The history of Lima, the capital of Peru, began with its foundation by Francisco Pizarro on January 18, 1535. The city was established on the valley of the Rímac River in an area populated by the Ychsma polity. It became the capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru and site of a Real Audiencia in 1543. In the 17th century, the city prospered as the center of an extensive trade network despite damage from earthquakes and the threat of pirates. However, prosperity came to an end in the 18th century due to an economic downturn and the Bourbon Reforms.

The population of Lima played an ambivalent role in the 1821–1824 Peruvian War of Independence; the city suffered exactions from Royalist and Patriot armies alike. After independence, Lima became the capital of the Republic of Peru. It enjoyed a short period of prosperity in the mid-19th century until the 1879–1883 War of the Pacific when it was occupied and looted by Chilean troops. After the war, the city went through a period of demographic expansion and urban renewal. Population growth accelerated in the 1940s spurred by immigration from the Andean regions of Peru. This gave rise to the proliferation of shanty towns as public services failed to keep up with the city expansion.

Foundation

In the pre-Columbian era, the location of what is now the city of Lima was inhabited by several amerindian groups. Prior to the arrival of the Inca Empire, the valleys of the Rímac and Lurín rivers were grouped under the Ychsma polity.^[1] Their presence left a mark in the form of some 40 pyramids associated to the irrigation system of the valleys.^[2] In the 15th century, the Incas conquered the region and erected their own public buildings in places such as Pachacamac.

In 1532, a group of Spanish conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro defeated Inca ruler Atahualpa and took over his Empire. As Pizarro had been named governor of the lands he conquered by the Spanish Crown,^[3] he searched for a suitable place to establish his capital. His first choice was the city of Jauja, located amid the Andes, however this location was regarded as inconvenient for its high altitude and being far from the sea.^[4] Spanish scouts reported about a better site in the valley of the Rímac, which was close to the Pacific Ocean, had ample water and wood provisions, extensive fields and fair weather. There, Pizarro founded his new capital on January 18, 1535 as Ciudad de los Reyes (City of the Kings).^[5]

In August 1536, the new city was besieged by the troops of Manco Inca, the leader of an Inca rebellion against Spanish rule. The Spaniards and their native allies, headed by Pizarro himself, defeated the rebels after heavy fighting in the city streets and its surroundings.^[6] On November 3, 1536, the Spanish Crown confirmed the founding and, on December 7, 1537, emperor Charles V granted a coat of arms to the city.

Colonial period

Over the next few years, Lima shared the turmoil caused by struggles between different factions of Spaniards. At the same time it gained prestige as it was designated capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru and site of a Real Audiencia in 1543.^[7] Its first university, Saint Mark University was established in 1551 and its first printing press in 1584. Lima also became an important religious center, a Roman Catholic diocese was established in 1541 and converted to an archdiocese five years later.^[8]

Lima flourished during the 17th century as the center of an extensive trade network which integrated the Viceroyalty of Peru with the Americas, Europe and the Far East.^[9] Its merchants channeled Peurvian silver through the nearby port of Callao and exchanged it for imported goods at the trade fair of Portobelo in modern day Panama.^[10] This practice was sanctioned by law as all trade from the Viceroyalty was required to go through Callao on its way to and from overseas markets. The resulting economic prosperity of the city was reflected in its rapid growth, population expanded from about 25,000 in 1619 to an estimated 80,000 in 1687.^[11]

However, Lima was not free from dangers. On October 20 and December 2, 1687, powerful earthquakes destroyed most of the city and its surroundings.^[12] The outbreaks of disease and food shortages which followed the disaster caused a reduction of the population to under 40,000 by 1692.^[13] A second threat was the presence of pirates and privateers in the Pacific Ocean. A Dutch naval expedition attacked the port of Callao in 1624 but was repelled by Viceroy Diego Fernández de Córdoba.^[14] In the 1680s, English buccaneers proliferated in the waters of the Pacific until they were routed by Lima merchants in 1690.^[15] As a precautionary measure, Viceroy Melchor de Navarra y Rocafull built the Lima City Walls between 1684 and 1687.^[16]

The 1687 earthquake marked a turning point in the history of Lima as it coincided with a recession in trade, a reduction of silver production and economic competition by other cities such as Buenos Aires.^[17] To add to these problems, on October 28, 1746, a powerful earthquake severely damaged the city and destroyed Callao, forcing a massive rebuilding effort under Viceroy José Antonio Manso de Velasco.^[18] This disaster led to an intense devotion for an image of Christ called The Lord of the Miracles, which has been taken out in procession every October since 1746.^[19]

