Spain-Peru

Spain- Peru

Kelly Stephens In 1531, Spanish conquistadors landed in the South American country of Peru. At the time, Peru was at the center of the Incan civilization.The Inca's impire traveled from the northern area of Ecuador to the middle of Chile.Francisco Pizarro, who arrived just after the Incan civil war, conquered the already weak civilization while searching for valuable Incan gold. The Spanish conquest had taken over Cuzco(the capitol of the Incan impire) by 1533, and by 1542 had solidified their control. Inacn gold and siver quickley made the conquistadors rich, making Peru the main source of power and wealth in South America. In 1542, the viceroyalty in Lima had supreme control over all Spanish colonies in South America. By the independence wars, Lima had become the most distinguished cities, and the chief power in the Americas. Jose de San Martin(Argentina) and Simon Bolivar(Venezuela) led the independence movements in Peru. Jose de San Martin announced indepedence for Peru from Spain in 1821. The independence was completed in 1824 when the Venezuelan Marshall Antonio Jose de Sucre defeted the Spanish army at Ayacucho. This defeat ended Spain's rule in South America. Peru's natural resources include:Copper, gold, silver, zinc, lead, iron ore, fish, petroleum, natural gas, and forestry. The annual growth rate is 9.8%. Tourist activities include visiting Machu Picchu, hiking, and fishing. Spain took over Peru using a type of imperialism called colonizing. Peru is the fifth most populous country inLatin America. Twenty-one different cities have been recorded to have more than 100,000 people.(This was taken from [])