History of Peru

Modern History Back to top

After independence, Peru and its neighbours engaged in intermittent territorial disputes. From 1836 to 1839 Peru and Bolivia were united in the Peru-Bolivian Confederacy, dissolved only after an internal conflict.

In 1879, Chile invaded Bolivia over a dispute about tax paid by Chilean mineral companies on the Bolivian coast. Peru had made a secret political alliance with Bolivia, and attempted to mediate but Chile declared war on Peru on April 5th 1879. Control of the sea was vital to success, Chile had a modern navy but Peru’s navy was small and outdated; Bolivia had no navy at all. Admiral Grau of the Peruvian navy fought a six-month campaign in the ship "Huascar", which successfully held off the entire Chilean navy until he was cornered by six Chilean ships, and killed after a two-hour battle.

The Chilean army attacked the Peruvian garrison in Arica, under the command of Colonel Bolognesi. Chilean forces had to run up the steep Morro de Arica, 474 Chileans and almost 1000 Peruvians died, including Colonel Bolognesi who in the end is believed to have jumped off the cliff with the Peruvian flag to avoid it falling into the hands of the Chileans.

Peruvian forces were defeated in the battles of San Juan and Miraflores, and the city of Lima fell in January 1881. Much of Lima was looted and burned.

Chile occupied most of Peru between 1881 and 1884, but the remains of the Peruvian army carried out a war of attrition in the sierra throughout this time. Eventually, Chile and Peru signed the Treaty of Ancón, by which Tarapacá province was forcefully ceded to the victor.

Under the terms of the treaty, Chile was allowed to occupy the provinces of Tacna and Arica for 10 years, after which a vote would be held to determine their nationality. However, Chile kept Tacna for 45 years, and never returned Arica. Chile also gained control of the entire Bolivian coast, leaving Bolivia as a land-locked country.

Relations between Peru and Chile have never recovered, Peruvians still remembering the loss of territory, and the violent and extensive looting by the Chilean forces, and Bolivians held riots fuelled by the loss of their coastline as recently as 2004.

The 20th century

Peru and Ecuador went to war in 1941 over an ongoing border dispute regarding access to the river Amazon. The Rio Protocol formalised the boundary, but hostilities and skirmishes broke out every few years, including a brief war in 1981, and the Cenepa War in 1995. In 1998 the governments of both countries signed a peace treaty to decide the international boundary between them.

After the War of the Pacific, civilian governments alternated with occasional military ones, a situation that continued for much of the 20th century. The influence of the Spanish lived on in the form of the "Spanish practices" that they left in the country, corruption being commonplace. Coups have repeatedly interrupted civilian constitutional government, the most recent period of military rule began in 1968. A Constitutional Assembly was created in 1979, leading to a civilian government in 1980 in accordance with a new constitution.

In 1985, the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA) won the presidential election, bringing Alan García to office. The transfer of the presidency to García on July 28, 1985, was Peru's first exchange of power from one democratically elected leader to another in 40 years.

Alan García started his administration with hopes for a better future. However, economic mismanagement led to hyperinflation from 1988 to 1990. The economic problems made social tensions in Peru worse, and contributed to the rise of the Shining Path terrorist organisation.

In 1990, voters chose a relatively unknown academic-turned-politician, Alberto Fujimori, as president. He implemented drastic measures that caused inflation to drop. Faced with opposition to his reform efforts, Fujimori dissolved Congress in the "auto-golpe" of April 5, 1992. He revised the constitution, called new congressional elections, and reformed the economy.

He successfully put down the insurgency of the various terrorist groups, and was successful in largely stopping their activities by the late 1990s. Once leader of the Shining Path, Abimael Guzman, was captured in September 1992, Shining Path received a severe blow which practically destroyed the organization. Fujimori memorably had Guzman dressed in a striped uniform, and displayed him to the press while seated outdoors in a cage.

Fujimori decided to seek a third term as president, which was questionable legally to say the least. Soon after winning the election in 2000, a bribery scandal just weeks after he took office forced Fujimori to call new elections in which he would not be a candidate.

In November 2000, Fujimori fled to Japan, sending a fax to congress from his hotel to resign as president. This was to avoid prosecution by the new Peruvian authorities. Elections were held in April 2001, and Alejandro Toledo became president.

Ancient | Inca | Colonial | Independence | Back to Top