During the late colonial period, under the rule of the House of Bourbon, the ideas of the Enlightenment on public health and social control shaped the development of Lima.^[20] New buildings undertaken during this period include a cockfighting coliseum and a bullring, the Plaza de toros de Acho, as well as the General Cemetery. The first two were built to regulate these popular activities by centralizing them at a single venue, while the cemetery put an end to the practice of burials at churches which was considered unhealthy by public authorities.^[21]

Independence

During the second half of the 18th century, Lima was adversely affected by the Bourbon Reforms as it lost its monopoly on overseas trade and the important mining region of Upper Peru was transferred to the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata.^[22] This economic decline made the city's elite dependent on royal and ecclesiastical appointment and thus, reluctant to advocate independence.^[23] In the 1810s, the city became a Royalist stronghold during the South American wars of independence led by a strong viceroy, José Fernando de Abascal y Sousa.

A combined expedition of Argentinian and Chilean patriots under General José de San Martín managed to land south of Lima on September 7, 1820 but did not attack the city. Faced with a naval blockade and the action of guerrillas on land, Viceroy José de la Serna was forced to evacuate the city on July 1821 to save the Royalist army.^[24] Fearing a popular uprising and lacking any means to impose order, the city council invited San Martín to enter Lima and signed a Declaration of Independence at his request.^[25] However, the war was not over; in the next two years the city changed hands several times and suffered exactions from both sides. By the time the war was decided, at the Battle of Ayacucho on December 9, 1824, Lima was considerably impoverished.

Republican period

After the war of independence, Lima became the capital of the Republic of Peru but economic stagnation and political turmoil brought its urban development to a halt. This hiatus ended in the 1850s, when increased public and private revenues from guano exports led to a rapid expansion of the city.^[26] In the next two decades, the State funded the construction of large size public buildings to replace colonial establishments, which included the Central Market, the General Slaughterhouse, the Mental Asylum, the Penitentiary, and the Dos de Mayo Hospital.^[27] There were also improvements in communications; a railroad line between Lima and Callao was completed in 1850 and an iron bridge across the Rímac River, the Balta Bridge, was opened in 1870.^[28] In expectation of further urban growth, the city walls were torn down in 1872.^[29] However, this export-led economic expansion widened the gap between rich and poor, generating widespread social unrest.^[30]

During the 1879–1883 War of the Pacific, Chilean troops occupied Lima after defeating Peruvian resistance in the battles of San Juan and Miraflores. The city suffered the depredations of the invaders, which looted public museums, libraries and educational institutions.^[31] At the same time, angry mobs attacked wealthy citizens and the Asian population; sacking their properties and businesses.^[32]

After the war, the city underwent a process of urban renewal and expansion from the 1890s up to the 1920s. As downtown Lima had become overcrowded, the La Victoria residential area was established in 1896 as a working class neighborhood.^[33] During this period the urban layout was modified by the construction of big avenues which crisscrossed the city and connected it with neighboring towns such as Miraflores.^[34] In the 1920s and 1930s, several buildings of the historic centre were rebuilt including the Government Palace and the Municipal Palace.

On May 24, 1940, an earthquake destroyed most of the city, which at that time was built out of adobe and quincha. In the 1940s, Lima started a period of rapid growth spurred by immigration from the Andean regions of Peru. Population, estimated at 0.6 million in 1940, reached 1.9M by 1960 and 4.8M by 1980.^[35] Major public works were carried out throughout this period, mainly under the governments of Manuel A. Odría and Juan Velasco Alvarado. Brutalism dominated in the 1970s as exemplified in the massive headquarters built for PETROPERU, the state-owned petroleum company.^[36] However, population growth far outstripped public services development, giving rise to the proliferation of shanty towns, known as pueblos jóvenes. According to the 1993 census, the city population had reached 6.4M; 28.4% of the total population of Peru compared to just 9.4% in 1940.^[35]

See also

• Historic Centre of Lima
• History of Peru
• List of mayors of Lima

Notes

Bibliography

Lima

Flag
Seal
Nickname: City of the Kings
Motto: Hoc signum vere regum est
Lima Province and Lima within Peru
Coordinates:
Country  Peru
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Anthem
Somos libres, seámoslo siempre   (Spanish)
"We are free, may we always be so"
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Francisco Pizarro González, marqués de los Atabillos (c. 1471 – June 26, 1541) was a Spanish conquistador, conqueror of the Inca Empire and founder of Lima, La Ciudad de los Reyes, capital of Peru. Pizarro was born in Trujillo, Extremadura, Spain.
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founded Lima, the capital of Peru.

1562 - Pope Pius IV reopens the Council of Trent for its third and final session.

