Peru
The Spanish colony of Peru, from Pizarro's landing in 1532 and its viceroyalty from 1542 to the end of the 16th century.
Category: States, Places
- 1529Francisco Pizarro obtains the Crown's licence to conquer Peru
After earlier expeditions along the Pacific coast, Pizarro secures permission in 1529 to conquer the land. The source gives no month or place for the licence.
- 1532Francisco Pizarro lands in Peru with about 168 men
On his third voyage, in 1531 to 1532, Pizarro reaches Peru with about 168 Spaniards, 106 on foot and 62 on horseback, and heads inland towards the Inca emperor Atahualpa.
- November 16, 1532Pizarro ambushes Atahualpa's party at Cajamarca and captures the Inca emperor
On 16 November 1532 Pizarro's men attack Atahualpa's unarmed entourage in Cajamarca's plaza and seize him. Estimates put the Inca dead at about 2,000 to 3,000; most sources report no Spanish deaths.
- December 20, 1532 – May 3, 1533Atahualpa offers a room of gold and silver for his freedom
The captive emperor offers to fill a room once with gold and twice with silver. Deliveries begin on 20 December 1532, and by 3 May 1533 Pizarro has received all the treasure. Atahualpa is not freed.
- 1533Spanish authorities garrote Atahualpa at Cajamarca
Tried on charges that include the murder of his brother Huáscar, Atahualpa is garrotted in 1533 after accepting baptism, which spares him burning. Sources disagree on the day: 26 July or 29 August.
- November 15, 1533Pizarro's army enters Cusco, the Inca capital
On 15 November 1533 the Spanish enter Cusco. Pizarro first installs Túpac Huallpa, who dies, and then Manco Inca, who later turns against the Spanish.
- January 18, 1535Francisco Pizarro founds Lima, the 'City of the Kings'
On 18 January 1535 Pizarro founds Lima, which becomes the capital of Spanish Peru and remains so until 1821.
- April 1536 – 1537Manco Inca rises against the Spanish and besieges Cusco
In April 1536 Manco Inca tries to retake Cusco, and the siege lasts until the following spring. He eventually withdraws and later flees to Vilcabamba.
- 1537Manco Inca founds the Neo-Inca State at Vilcabamba
After the failed siege, Manco Inca withdraws to the mountains of Vilcabamba around 1537 and sets up a successor state that resists Spain for decades. It is sacked in 1539 and again in 1572.
- 1537 – 1538Diego de Almagro seizes Cusco and is defeated and executed in 1538
Diego de Almagro seizes Cusco in 1537, is defeated at the Battle of Las Salinas in 1538 and executed that year. It opens a civil war between the conquistadors.
- 1541Almagro's supporters assassinate Francisco Pizarro
In 1541 supporters of the executed Diego de Almagro, led by his son Diego de Almagro II, kill Pizarro. The source used gives no day.
- November 20, 1542Charles V creates the Viceroyalty of Peru in the New Laws
Signed at Barcelona on 20 November 1542, the New Laws establish the Viceroyalty of Peru, with Lima as its capital. Blasco Núñez Vela is appointed its first viceroy in March 1543.
- 1545Silver is found at Cerro Rico and the mining town of Potosí is founded
In 1545 the Andean prospector Diego Huallpa is traditionally credited with discovering the silver of Cerro Rico; the town's founding is dated 1 April 1545. It produces an estimated 60% of the world's mined silver in the second half of the century.
- 1548Pedro de la Gasca defeats and executes Gonzalo Pizarro
Gonzalo Pizarro, who had killed the first viceroy Blasco Núñez Vela, is defeated near Cusco in 1548 by the royal envoy Pedro de la Gasca and executed for treason.
- 1569 – 1581Viceroy Francisco de Toledo reorganises Spanish Peru
Toledo governs from 1569 to 1581 and sets up the administrative framework that lasts for generations. He uses the Inca mita system of forced labour to supply the Potosí silver mines and the Huancavelica mercury mines.
- January 1570The Inquisition's tribunal is established in Lima
In January 1570 the Holy Office opens a tribunal in Lima, with jurisdiction over Spain's possessions from Panama southward. Viceroy Toledo's fleet brings the first inquisitors, and it operates until 1820.
- June 24, 1572Spanish forces enter Vilcabamba and end the Neo-Inca State
After Viceroy Toledo declares war on 14 April 1572, Spanish forces enter Vilcabamba on 24 June and find it deserted. The last independent Inca state ends.
