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<title>Peru</title>
<authors>Wikipedia</authors>
<publisher>wikipedia.org</publisher>
<publishedplace>network</publishedplace>
<publishedyear>2010</publishedyear>
<edition></edition>
<category>Wikipedia semi-protected pages</category>
<section id="15570" fatherid="0" title="" lv="" priority="-1" level="1">
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.
Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico civilization, one of the oldest in the world, and to the Inca Empire, the largest state in Pre-Columbian America. The Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century and established a Viceroyalty, which included most of its South American colonies. After achieving independence in 1821, Peru has undergone periods of political unrest and fiscal crisis as well as periods of stability and economic upswing.
Peru is a representative democratic republic divided into 25 regions.  Its geography varies from the arid plains of the Pacific coast to the peaks of the Andes mountains and the tropical forests of the Amazon Basin. It is a country with a high Human Development Index score and a poverty level around 36%. Its main economic activities include agriculture, fishing, mining, and manufacturing of products such as textiles.
The Peruvian population, estimated at 29 million, is multiethnic, including Amerindians, Europeans, Africans and Asians. The main spoken language is Spanish, although a significant number of Peruvians speak Quechua or other native languages. This mixture of cultural traditions has resulted in a wide diversity of expressions in fields such as art, cuisine, literature, and music.

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<section id="15571" fatherid="0" title="Etymology" lv="" priority="-2" level="1">
The word Peru is derived from Birú, the name of a local ruler who lived near the Bay of San Miguel, Panama, in the early 16th century.Raúl Porras Barrenechea, El nombre del Perú, p. 83. When his possessions were visited by Spanish explorers in 1522, they were the southernmost part of the New World yet known to Europeans.Raúl Porras Barrenechea, El nombre del Perú, p. 84. Thus, when Francisco Pizarro explored the regions farther south, they came to be designated Birú or Peru.Raúl Porras Barrenechea, El nombre del Perú, p. 86. The Spanish Crown gave the name legal status with the 1529 Capitulación de Toledo, which designated the newly encountered Inca Empire as the province of Peru.Raúl Porras Barrenechea, El nombre del Perú, p. 87. Under Spanish rule, the country adopted the denomination Viceroyalty of Peru, which became Republic of Peru after the Peruvian War of Independence.
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<section id="15572" fatherid="0" title="History" lv="" priority="-3" level="1">
The earliest evidence of human presence in Peruvian territory has been dated to approximately 9,000 BCE.Tom Dillehay et al, "The first settlers", pp. 16,20. The oldest known complex society in Peru and the Americas, the Norte Chico civilization, flourished along the coast of the Pacific Ocean between 3000 and 1800 BCE.Jonathan Haas et al, "Dating the Late Archaic occupation of the Norte Chico region in Peru", p. 1021. These early developments were followed by archaeological cultures such as Chavin, Paracas, Mochica, Nazca, Wari, and Chimú. In the 15th century, the Incas emerged as a powerful state which, in the span of a century, formed the largest empire in pre-Columbian America.Terence D'Altroy, The Incas, pp. 2–3. Andean societies were based on agriculture, using techniques such as irrigation and terracing; camelid husbandry and fishing were also important. Organization relied on reciprocity and redistribution because these societies had no notion of market or money.Enrique Mayer, The articulated peasant, pp. 47–68.
In 1532, a group of conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro defeated Inca Emperor Atahualpa and captured him. Francisco Pizarro demanded gold and silver in exchange for the release of the Inca, and although Francisco Pizarro received a room of gold and the two following rooms with silver, up to the level of the reach of Atahualpa's arm, Atahualpa was executed and Francisco Pizarro conquered the Empire and imposed Spanish rule. Ten years later, the Spanish Crown established the Viceroyalty of Peru, which included all of its South American colonies.Recopilación de leyes de los Reynos de las Indias, vol. II, pp. 12–13. Viceroy Francisco de Toledo reorganized the country in the 1570s with silver mining as its main economic activity and Amerindian forced labor as its primary workforce.Peter Bakewell, Miners of the Red Mountain, p. 181.
