastline and in the Andes mountains. Peru's coast was home to the Norte Chico civilization, the oldest civilization in the Americas and one of the six cradles of civilization in the world. When the Spanish arrived in the sixteenth century, Peru was the homeland of the highland Inca Empire, the largest and most advanced state in pre-Columbian America. After the conquest of the Incas, the Spanish Empire established a Viceroyalty with jurisdiction over most of its South American domains. Peru declared independence from Spain in 1821, but achieved independence only after the Battle of Ayacucho three years later.

Modern historiography of Peru divides its history into three main periods:^[2]

• A pre-Hispanic period, which lasts from the first civilizations of the region to the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire.
• A viceregal or colonial period, which lasts from the aforementioned conquest to the Peruvian declaration of independence.
• A republican period, which lasts from the war of independence to the current day.