The history of Peru spans 15 millennia, extending back through several stages of cultural development along the country's desert coastline and in the Andes mountains. Peru's coast was home to the Norte Chico civilization, the oldest civilization in the Americas and one of the six cradles of civilization in the world. When the Spanish arrived in the sixteenth century, Peru was the homeland of the highland Inca Empire, the largest and most advanced state in pre-Columbian America. After the conquest of the Incas, the Spanish Empire established a Viceroyalty with jurisdiction over most of its South American domains. Peru declared independence from Spain in 1821, but achieved independence only after the Battle of Ayacucho three years later.
Manuel González de Candamo e Iriarte served as the 33rd President of Peru from 1903 until his death in 1904. He also served as Interim President of Peru, officially as the President of the Government Junta, from September 8, 1903, until his death the following year.
Augusto Bernardino Leguía y Salcedo was a Peruvian politician who served as President of Peru from 1908 to 1912 and from 1919 to 1930, the latter term known as the "Oncenio" after its eleven-year length.
Andrés Avelino Cáceres Dorregaray served as the President of Peru two times during the 19th century, from 1886 to 1890 as the 27th President of Peru, and again from 1894 to 1895 as the 30th President of Peru. In Peru, he is considered a national hero for leading the resistance to Chilean occupation during the War of the Pacific (1879–1883), where he fought as a General in the Peruvian Army.
José Nicolás Baltasar Fernández de Piérola y Villena was a Peruvian politician and Minister of Finance who served as the 23rd and 31st President of the Republic of Peru, from 1879 to 1881 and 1895 to 1899.
Guillermo Enrique Billinghurst Angulo was a Peruvian politician of English descent who served as the 37th President of Peru. He succeeded Augusto B. Leguía, from 1912 to 1914. An Anglo-Peruvian, Billinghurst's surname is a locational name; Billinghurst is a parish in Sussex, England.
Reformist Democratic Party was a political party in Peru. It was founded in 1920 by Augusto Bernardino Leguía y Salcedo, whose regime, which began the previous year, had led to a dictatorial government. It was a party with a strong personal character, whose members included the friends and relatives of President Leguía, as well as many public employees. It lacked an ideology and an authentic program and was only organized to support Leguía in the perpetuation of him in power. After the fall of Leguía in 1930, it did not again have a leading role in Peruvian politics and ended up dissolving.
Manuel Justo Pardo y Lavalle was a Peruvian politician who served as the 20th President of Peru. He was the first civilian President in Peru's history.
Eduardo López de Romaña y Alvizuri served as the 32nd President of Peru from September 1899 to September 1903.
José Simón Pardo y Barreda was a Peruvian politician who served as the 35th (1904–1908) and 39th (1915–1919) President of Peru.
José Manuel Gutiérrez Guerra, known as "the last Oligarch," was a Bolivian economist and statesman who served as the 28th president of Bolivia from 1917 to 1920. He was the grandson of Pedro José Domingo de Guerra, acting president in 1879 and chief justice of the Supreme Court, who had died in office after he was forced to assume presidential responsibilities during the disastrous War of the Pacific.
Tomás Francisco Gutiérrez Chávez was a Peruvian Colonel who, along with his brothers, led a coup against President José Balta Montero and served as the Supreme Leader of Peru for four days in July 1872. From July 22, 1872 to July 26, 1872, Gutiérrez was the de facto leader of Peru and the self-proclaimed "Supreme Leader of the Republic" after a coup d'état. He was overthrown just four days after his proclamation and lynched. Peru later regained some political stability with the election of Manuel Pardo, although this stability was short-lived as a foreign threat began to arise in Chile.
The Peruvian nitrate monopoly was a state-owned enterprise over the mining and sale of saltpeter created by the government of Peru in 1875 and operated by the Peruvian Nitrate Company. Peru intended for the monopoly to capitalize on the world market's high demand for nitrates, thereby increasing the country's fiscal revenues and supplementing the financial role that guano sales had provided for the nation during the Guano Era (1840s-1860s).
The Peruvian Civil War of 1894–1895 was an internal conflict in Peru that lasted from October 1894 to March 1895, and was sparked by the election of Andrés Avelino Cáceres to the presidency of Peru, which was opposed by Nicolás de Piérola and his armed forces.
José Lino Alarco Brediñana was a Peruvian physician and politician. He was elected as the first vice president of Peru in 1903, under the ticket of President Manuel Candamo, but he died before taking office.
The 1872 Peruvian coup d'état, known in Peruvian historiography as the Gutiérrez Brothers' rebellion, was a coup d'état headed by General Tomás Gutiérrez, then Minister of War, and his three brothers against then president José Balta, shortly before Manuel Pardo of the Civilista Party was to take office as the country's first civilian president. The coup was initially successful, although a violent crowd headed by brothers Baltazar and José La Torre ultimately murdered three of the Gutiérrez brothers.
The name of Aristocratic Republic is given to the period following the 1895 election of Nicolás de Piérola as President of Peru. This period was characterised by the political dominance of an oligarchy dedicated to agro-exports, mining and finance, through the Civilista Party. The term was coined by historian Jorge Basadre. During this period, the so-called Second Civilism took place, in contrast to that of 1872 to 1876.
The National Club is a private club and civil association based in the Plaza San Martín of the Historic Centre of Lima. Founded on October 19, 1855, it has been the meeting place for the Peruvian aristocracy throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, as its members are members of the most distinguished and wealthy families in the country.
The 1914 Peruvian coup d'état took place on January 4, 1914, headed by Colonel Óscar R. Benavides, who a day earlier was removed from his position as chief of the Army General Staff. The coup was aimed at preventing Guillermo Billinghurst's government from dissolving the Peruvian Congress, which opposed him. It was the first successful coup d'état of the 20th century in Peru.
