Colonial Peru (Spanish rule)

Francisco Pizarro and his brothers were attracted by the news of a rich and fabulous kingdom. In 1531, they arrived in the country, which they called Peru. According to Porras Barrenechea, Peru is not a Quechuan nor Caribbean word, but Indo-Hispanic or hybrid. At that moment, the Inca Empire was sunk in a five years war between two princes, Huascar and Atahualpa. Taking advantage of this, Pizarro carried out a “coup d’etat”. On November 16, 1532, while the natives were in a celebration in Cajamarca, the Spanish took the Inca Atahualpa prisoner by surprise, causing a great consternation among the natives and conditioning the future course of the fight. When Huascar was murdered, the Spanish tried and convicted Atahualpa of the crime, executing him by strangulation.

Nazca Lines. Aerial photo of a drawing of a hummingbird.

Pizarro and his followers in Lima in 1535For a period, Pizarro maintained the authority of the Inca, recognizing Tupac Huallpa as the Inca after Atahualpa's death. But the conqueror’s abuses made this fiction all too apparent. Spanish domination consolidated itself as successive indigenous rebellions were bloodily repressed. The situation was complicated by a power struggle between the Pizarro family and Diego de Almagro. A long civil war developed, from which Pizarros emerged victorious. Despite this, the Spaniards did not neglect the colonizing process. Its most significant act was the foundation of Lima in January, 1535, from which the political and administrative institutions were organized. The necessity of consolidating Spanish royal authority over these territories, led to the creation of a Real Audiencia (Royal Audience). In 1542, the Spanish created the Viceroyalty of New Castilla, that shortly after would be called Viceroyalty of Peru. Nevertheless, the Viceroyalty of Peru was not organized until the arrival of the Viceroy Francisco de Toledo in 1572. Toledo ended the indigenous state of Vilcabamba, executing the Inca Tupac Amaru. He also promoted economic development from the commercial monopoly and mineral extraction, mainly from argentiferous mines of Potosi. He took advantage of the Inca institution called “mita” to put the native communities under a cruel economic enslavement.

The Viceroyalty of Peru became the richest and most powerful Spanish Viceroyalty of America in the XVIII century. The creation of the Viceroyalties of New Granada and Rio de la Plata (at the expense of its territory), the commerce exemptions that moved the commercial center from Lima to Caracas and Buenos Aires, and the fall of the mining and textile production determined the progressive decay of the Viceroyalty of Peru. These events created a favorable climate so that the emancipating ideas had an effect on the Creoles.

source: wikipedia.org

Ancient Cultures   The Incas   Colonial Peru   Independence  

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