- September 24, 1572Túpac Amaru I, the last Inca ruler, is executed in Cusco
On 24 September 1572 Viceroy Toledo has Túpac Amaru I beheaded in Cusco after a trial, in front of 10,000 to 15,000 witnesses. Many argue Toledo exceeded his authority, and Philip II reportedly disapproved.
- c. 1573Toledo adapts the Inca mita to supply forced labour for Potosí
Around 1573 Viceroy Toledo turns the Inca mita system into a Spanish draft of Indigenous workers for the silver mines of Potosí, with a separate mita for the mercury mines of Huancavelica. Sources date it between 1572 and 1575.
- May 27, 1717Spain creates the Viceroyalty of New Granada, taking the north from Peru
On 27 May 1717 the Crown makes New Granada, with its capital at Bogotá, a viceroyalty carved from Peru's northern territories. It is suppressed around 1723-24 and restored permanently in 1739-40, sources differing on the years.
- 1742Juan Santos Atahualpa rises in the Peruvian jungle and expels the missionaries
In 1742 Juan Santos, who claims to be the reincarnated Inca Atahualpa, leads the Asháninka and others from the Gran Pajonal against Spain. Over a decade, the rebels force the evacuation of 23 missions. Sources give the end as 1752 or 1756.
- October 28, 1746An earthquake and tsunami destroy Lima and Callao
On 28 October 1746 an earthquake of about magnitude 8.6-8.8 wrecks Lima, and a tsunami razes Callao, which has fewer than 200 survivors. About 5,900 people die. Viceroy Manso de Velasco rebuilds Lima with the mathematician Louis Godin.
- August 1, 1776Spain creates the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, detaching Upper Peru from Lima
On 1 August 1776 the Crown creates a viceroyalty at Buenos Aires that takes Upper Peru, including the silver of Potosí, away from the Viceroyalty of Peru. It is the second large loss of territory for Peru after New Granada.
- November 4, 1780 – 1783Túpac Amaru II leads the great Andean rebellion against Spanish rule
On 4 November 1780 followers of Túpac Amaru II seize the corregidor Antonio de Arriaga near Tinta, who is hanged on 10 November. The rising spreads across the southern Andes and ends in 1782-83; sources give different end dates.
- May 18, 1781Túpac Amaru II is executed in Cusco
Sentenced on 15 May 1781, Túpac Amaru II is executed on 18 May in the Plaza de Armas of Cusco, beheaded after the attempt to quarter him fails. The revolt continues under his relative Diego Cristóbal, who is executed in 1783.
- August 3, 1814 – 1815Pumacahua and Cusco's creoles rise demanding the liberal reforms of 1812
On 3 August 1814 Mateo Pumacahua and creole leaders form a junta in Cusco, demanding the reforms of the 1812 Spanish Constitution. Royal forces retake the city and Pumacahua is executed in 1815.
- September 1820San Martín's Liberating Expedition lands on the coast of Peru
In September 1820 José de San Martín's Expedición Libertadora, sailing from Chile, lands at Pisco Bay and Paracas to free Peru from Spain. Sources give 7 or 8 September for the landing.
- July 28, 1821San Martín proclaims the independence of Peru in Lima
On 28 July 1821, days after his army occupies Lima, José de San Martín proclaims Peru independent of Spain. The royalists keep the highlands, and the war continues for three more years.
- July 26, 1822 – July 27, 1822San Martín and Bolívar meet in Guayaquil, and San Martín withdraws
In Guayaquil on 26-27 July 1822, sources giving one or both days, José de San Martín and Simón Bolívar disagree on how to govern the patriot cause. San Martín then leaves the war and Bolívar takes charge of Peru's liberation.
- August 6, 1824Bolívar's cavalry defeats the royalists at Junín
On 6 August 1824 Bolívar's patriot cavalry defeats José de Canterac's royalists on the plain of Junín in a short engagement fought with swords and lances. Sources disagree on troop numbers.
- December 9, 1824Sucre wins the Battle of Ayacucho and Spanish rule in Peru collapses
On 9 December 1824 Antonio José de Sucre defeats the royalist army at Ayacucho; Viceroy José de la Serna is wounded and captured, and Canterac signs the capitulation. The viceroyalty is dissolved on 30 December.
- January 23, 1826Callao, the last Spanish stronghold in Peru, surrenders
On 23 January 1826 the Real Felipe fortress at Callao capitulates, after a siege that began after Ayacucho. It is the last major Spanish stronghold in Peru, and Spain recognises Peruvian independence only in 1879.