Peruvian bullion provided revenue for the Spanish Crown and fueled a complex trade network that extended as far as Europe and the Philippines.Margarita Suárez, Desafíos transatlánticos, pp. 252–253. However, by the 18th century, declining silver production and economic diversification greatly diminished royal income.Kenneth Andrien, Crisis and decline, pp. 200–202. In response, the Crown enacted the Bourbon Reforms, a series of edicts that increased taxes and partitioned the Viceroyalty of Peru.Mark Burkholder, From impotence to authority, pp. 83–87. The new laws provoked Túpac Amaru II's rebellion and other revolts, all of which were defeated.Scarlett O'Phelan, Rebellions and revolts in eighteenth century Peru and Upper Peru, p. 276.
In the early 19th century, while most of South America was swept by wars of independence, Peru remained a royalist stronghold. As the elite hesitated between emancipation and loyalty to the Spanish Monarchy, independence was achieved only after the military campaigns of José de San Martín and Simón Bolívar.Timothy Anna, The fall of the royal government in Peru, pp. 237–238. During the early years of the Republic, endemic struggles for power between military leaders caused political instability.Charles Walker, Smoldering ashes, pp. 124–125. National identity was forged during this period, as Bolivarian projects for a Latin American Confederation foundered and a union with Bolivia proved ephemeral.Paul Gootenberg, Between silver and guano, p. 12. Between the 1840s and 1860s, Peru enjoyed a period of stability under the presidency of Ramón Castilla through increased state revenues from guano exports.Paul Gootenberg, Imagining development, pp. 5–6. However, by the 1870s, these resources had been squandered, the country was heavily indebted, and political in-fighting was again on the rise.Paul Gootenberg, Imagining development, p. 9.
Peru was defeated by Chile in the 1879–1883 War of the Pacific, losing the provinces of Arica and Tarapacá in the treaties of Ancón and Lima. Internal struggles after the war were followed by a period of stability under the Civilista Party, which lasted until the onset of the authoritarian regime of Augusto B. Leguía.Ulrich Mücke, Political culture in nineteenth-century Peru, pp. 193–194. The Great Depression caused the downfall of Leguía, renewed political turmoil, and the emergence of the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA).Peter Klarén, Peru, pp. 262–276. The rivalry between this organization and a coalition of the elite and the military defined Peruvian politics for the following three decades.David Palmer, Peru: the authoritarian tradition, p. 93.
In 1968, the Armed Forces, led by General Juan Velasco Alvarado, staged a coup against president Fernando Belaunde. The new regime undertook radical reforms aimed at fostering development but failed to gain widespread support.George Philip, The rise and fall of the Peruvian military radicals, pp. 163–165. In 1975, Velasco was forcefully replaced as president by General Francisco Morales Bermúdez, who paralyzed reforms and oversaw the reestablishment of democracy.Daniel Schydlowsky and Juan Julio Wicht, "Anatomy of an economic failure", pp. 106–107.
During the 1980s, Peru faced a considerable external debt, ever-growing inflation, a surge in drug trafficking, and massive political violence.Peter Klarén, Peru, pp. 406–407. Some 70,000 people died during the conflict between state forces and Maoist Shining Path guerrillas.Peru's Fujimori gets 25 years prison for massacres. Reuters. April 8, 2009. Under the presidency of Alberto Fujimori (1990–2000), the country started to recover; however, accusations of authoritarianism, corruption, and human s violations forced his resignation after the controversial 2000 elections.BBC News, Fujimori: Decline and fall. Retrieved on July 21, 2007. Since the end of the Fujimori regime, Peru has tried to fight corruption while sustaining economic growth; since 2006 the president is Alan García.The Economist, Peru. Retrieved on July 18, 2007.

