History of Lima
Encyclopedia
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
, the capital of Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, began with its foundation by Francisco Pizarro
Francisco Pizarro
Francisco Pizarro González, Marquess was a Spanish conquistador, conqueror of the Incan Empire, and founder of Lima, the modern-day capital of the Republic of Peru.-Early life:...
on January 18, 1535. The city was established on the valley of the Rímac River
Rímac River
The Rímac River is located in western Peru and is the most important source of potable water for the Lima and Callao Metropolitan Area.The river is part of the Pacific watershed and has a length of 160 km...
in an area populated by the Ychsma polity. It became the capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru
Viceroyalty of Peru
Created in 1542, the Viceroyalty of Peru was a Spanish colonial administrative district that originally contained most of Spanish-ruled South America, governed from the capital of Lima...
and site of a Real Audiencia in 1543. In the 17th century, the city prospered as the center of an extensive trade network despite damage from earthquakes and the threat of pirates. However, prosperity came to an end in the 18th century due to an economic downturn and the Bourbon Reforms
Bourbon Reforms
The Bourbon Reforms were a set of economic and political legislation introduced by the Spanish Crown under various kings of the House of Bourbon throughout the 18th century. The reforms were intended to stimulate manufacturing and technology in order to modernize Spain...
.
The population of Lima played an ambivalent role in the 1821–1824 Peruvian War of Independence; the city suffered exactions from Royalist and Patriot armies alike. After independence, Lima became the capital of the Republic of Peru. It enjoyed a short period of prosperity in the mid-19th century until the 1879–1883 War of the Pacific
War of the Pacific
The War of the Pacific took place in western South America from 1879 through 1883. Chile fought against Bolivia and Peru. Despite cooperation among the three nations in the war against Spain, disputes soon arose over the mineral-rich Peruvian provinces of Tarapaca, Tacna, and Arica, and the...
when it was occupied and looted by Chilean troops. After the war, the city went through a period of demographic expansion and urban renewal. Population growth accelerated in the 1940s spurred by immigration from the Andean regions of Peru. This gave rise to the proliferation of shanty towns as public services failed to keep up with the city expansion.
Foundation
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
era, the location of what is now the city of Lima was inhabited by several Amerindian
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
groups. Prior to the arrival of the Inca Empire
Inca Empire
The Inca Empire, or Inka Empire , was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cusco in modern-day Peru. The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century...
, the valleys of the Rímac
Rímac River
The Rímac River is located in western Peru and is the most important source of potable water for the Lima and Callao Metropolitan Area.The river is part of the Pacific watershed and has a length of 160 km...
and Lurín rivers were grouped under the Ychsma polity. Their presence left a mark in the form of some 40 pyramids associated to the irrigation system of the valleys. In the 15th century, the Incas conquered the region and erected their own public buildings in places such as Pachacamac
Pachacamac
The temple of Pachacamac is an archaeological site 40 km southeast of Lima, Peru in the Valley of the Lurín River. Most of the common buildings and temples were built c...
.
In 1532, a group of Spanish conquistador
Conquistador
Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...
s led by Francisco Pizarro
Francisco Pizarro
Francisco Pizarro González, Marquess was a Spanish conquistador, conqueror of the Incan Empire, and founder of Lima, the modern-day capital of the Republic of Peru.-Early life:...
defeated the Inca ruler Atahualpa
Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire
The Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire was one of the most important campaigns in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. This historic process of military conquest was made by Spanish conquistadores and their native allies....
and soon took over his Empire. As Pizarro had been named governor of the lands he conquered by the Spanish Crown
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
, he searched for a suitable place to establish his capital. His first choice was the city of Jauja
Jauja
Jauja is a city and capital of Jauja Province in Peru. It is situated in the fertile Mantaro Valley, to the northwest of Huancayo , at an altitude of . Its population according to the 2007 census was 16,424....
, located amid the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
, however this location was regarded as inconvenient for its high altitude and being far from the sea. Spanish scouts reported about a better site in the valley of the Rímac, which was close to the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, had ample water and wood provisions, extensive fields and fair weather. There, Pizarro founded his new capital on January 18, 1535 as Ciudad de los Reyes (City of the Kings).
In August 1536, the new city was besieged by the troops of Manco Inca
Manco Inca Yupanqui
Manco Inca Yupanqui was one of the Incas of Vilcabamba. He was also known as "Manco II" and "Manco Cápac II" . Born in 1516, he was one of the sons of Huayna Cápac and came from a lower class of the nobility.Túpac Huallpa, a puppet ruler crowned by conquistador Francisco Pizarro, died in 1533...
