by Sean Quinn
Peru covers a large section of South America's western coastline. To it's north are Columbia and Ecuador, to the east are Brazil and Bolivia, and to the south is Chile. Peru is roughly the size of the southwest of the United States. The Andes Mountains divide the country into three sections.
The first section of Peru, The Montana region, is located in the eastern section of the country. Most of this section is uninhabitated. In it you will find the Amazon River Basin and many rainforests.
The second section is located west of the Andes and is considered to be the coastal lowlands. The lowlands are only a small stretch of land between the Andes Mountains and the coast. It normally receives an inch and a half of rain per year, this area can be considered to actually be a desert. The average temperature of this area is about 65 degrees Fahrenheit.
The third section of Peru is the highlands which extend from the Ecuador border down through the mountains and to the southern border. In the mountains you can find is Lake Titicaca which is the world's highest navigable lake. It is about 13,000 ft. above sea level.
Peru has changed cultures a great deal in it's history. The first known inhabitants of Peru were made of many different Indian tribes. After many centuries, one tribe rose in power because they were able to take over other tribes and take their land. Soon these people, known as the Incas, covered the area of what is know southern Colombia to the middle of Chile and east into the jungles over the Andes Mountains. That is what the Spanish conquerors found when they arrived in the early 1500's.
The Spanish were the first European influence on the Inca way of life. The Incas were kind to the strangers and they allowed them to stay on their land. But once Spanish royalty heard rumors of the riches the Incas possessed, they decided to take over the Incas and the Conquest of Peru was launched. The Incas fell relatively easy to the Spaniards do to the superiority of the Spanish weapons, armor, and horses. In 1532, the Spanish already had taken over many areas important to the Incas. They killed thousands of Incas and plundered all of the silver and gold they could possibly take. One year later they took over the Incian capital. The Spanish then started to build cities such as Lima.
During the late 1700's and early 1800's, most colonies that were enslaved by European colonies began to break away. America was the first of these followed by Venezuela and Argentina. Simon Bolivar of Venezuela and Jose de San Martin of Argentina both saw the need of Peru to break away from Spain and become a new country. Peru declared it's independence in 1821, but the Spanish didn't like this and attacked Peru on December, 9, 1824, with over 9,000 troops. The Spanish lost this battle which is called the Battle of Ayacucho. After the attack, Peru found itself in the turmoil of many generals fighting for power. Throughout it's history, Peru has been involved in many attempted revolutions but none succeeded until 1879 when Peru finally became an independent country.
Peru's capital city is Lima, its also the largest city in the country. Though very modern with skyscrapers, the kind you would find in most cities, Lima still has many old stone buildings from long ago. The Plaza de Armas, where Martin declared Peru an independent country, the Government Palace, and the Casa del Oidor are just a few of it's remaining buildings. Tourists are able to visit numerous amounts of places in the city such as the tomb of Pizarro, The Torre Tagle Palace, and La Merced. Also, one would quickly notice the abundance of museums in Lima. The Art Museum has over 10,00 exhibits that tell the history of Peru and it also shows collections of jewels and objects made of gold.
A few interesting cities are Cuzco and Nazca. Cuzco is the oldest inhabited city in the western hemisphere. Close by is Machu Picchu, a lost Incian city that was left undiscovered until 1911. This is very close to where the Battle of Ayucucho took place. Nazca has many relics of the Incian civilization including pottery, mummies, and cloth. Also, outside of Nazca are channels that run over the ground for 500 square meters. This is popularly believed to have been a landing site for extra terrestrial space ships.
Because the people of Peru are so widespread by the mountains and deserts they face many problems. Spanish and Quechua are both common languages that are used throughout the country and the language barrier can cause many problems. The terrain makes it difficult to supply people with what they need and it makes it harder for people to get an education. Peru is handling the education problem by building many new schools in the small towns that people live in. Schools in Peru are thought to better than the ones that we have here in the U.S. because the students are alot more responsible there than the ones that we have here. Also, they learn alot faster, for example, in fifth grade you learn basic algebra and by the seventh grade you start to learn a second language. This makes school alot tougher and the dropout rate is high. Another interesting thing about the schools is that the teachers are chosen in Lima and sent to schools that could be hundreds of miles away from Lima.
There are many different kinds of holidays celebrated in Peru. Most are only special feasts celebrating saints, royal birthdays, and Indian holidays. On July, 28, Peru celebrates it's independence. During the week of Waster, Catholics celebrate by marching single file down the street with candles. There are special feasts practically every other day.
Throughout some of the old stories about Peru are stories of Micaela Villegas. She was a regular person who starred in the Comedy Theater. But when Don Manuel Amat came to Lima and fell in love with her, she became the talk of the whole city. Amat was a great veteran of seven battles, five sieges, and two blockades. He was also said to have had many romances throughout his life time. He built her a house to live in and invited her to his palace, which he said in constantly. Micaela became famous through the gossip of Lima because she was the main thing that people talked about. There were all sorts of rumors about how she had Amat wrapped around her little finger and how she loved to toy with him. She eventually lost her acting career and accepted all that Amat could offer. This legend has been told so much that no one is really whether or not this story is actually true. However, the relationship between the two lasted for twelve years. It ended when Amat had to leave for Spain due to the American independence. There are many books, operas, and plays about this little event that had a great impact on the city of Lima.
Peru's population is mostly Indian (54%) and Metizo (European and Indian heritage: 32%) whereas 12% are European and the rest are made up of Africans, Chinese, and Japanese. The word "Peruvian" is used by most city dwellers to describe non-Indians.
Peru's tourism is improving due to the modernization of more of the areas which allows you to travel to more than just Lima. There are many tours of either Peru or of all of South America that show the great sites of Peru and the other countries.
Peru is such a large country that it is usually referred to by it's three sections. The Montana, the largest region to the east, consisting mostly of jungle like terrain. The sierra, the highlands cutting down the center of Peru along the Andes Mountains. And the lowlands, a dry area with cold weather and little rainfall. These regions not only make a lot of variety of landscape throughout the country, but it also makes some very rough travel.
Peru's history starts out with the building of the great Inca empire. This growth of a great nation was cut short when the Spanish brutally conquered and plundered the area for everything of value. When the Spanish were in trouble in Europe, Peru grabbed hold of the opportunity to become an independent country and did just that.
Lima, the capital of Peru, is often personified as a gentle woman. It's great architecture and detailed art portray it as such. It still retains many of its buildings the Spanish built during their reign. There are also many museums found in Lima which contain many artifacts left by the Inca civilization.
Cuzco and Nazca are very interesting cities. Cuzco is interesting because it is the oldest inhabited city in the western hemisphere and because it is close to the ruins of Machu Picchu. Nazca is of greater interest because of the large drawings found in the sand outside of the city. These drawings are so distinct and detailed that the only way they could have been made is by the air. This means that either the Incas achieved flight or that it was an alien landing and/or communication center.
I would like to travel to Peru someday because it has so many strange mysteries and hidden secrets that it would have to be an adventure just being there. Also, with all of the great scenery one would be crazy not to want to travel there. If I ever had the opportunity to travel to Peru I would defiantly take it.
Compton's New Media Encyclopedia, 1995 edition
Microsoft Encarta 1995 Encyclopedia
The People of South America, Steward, Julian H, 1956
Peru, Wesson, Robert, 1988
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