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<section id="15573" fatherid="0" title="Government" lv="" priority="4" level="1">
Peru is a presidential representative democratic republic with a multi-party system. Under the current constitution, the President is the head of state and government; he or she is elected for five years and cannot seek immediate re-election, he or she must stand down for at least one full constitutional term before reelection.Constitución Política del Perú, Article N° 112. The President designates the Prime Minister and, with his advice, the rest of the Council of Ministers.Constitución Política del Perú, Article N° 122. There is a unicameral Congress with 120 members elected for a five-year term.Constitución Política del Perú, Article N° 90. Bills may be proposed by either the executive or the legislative branch; they become law after being passed by Congress and promulgated by the President.Constitución Política del Perú, Articles N° 107–108. The judiciary is nominally independent,Constitución Política del Perú, Articles N° 146. though political intervention into judicial matters has been common throughout history and arguably continues today.Jeffrey Clark, Building on quicksand. Retrieved on July 24, 2007.
The Peruvian government is directly elected, and voting is compulsory for all citizens aged 18 to 70.Constitución Política del Perú, Article N° 31. General elections held in 2006 ended in a second round victory for presidential candidate Alan García of the Peruvian Aprista Party (52.6% of valid votes) over Ollanta Humala of Union for Peru (47.4%). Oficina Nacional de Procesos Electorales, Segunda Elección Presidencial 2006. Retrieved on May 15, 2007. Congress is currently composed of the Peruvian Aprista Party (36 seats), Peruvian Nationalist Party (23 seats), Union for Peru (19 seats), National Unity (15 seats), the Fujimorista Alliance for the Future (13 seats), the Parliamentary Alliance (9 seats) and the Democratic Special Parliamentary Group (5 seats). Congreso de la República del Perú, Grupos Parlamentarios. Retrieved on January 5, 2008.
Peruvian foreign relations have been dominated by border conflicts with neighboring countries, most of which were settled during the 20th century.Ronald Bruce St John, The foreign policy of Peru, pp. 223–224. There is still an ongoing dispute with Chile over maritime limits in the Pacific Ocean.BBC News, Peru–Chile border row escalates. Retrieved on May 16, 2007. Peru is an active member of several regional blocs and one of the founders of the Andean Community of Nations. It is also a participant in international organizations such as the Organization of American States and the United Nations. The Peruvian military is composed of an army, a navy and an air force; its primary mission is to safeguard the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.Ministerio de Defensa, Libro Blanco de la Defensa Nacional, p. 90. The armed forces are subordinate to the Ministry of Defense and to the President as Commander-in-Chief. Conscription was abolished in 1999 and replaced by voluntary military service.Ley N° 27178, Ley del Servicio Militar, Articles N° 29, 42 and 45.

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<section id="15574" fatherid="0" title="Regions" lv="" priority="5" level="1">
Peru is divided into 25 regions and the province of Lima. Each region has an elected government composed of a president and a council, which serves for a four-year term.Ley N° 27867, Ley Orgánica de Gobiernos Regionales, Article N° 11. These governments plan regional development, execute public investment projects, promote economic activities, and manage public property.Ley N° 27867, Ley Orgánica de Gobiernos Regionales, Article N° 10. The province of Lima is administered by a city council.Ley N° 27867, Ley Orgánica de Gobiernos Regionales, Article N° 66.
Regions:
Province:

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<section id="15575" fatherid="0" title="Geography" lv="" priority="6" level="1">
Peru covers 1,285,220 km² (496,193 sq mi). It neighbors Ecuador and Colombia to the north, Brazil to the east, Bolivia to the southeast, Chile to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west.