, the leader of an Inca rebellion against Spanish rule. The Spaniards and their native allies, headed by Pizarro himself, defeated the rebels after heavy fighting in the city streets and its surroundings. On November 3, 1536, the Spanish Crown confirmed the founding and, on December 7, 1537, emperor Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
granted a coat of arms to the city.
Colonial period
Viceroyalty of Peru
Created in 1542, the Viceroyalty of Peru was a Spanish colonial administrative district that originally contained most of Spanish-ruled South America, governed from the capital of Lima...
and site of a Real Audiencia in 1543. Lima's first university, Saint Mark University
National University of San Marcos
The National University of San Marcos is the most important and respected higher-education institution in Peru. Its main campus, the University City, is located in Lima...
was established in 1551 and its first printing press in 1584. Lima also became an important religious center, a Roman Catholic diocese was established in 1541 and converted to an archdiocese
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lima
The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Lima is part of the Roman Catholic Church in Peru which enjoys full communion with the Holy See. The Archdiocese was founded as the Diocese of Lima on 14 May 1541. The diocese was raised to the level of a metropolitan archdiocese by Pope Paul III on ...
five years later.
Lima flourished during the 17th century as the center of an extensive trade network which integrated the Viceroyalty of Peru with the Americas, Europe and the Far East. Its merchants channeled Peruvian silver through the nearby port of Callao and exchanged it for imported goods at the trade fair of Portobelo in modern day Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
. This practice was sanctioned by law as all trade from the Viceroyalty was required to go through Callao on its way to and from overseas markets. The resulting economic prosperity of the city was reflected in its rapid growth, population expanded from about 25,000 in 1619 to an estimated 80,000 in 1687.
However, Lima was not free from dangers. On October 20
1687 Peru earthquake
The 1687 Peru earthquake occurred at 11:30 UTC on October 20. It had an estimated magnitude of 8.4–8.7 and caused severe damage to Lima, Callao and Ica. It triggered a tsunami and overall about 5,000 people died.-Tectonic setting:...
and December 2, 1687, powerful earthquakes destroyed most of the city and its surroundings. The outbreaks of disease and food shortages which followed the disaster caused a reduction of the population to under 40,000 by 1692. A second threat was the presence of pirates and privateers in the Pacific Ocean. A Dutch naval expedition led by Jacques l'Hermite
Jacques l'Hermite
Jacques l'Hermite , sometimes also known as Jacques le Clerq , was a Dutch merchant, explorer and admiral known for his journey around the globe with the Nassau Fleet and for his blockade and raid on Callao in 1624 during that same voyage in which he also died...
attacked the port of Callao in 1624 but was repelled by Viceroy Diego Fernández de Córdoba. In the 1680s, English buccaneers proliferated in the waters of the Pacific until they were routed by Lima merchants in 1690. As a precautionary measure, Viceroy Melchor de Navarra y Rocafull
Melchor de Navarra y Rocafull
Don Melchor de Navarra y Rocafull, jure uxoris Duke of Palata, Prince of Massalubrense was a Spanish politician. From November 20, 1681 to August 15, 1689 he was Viceroy of Perú.-Early career:Navarra y Rocafull studied in the Universities of Oviedo and Salamanca...
built the Lima City Walls
Lima City Walls
The Lima city walls were built by Viceroy Melchor de Navarra y Rocafull between 1684 and 1687 to protect Lima against attacks from pirates and privateers. They included 34 bulwarks and five gates; their total cost was estimated at 400,000 Spanish dollars...
between 1684 and 1687.
The 1687 earthquake marked a turning point in the history of Lima as it coincided with a recession in trade, a reduction of silver production and economic competition by other cities such as Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
. To add to these problems, on October 28, 1746, a powerful earthquake severely damaged the city and destroyed Callao, forcing a massive rebuilding effort under Viceroy José Antonio Manso de Velasco
José Antonio Manso de Velasco
José Antonio Manso de Velasco y Sánchez de Samaniego, 1st Count of Superunda was a Spanish soldier and politician who served as governor of Chile and viceroy of Peru.-As Governor of Chile:...
. This disaster led to an intense devotion for an image of Christ called The Lord of the Miracles, which has been taken out in procession every October since 1746.
