Peru Timeline
Peru is the third largest country in South America. It lies in western South America along the Pacific Ocean. The Andes Mountains tower through Peru and thick rain forests and jungles make up the eastern side of Peru. View a timeline of the history of Peru.
800-400 BC The Chavin Indians developed the first known civilization in Peru.
1000 AD The Chimu built a large capital city. They called it Chanchan
1200s-1500s The Incan Indians built a great empire in Peru.
1520s Francisco Pizarro led and expedition into Peru.
1530s Pizarro and his men conquered the Inca and made Peru a Spanish colony.
1535 Pizarro founded Lima.
1780 The mestizos, people of mixed Indian and Spanish blood, revolted against the rule of Spain. They were led by Tupac Amaru.
1781 The Spanish captured Tupac Amaru and put him to death. They crushed the uprising.
1820 Jose de San Martin of Argentina invaded Peru. He wanted to free the Peruvians from Spanish rule.
1821 Peru declared its independence from Spain, however, much of the country remained under Spanish control.
1823 Simon Bolivar led an army from Venezuela and Colombia into Peru to help fight the Spanish.
1824 Antonio Jose de Sucre defeated the Spanish at Ayacucho
1826 Spain surrendered, but they did not recognize the independence of Peru.
1827 Peru's first constitution went into effect. General Jose de la Mar became the first president.
1845 General Ramon Castilla was elected president. He developed the guana industry and established trade with Europe and the United States. He also ended a tax that Indians had to pay their employers.
1879 Spain finally recognized the independence of Peru.
1879 Peru went to war with Chile. The war started between Bolivia and Chile over a quarrel over nitrate deposits. Peru entered the war to aid Bolivia.
1881 Chile occupied Lima.
1883 The Treaty of Ancon ended the war. Chile was allowed to keep the Peruvian province of Tacna.
1895 Nicolas de Pierola became president. He encouraged other countries to invest in Peru.
1901-1902 United States businessmen formed a company in Peru to develop the copper deposits in Peru. They called the company Cerro de Pasco Corporation
1919 Augusto B. Leguia was reelected president. He had previously served as president from 1908-1912. During his second term he set himself up as dictator. Under his rule the Peruvian economy suffered.
1921 Exxon Mobil Corporation took control of oil deposits in Peru.
1924 The Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana (APRA) political party was formed by Victor Raul Haya de la Torre
1929 Chile returned Tacna to Peru.
August 1930 Leguia was removed from office. Colonel Luis Sanchez Cerro replaced him.
1931 Haya de la Torre ran for president against Cerro. Haya de la Toore lost, which caused the APRA to stage violent anti-government uprisings. The government killed hundreds of APRA supporters and banned the party from running for office.
1930s-1940s The APRA gained many followers.
1945 The APRA was allowed to have a candidate in the election. At that time the APRA chose not to have their own presidential candidate, but they supported Jose Luis Bustamante, who won the election.
1948 Bustamante outlawed the APRA.
1948 Bustamante was overthrown by military leaders. General Manuel Odria was named president.
1950s Peruvians began moving out of the rural areas into the cities.
1950s Peru began to increase trade with other countries in South America and Japan.
1956 Odria reinstated the APRA party.
1956 Women voted for the first time in an election. Manuel Prado became the new president. He was from the APRA party.
1963 Fernando Belaunde Terry was elected president. He was from the Popular Action Party.
Late 1960s Peru began to have economic problems. The United States was blamed for the problems because their political and economic interests were growing in the country.
1968 Military leaders took control of the government. They suspended the constitution and formed a dictatorship.
1970 A terrible earthquake hit Peru killing more than 66,000 people.
1970s The government began an industrial reform program.
1975 Quechua, the language of the Inca, was made an official language along with Spanish of Peru.
1975 General Francisco Morales Bermudez was named president.
1980 The country elected a president. Belaunde was reelected.
1980s The government began to increase the private ownership of land.
1980s Beginning in this time period, leftist groups have tried to take control of the government using guerrilla tactics.
1985 Alan Garcia Perez from the APRA party was elected president.
1990 Alberto Fujimori was elected president.
1992 Alberto Fujimori, the president, suspended the constitution and dissolved the legislature. He ruled Peru by decree.
Late 1992 Elections were held to form the 80-member Constituent Assembly.
1993 The current constitution was adopted.
1995 The presidency was reestablished. Fujimori was reelected president.
December 1996 Tupac Amaru rebels took control of the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima. They took several diplomats hostage.
April 1997 The hostage situation ended. The Peruvian military stormed in and rescued the 72 hostages.
April 2000 Fujimori was reelected.
September 2000 Fujimori called for a new general election in which he would not be a candidate.
Nnovember 2000 While visiting Japan, Fujimori submitted his resignation. The Peruvian National Assembly would not accept the resignation. Instead they declared him morally unfit and removed him from office.
2001 Toledo became president.
Works Cited
Robinson, David J. "Peru." Worldbookonline.com.