The Andes mountains run parallel to the Pacific Ocean, dividing the country into three geographic regions. The costa (coast), to the west, is a narrow plain, largely arid except for valleys created by seasonal rivers. The sierra (highlands) is the region of the Andes; it includes the Altiplano plateau as well as the highest peak of the country, the 6,768 m (22,205 ft) Huascarán.AndesHandbook, Huascarán. Retrieved on August 12, 2007. The third region is the selva (jungle), a wide expanse of flat terrain covered by the Amazon rainforest that extends east. Almost 60% of the country's area is located within this region,Instituto de Estudios Histórico–Marítimos del Perú, El Perú y sus recursos: Atlas geográfico y económico, p. 16. (70 million hectares) giving Peru the fourth largest area of tropical forest in the world after Brazil, Congo and Indonesia.

Most Peruvian rivers originate in the Andes and drain into one of three basins. Those that drain toward the Pacific Ocean are steep and short, flowing only intermittently. Tributaries of the Amazon River are longer, have a much larger flow, and are less steep once they exit the sierra. Rivers that drain into Lake Titicaca are generally short and have a large flow.Instituto de Estudios Histórico–Marítimos del Perú, El Perú y sus recursos: Atlas geográfico y económico, p. 31. Peru's longest rivers are the Ucayali, the Marañón, the Putumayo, the Yavarí, the Huallaga, the Urubamba, the Mantaro, and the Amazon.Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática, Perú: Compendio Estadístico 2005, p. 21.
Peru, unlike other equatorial countries, does not have an exclusively tropical climate; the influence of the Andes and the Humboldt Current cause great climatic diversity within the country. The costa has moderate temperatures, low precipitations, and high humidity, except for its warmer, wetter northern reaches.Instituto de Estudios Histórico–Marítimos del Perú, El Perú y sus recursos: Atlas geográfico y económico, pp. 24–25. In the sierra, rain is frequent during summer, and temperature and humidity diminish with altitude up to the frozen peaks of the Andes.Instituto de Estudios Histórico–Marítimos del Perú, El Perú y sus recursos: Atlas geográfico y económico, pp. 25–26. The selva is characterized by heavy rainfall and high temperatures, except for its southernmost part, which has cold winters and seasonal rainfall.Instituto de Estudios Histórico–Marítimos del Perú, El Perú y sus recursos: Atlas geográfico y económico, pp. 26–27. Because of its varied geography and climate, Peru has a high biodiversity with 21,462 species of plants and animals reported as of 2003; 5,855 of them endemic.Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática, Perú: Compendio Estadístico 2005, p. 50. The Peruvian government has established several protected areas for their preservation.

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<section id="15576" fatherid="0" title="Economy" lv="" priority="7" level="1">
Peru's economy has experienced significant growth in the last 15 years. It is consired an Emerging Market   according to the MSCI  MSCI Barra . Peru has a high Human Development Index score of 0.806.United Nations Development Programme, Human Development Reports 2008 Statistical Update. Retrieved on April 28, 2009. Its 2008 per capita income was US$8,594; 36.2% of its total population is poor, including 12.6% that is extremely poor.Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática, . Retrieved on June 12, 2009. Historically, the country's economic performance has been tied to exports, which provide hard currency to finance imports and external debt payments.Rosemary Thorp and Geoffrey Bertram, Peru 1890–1977, p. 4. Although exports have provided substantial revenue, self-sustained growth and a more egalitarian distribution of income have proven elusive.Rosemary Thorp and Geoffrey Bertram, Peru 1890–1977, p. 321.
Peruvian economic policy has varied widely over the past decades. The 1968–1975 government of Juan Velasco Alvarado introduced radical reforms, which included agrarian reform, the expropriation of foreign companies, the introduction of an economic planning system, and the creation of a large state-owned sector. These measures failed to achieve their objectives of income redistribution and the end of economic dependence on developed nations.Rosemary Thorp and Geoffrey Bertram, Peru 1890–1977, pp. 318–319.
