Peru History

In the 1500s, Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro explored the Incan empire and the area known as Machu Picchu. He certainly was attracted to all the riches of these people. Therefore, he returned to Spain to acquire men for another journey to this continent. After returning in 1533, he captured and executed the emperor Atahualpa. Pizarro founded Lima, but was assassinated not much later. The Incas also suffered with a beheading of leader Manco Inca in 1572. This put a close on the powerful empire.

Lima was quiet peaceful for a while, although a short rebellion occurred by the Indians against the colonials. Peru remained under Spanish influence until the country was freed by two leaders: Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin in 1824.

Peru went to war with Ecuador over a border dispute in 1941. The 1942 treaty of Rio de Janeiro ceded the area north of the Río Marañón to Peru but was contested by Ecuador.

In 1965 other uprisings occurred led by the National Liberation Army; these uprisings carried through until the 1980s. In 1990, Alberto Fujimori was elected President and in 1992, the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) leaders were captured. These events did not allow for any peace for Peru to ensue.

Fujimori was re-elected, despite the people’s troubles with constant poverty. However, a treaty was finally signed with Ecuador in 1998 over the border dispute. In November 1999, Peru and Chile settled their territorial dispute as well, over the important trade bottleneck of Arica.

Alberto Fujimori the election run of his life. Just before the election, Toledo filed a letter with the election board to bring attention to the corruption in Peru’s elections. This brought a response, however, the election office decided it needed time to correct the problems Toledo pointed out. Toledo instructed his followers to write 'No To Fraud' across their ballots and withdrew from the election.

Therefore, Fujimori was victorious but resigned in November and fled to Japan following charges of corruption against his intelligence advisor.

Toledo won a tight race and in June 2001 became the country's first indigenous president. However, his presidency has been full of problems of scandal, manifestations by the citizens, and public outrage against him. In May 2003, the government declared a state of emergency when teachers, farmers and government workers went on strike for a month.

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