During the late colonial period, under the rule of the House of Bourbon
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
, the ideas of the Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
on public health and social control shaped the development of Lima. New buildings undertaken during this period include a cockfighting coliseum and a bullring, the Plaza de toros de Acho
Plaza de toros de Acho
The Plaza de Toros de Acho is the premier bullring in Lima, Peru. Located beside the historical center of the Rímac District, the plaza is classified as a national historic monument...
, as well as the General Cemetery. The first two were built to regulate these popular activities by centralizing them at a single venue, while the cemetery put an end to the practice of burials at churches which was considered unhealthy by public authorities.
Independence
Bourbon Reforms
The Bourbon Reforms were a set of economic and political legislation introduced by the Spanish Crown under various kings of the House of Bourbon throughout the 18th century. The reforms were intended to stimulate manufacturing and technology in order to modernize Spain...
as it lost its monopoly on overseas trade and the important mining region of Upper Peru
Upper Peru
Upper Peru was the region in the Viceroyalty of Peru, and after 1776, the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, comprising the governorships of Potosí, La Paz, Cochabamba, Los Chiquitos, Moxos and Charcas...
was transferred to the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, , was the last and most short-lived Viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire in America.The Viceroyalty was established in 1776 out of several former Viceroyalty of Perú dependencies that mainly extended over the Río de la Plata basin, roughly the present day...
. This economic decline made the city's elite dependent on royal and ecclesiastical appointment and thus, reluctant to advocate independence. In the 1810s, the city became a Royalist stronghold during the South American wars of independence
South American Wars of Independence
The Latin American Wars of Independence were the various revolutions that took place during the late 18th and early 19th centuries and resulted in the creation of a number of independent countries in Latin America. These revolutions followed the American and French Revolutions, which had profound...
led by a strong viceroy, José Fernando de Abascal y Sousa
José Fernando de Abascal y Sousa
José Fernando de Abascal y Sousa, 1st Marquis of La Concordia , was a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator in America...
.
A combined expedition of Argentinian and Chilean patriots under General José de San Martín
José de San Martín
José Francisco de San Martín, known simply as Don José de San Martín , was an Argentine general and the prime leader of the southern part of South America's successful struggle for independence from Spain.Born in Yapeyú, Corrientes , he left his mother country at the...
managed to land south of Lima on September 7, 1820 but did not attack the city. Faced with a naval blockade and the action of guerrillas on land, Viceroy José de la Serna was forced to evacuate the city on July 1821 to save the Royalist army. Fearing a popular uprising and lacking any means to impose order, the city council invited San Martín to enter Lima and signed a Declaration of Independence at his request. However, the war was not over; in the next two years the city changed hands several times and suffered exactions from both sides. By the time the war was decided, at the Battle of Ayacucho
Battle of Ayacucho
The Battle of Ayacucho was a decisive military encounter during the Peruvian War of Independence. It was the battle that sealed the independence of Peru, as well as the victory that ensured independence for the rest of South America...
on December 9, 1824, Lima was considerably impoverished.
Republican period
Guano
Guano is the excrement of seabirds, cave dwelling bats, and seals. Guano manure is an effective fertilizer due to its high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and also its lack of odor. It was an important source of nitrates for gunpowder...
exports led to a rapid expansion of the city. In the next two decades, the State funded the construction of large size public buildings to replace colonial establishments; these included the Central Market, the General Slaughterhouse, the Mental Asylum, the Penitentiary, and the Dos de Mayo Hospital. There were also improvements in communications; a railroad line between Lima and Callao was completed in 1850 and an iron bridge across the Rímac River, the Balta Bridge, was opened in 1870. The city walls were torn down in 1872 as further urban growth was expected. However, the export-led economic expansion also widened the gap between rich and poor, fostering social unrest.
During the 1879–1883 War of the Pacific
War of the Pacific
The War of the Pacific took place in western South America from 1879 through 1883. Chile fought against Bolivia and Peru. Despite cooperation among the three nations in the war against Spain, disputes soon arose over the mineral-rich Peruvian provinces of Tarapaca, Tacna, and Arica, and the...
, Chilean troops occupied Lima after defeating Peruvian resistance in the battles of San Juan
Battle of San Juan
Battle of San Juan may refer to:*Battle of San Juan , a British attack on San Jaun, Puerto Rico, in 1595*Battle of San Juan , a second British attack on San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 1598...
and Miraflores
Battle of Miraflores
The Battle of Miraflores occurred on January 15, 1881 in the Miraflores District of Lima, Peru. It was an important battle during the War of the Pacific that was fought between Chile and the forces of Peru. The Chilean army led by Gen. Manuel Baquedano defeated the army commanded by Nicolás de...