Despite these adverse results, most reforms were not reversed until the 1990s, when the liberalizing government of Alberto Fujimori ended price controls, protectionism, restrictions on foreign direct investment, and most state ownership of companies.John Sheahan, Searching for a better society, p. 157. Reforms have permitted sustained economic growth since 1993, except for a slump after the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Banco Central de Reserva, Producto bruto interno por sectores productivos 1951–2006. Retrieved on May 15, 2007.
Services account for 53% of Peruvian gross domestic product, followed by manufacturing (22.3%), extractive industries (15%), and taxes (9.7%).2006 figures.  Banco Central de Reserva, Memoria 2006, p. 204. Retrieved on June 25, 2007. Recent economic growth has been fueled by macroeconomic stability, improved terms of trade, and rising investment and consumption. Banco Central de Reserva, Memoria 2006, pp. 15, 203. Retrieved on June 25, 2007. Trade is expected to increase further after the implementation of a free trade agreement with the United States signed on April 12, 2006.Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, United States and Peru Sign Trade Promotion Agreement, April 4, 2006. Retrieved on May 15, 2007. Peru's main exports are copper, gold, zinc, textiles, and fish meal; its major trade partners are the United States, China, Brazil, and Chile.2006 figures.  Banco Central de Reserva, Memoria 2006, pp. 60–61. Retrieved on July 3, 2007.

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<section id="15577" fatherid="0" title="Demographics" lv="" priority="-8" level="1">
With about 29 million inhabitants, Peru is the fourth most populous country in South America as of 2007.United Nations, , pp. 44–48. Retrieved on July 29, 2007 Its demographic growth rate declined from 2.6% to 1.6% between 1950 and 2000; population is expected to reach approximately 42 million in 2050.Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática, Perú: Estimaciones y Proyecciones de Población, 1950–2050, pp. 37–38, 40. As of 2007, 75.9% lived in urban areas and 24.1% in rural areas.Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática, Perfil sociodemográfico del Perú, p. 13. Major cities include Lima, home to over 8 million people, Arequipa, Trujillo, Chiclayo, Piura, Iquitos, Cusco, Chimbote, and Huancayo, all of which reported more than 250,000 inhabitants in the 2007 census.Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática, Perfil sociodemográfico del Perú, p. 24. In the Amazonian region, there are 16 ethno-linguistic families and more than 65 different ethnic groups.  After Brazil and New Guinea, Peru has the largest number of uncontacted tribes in the world."Uncontacted" Tribes Fled Peru Logging, Arrows Suggest. National Geographic News. October 6, 2008.
Peru is a multiethnic country formed by the combination of different groups over five centuries. Amerindians inhabited Peruvian territory for several millennia before Spanish Conquest in the 16th century; their population decreased from an estimated 9 million in the 1520s to around 600,000 in 1620 mainly because of infectious diseases.Noble David Cook, Demographic collapse: Indian Peru, 1520–1620, p. 114. Spaniards and Africans arrived in large numbers under colonial rule, mixing widely with each other and with indigenous peoples. After independence, there has been a gradual European immigration from England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.Mario Vázquez, "Immigration and mestizaje in nineteenth-century Peru", pp. 79–81. Chinese arrived in the 1850s as a replacement for slave workers and have since become a major influence in Peruvian society.Magnus Mörner, Race mixture in the history of Latin America, p. 131. Other immigrant groups include Arabs and Japanese. Peru's racial structure can be classified as 45% Amerindian, 37% mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European), 15% White, and 3% African, Japanese, Chinese, and other.Peru (10/08), U.S. Department of State
Spanish, the first language of 83.9% of Peruvians age 5 and older in 2007, is the primary language of the country. It coexists with several indigenous languages, the most important of which is Quechua, spoken by 13.2% of the population. Other native and foreign languages were spoken at that time by 2.7% and 0.1% of Peruvians, respectively.Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática, Perfil sociodemográfico del Perú, p. 111. In the 2007 census, 81.3% of the population over 12 years old described themselves as Catholic, 12.5% as Evangelical, 3.3% as of other denominations, and 2.9% as non-religious.Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática, Perfil sociodemográfico del Perú, p. 132. Literacy was estimated at 92.9% in 2007; this rate is lower in rural areas (80.3%) than in urban areas (96.3%).Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática, Perfil sociodemográfico del Perú, p. 93. Primary and secondary education are compulsory and free in public schools.Constitución Política del Perú, Article N° 17.