1670 - Henry Morgan captures Panama.

1701 - Frederick I becomes King of Prussia.
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15th century - 16th century - 17th century
1500s  1510s  1520s  - 1530s -  1540s  1550s  1560s
1532 1533 1534 - 1535 - 1536 1537 1538

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Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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The Rímac River is located in western Peru and is the most important source of potable water for the Lima and Callao Metropolitan Area.

The river belongs to the Pacific watershed and has a length of 160 km.
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Created in 1542, the Viceroyalty of Peru (in Spanish, Virreinato del Perú) was a Spanish colonial administrative district that originally contained most of Spanish-ruled South America, governed from the capital of Lima.
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In Spanish history, a real audiencia (royal audiency) was a judicial district that functioned as an appeals court. Each audiencia had oidores (Spanish: hearer, a judge). The first audiencia was founded at Valladolid in the kingdom of Castile in 1371.
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The Bourbon Reforms were a series of measures taken by the Spanish Crown in the 18th century (under the House of Bourbon), intended to increase political and economic control over Spain itself, and later also over its American colonies.
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Jose de San Martin proclaimed the independence of Peru on July 28, 1821.]] Supported by the power of the Creole oligarchy, the Viceroyalty of Peru became the last redoubt of the Spanish dominion in South America.
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War of the Pacific, sometimes called the Saltpeter War in reference to its original cause, was fought between Chile and the joint forces of Bolivia and Peru, from 1879 to 1883.
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The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents.
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indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Americas, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those peoples. They are often also referred to as Native Americans, First Nations
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Inca Empire (or Inka Empire) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cuzco. The Inca Empire arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in early 13th century.
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The Rímac River is located in western Peru and is the most important source of potable water for the Lima and Callao Metropolitan Area.

The river belongs to the Pacific watershed and has a length of 160 km.
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Pachacamac is an archaeological site 40 km southeast of Lima, Peru in the Valley of the Lurín River. It had at least one pyramid, cemetery and multicolored fresco of fish by the Early Intermediate period (c. 200-600 CE). Later, the Huari (c.
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Conquistador (Spanish: [kon.kis.t̪a'ð̞oɾ]) (English: Conqueror) was a Spanish soldier, explorer and adventurer who took part in the gradual invasion and conquering of much of the Americas and Asia
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Francisco Pizarro González, marqués de los Atabillos (c. 1471 – June 26, 1541) was a Spanish conquistador, conqueror of the Inca Empire and founder of Lima, La Ciudad de los Reyes, capital of Peru. Pizarro was born in Trujillo, Extremadura, Spain.
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Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire was a process through which a group of Spaniards led by Francisco Pizarro succeeded in toppling the Inca Empire in the early 16th-century, as part of the discovery and conquest of the new world.
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Spanish Empire refer to territories formerly colonized by Spain. It was also one of the largest global empire in history.

In the 15th and 16th centuries Spain was in the vanguard of European global exploration and colonial expansion and the opening of trade routes across the
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Jauja is a town of 25,000 people in central Peru, capital of a province with a population of 105,000. It is situated in the fertile Mantaro Valley, 45 kilometers to the north of Huancayo (the capital of Junín Region), at an altitude of 3,400 m.
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Andes (Quechua: Anti(s/kuna))

The Andes between Chile and Argentina

Countries |
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Earth's oceans
(World Ocean)

• Arctic Ocean
• Atlantic Ocean
• Indian Ocean
• Pacific Ocean
• Southern Ocean

The Pacific Ocean (from the Latin name Mare Pacificum
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founded Lima, the capital of Peru.

1562 - Pope Pius IV reopens the Council of Trent for its third and final session.

1670 - Henry Morgan captures Panama.

1701 - Frederick I becomes King of Prussia.
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15th century - 16th century - 17th century
1500s  1510s  1520s  - 1530s -  1540s  1550s  1560s
1532 1533 1534 - 1535 - 1536 1537 1538

:
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Manco Inca Yupanqui (1516–1544) (Manqu Inka Yupanki in Quechua) was the last Inca Emperor of Peru. He was also known as "Manco II" and "Manco Capac II" ("Manqu Qhapaq II").
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November 3 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

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15th century - 16th century - 17th century
1500s  1510s  1520s  - 1530s -  1540s  1550s  1560s
1533 1534 1535 - 1536 - 1537 1538 1539

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Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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December 7 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

• 1724 - Toruń Blood tribunal (German:

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15th century - 16th century - 17th century
1500s  1510s  1520s  - 1530s -  1540s  1550s  1560s
1534 1535 1536 - 1537 - 1538 1539 1540

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