The history of Peru spans several millennia. Long before the Incas,
there existed peoples who thrived in this territory. About 15,200
years ago, groups of people are believed to have crossed the Bering
Strait from Asia and survived as nomads, hunting, gathering fruits
and vegetables and fishing in the sea, rivers and lakes. Peruvian
territory was home to the Norte Chico civilization, one of the six
oldest in the world, and to the Inca Empire, the largest state in
Pre-Columbian America. When the Spanish landed in 1531, Peru's
territory was the nucleus of the highly developed Inca
civilization. Centered at Cuzco, the Inca Empire extended over a
vast region, stretching from northern Ecuador to central Chile.
Francisco Pizarro and his brothers were attracted by the news of a
rich and fabulous kingdom. In 1532, they arrived in the country,
which they called Peru. (The forms Biru, Piru, and Beru are also
seen in early records.) According to Raul Porras Barrenechea, Peru
is not a Quechuan nor Caribbean word, but Indo-Hispanic or hybrid.
In the years between 1524 and 1526 smallpox, introduced from Panama
and preceding the Spanish conquerors swept through the Inca Empire.
The death of the Incan ruler Huayna Capac as well as most of his
family including his heir, caused the fall of the Incan political
structure and contributed to the civil war between the brothers
Atahualpa and Huascar. 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 in a surprise move captured
the Inca Atahualpa during the Battle of Cajamarca, causing a great
consternation among the natives and conditioning the future course
of the fight. When Huascar was killed, the Spanish tried and
convicted Atahualpa of the murder, executing him by strangulation.
General
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