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<section id="15578" fatherid="0" title="Culture" lv="" priority="9" level="1">
Peruvian culture is primarily rooted in Amerindian and Spanish traditions,Víctor Andrés Belaunde, Peruanidad, p. 472. though it has also been influenced by various African, Asian, and European ethnic groups. Peruvian artistic traditions date back to the elaborate pottery, textiles, jewelry, and sculpture of Pre-Inca cultures. The Incas maintained these crafts and made architectural achievements including the construction of Machu Picchu. Baroque dominated colonial art, though modified by native traditions.Gauvin Alexander Bailey, Art of colonial Latin America, pp. 72–74. During this period, most art focused on religious subjects; the numerous churches of the era and the paintings of the Cuzco School are representative.Gauvin Alexander Bailey, Art of colonial Latin America, p. 263. Arts stagnated after independence until the emergence of Indigenismo in the early 20th century.Edward Lucie-Smith, Latin American art of the 20th century, pp. 76–77, 145–146. Since the 1950s, Peruvian art has been eclectic and shaped by both foreign and local art currents.Damián Bayón, "Art, c. 1920–c. 1980", pp. 425–428.
Peruvian literature has its roots in the oral traditions of pre-Columbian civilizations. Spaniards introduced writing in the 16th century; colonial literary expression included chronicles and religious literature. After independence, Costumbrism and Romanticism became the most common literary genres, as exemplified in the works of Ricardo Palma.Gerald Martin, "Literature, music and the visual arts, c. 1820–1870", pp. 37–39. In the early 20th century, the Indigenismo movement produced such writers as Ciro Alegría,Gerald Martin, "Narrative since c. 1920", pp. 151–152. José María Arguedas,Gerald Martin, "Narrative since c. 1920", pp. 178–179. and César Vallejo.Jaime Concha, "Poetry, c. 1920–1950", pp. 250–253. During the second half of the century, Peruvian literature became more widely known because of authors such as Mario Vargas Llosa, a leading member of the Latin American Boom.Gerald Martin, "Narrative since c. 1920", pp. 186–188.
Peruvian cuisine is a blend of Amerindian and Spanish food with strong influences from African, Arab, Italian, Chinese, and Japanese cooking.Tony Custer, The Art of Peruvian Cuisine, pp. 17–22. Common dishes include anticuchos, ceviche, humitas, and pachamanca. Because of the variety of climates within Peru, a wide range of plants and animals is available for cooking.Tony Custer, The Art of Peruvian Cuisine, pp. 25–38. Peruvian cuisine has recently received acclaim due to its diversity of ingredients and techniques.Embassy of Peru in the United States, Peruvian Gastronomy - History. Retrieved on May 27, 2008
Peruvian music has Andean, Spanish and African roots.Raúl Romero, "Andean Peru", p. 385–386. In pre-Hispanic times, musical expressions varied widely from region to region; the quena and the tinya were two common instruments.Dale Olsen, Music of El Dorado, pp. 17–22. Spanish conquest brought the introduction of new instruments such as the guitar and the harp, as well as the development of crossbred instruments like the charango.Thomas Turino, "Charango", p. 340. African contributions to Peruvian music include its rhythms and the cajón, a percussion instrument.Raúl Romero, "La música tradicional y popular", pp. 263–265. Peruvian folk dances include marinera, tondero, danza de tijeras, huayno and diablada.Raúl Romero, "La música tradicional y popular", pp. 243–245, 261–263.

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<section id="15582" fatherid="0" title="External links" lv="" priority="-13" level="1">
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