. The city suffered the depredations of the invaders, which looted public museums, libraries and educational institutions. At the same time, angry mobs attacked wealthy citizens and the Asian population; sacking their properties and businesses.
After the war, the city underwent a process of urban renewal and expansion from the 1890s up to the 1920s. As downtown Lima had become overcrowded, the La Victoria
La Victoria District, Lima
La Victoria is a district of the Lima Province in Peru and one of the districts that comprises the city of Lima. One of the most populous in Lima....
residential area was established in 1896 as a working class neighborhood. During this period the urban layout was modified by the construction of big avenues which crisscrossed the city and connected it with neighboring towns such as Miraflores
Miraflores District, Lima
Miraflores is a district of the Lima Province in Peru. Known for its shopping areas, gardens, flower-filled parks and beaches, it is one of the upscale districts that make up the city of Lima....
. In the 1920s and 1930s, several buildings of the historic centre
Historic Centre of Lima
Located principally in the city centre or Cercado de Lima and Rímac areas, the Historic Centre of Lima is among the most important tourist destinations in Peru.-Foundation:...
were rebuilt including the Government Palace
Government Palace (Peru)
The Government Palace of Peru, also known as House of Pizarro, renoved in 1937, was the house of the Peruvian government headquarters and was built over a huge Indian burying ground Waka that had a shrine of Indian chief Taulichusco. It has been through many alterations...
and the Municipal Palace.
On May 24, 1940, an earthquake destroyed most of the city, which at that time was mostly built out of adobe
Adobe
Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material , which the builders shape into bricks using frames and dry in the sun. Adobe buildings are similar to cob and mudbrick buildings. Adobe structures are extremely durable, and account for...
and quincha
Quincha
Quincha is a traditional construction system that uses, fundamentally, wood and cane or giant reed forming an earthquake-proof framework that is covered in mud and plaster....
. In the 1940s, Lima started a period of rapid growth spurred by immigration from the Andean regions of Peru. Population, estimated at 0.6 million in 1940, reached 1.9M by 1960 and 4.8M by 1980. At the start of this period, the urban area was confined to a triangular area bounded by the city's historic center
Historic Centre of Lima
Located principally in the city centre or Cercado de Lima and Rímac areas, the Historic Centre of Lima is among the most important tourist destinations in Peru.-Foundation:...
, Callao
Callao
Callao is the largest and most important port in Peru. The city is coterminous with the Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao Region. Callao is located west of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area, a large metropolis that holds almost...
and Chorrillos
Chorrillos
Chorrillos is a district of the Lima Province in Peru and part of the city of Lima. It gets its name from the Spanish word for "trickle of water"...
; in the following decades settlements spread to the north, beyond the Rímac River, to the east, along the Central Highway, and to the south. Immigrants, at first confined to slum
Slum
A slum, as defined by United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security. According to the United Nations, the percentage of urban dwellers living in slums decreased from 47 percent to 37 percent in the...
s in downtown Lima, led this expansion through large-scale land invasions which gave rise to the proliferation of shanty towns, known as pueblos jóvenes
Pueblos jóvenes
Pueblos jóvenes is the nickname given to the vast shanty towns that surround Lima and other cities of Peru. Many of these towns have developed into significant districts in Lima such as Villa El Salvador and Comas.- Population :...
. Major public works were carried out throughout this period, mainly under the governments of Manuel A. Odría
Manuel A. Odría
Manuel Arturo Odría Amoretti was the President of Peru from 1948 to 1956.Manuel Odría was born in 1897 in Tarma, a city in the central Andes just east of Lima. He graduated first in his class from the Chorillos Military Academy in 1915. He joined the army and as a lieutenant-colonel was a war...
(1948–1956) and Juan Velasco Alvarado
Juan Velasco Alvarado
Juan Francisco Velasco Alvarado was a left-leaning Peruvian General who ruled Peru from 1968 to 1975 under the title of "President of the Revolutionary Government."- Early life :...
(1968–1975). Brutalism dominated in the 1970s as exemplified in the massive headquarters built for Petroperú
Petroperu
Petróleos del Perú S.A. is a Peruvian state-owned petroleum company. Its activities include transport, refinery and commercialization of fuel and other oil derivatives...
, the state-owned petroleum company. According to the 1993 census
Peru 1993 Census
The Peru 1993 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Peruvian population made on July 11, 1993 by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática...
, the city population had reached 6.4M; 28.4% of the total population of Peru compared to just 9.4% in 1940.