PERU has, in different periods, included areas of territory of varying extent. The empire of the Yncas and the Spanish viceroyalty were not conterminous with the modern republic nor with each other. In the present article the sections relating to physical geography and the moral and material condition of the people will be confined to the limits of the republic, while in the historical section there will necessarily be references to events which took place beyond the existing limits of the country.

Extent—The republic of Peru is situated between the equator and the Tropic of Capricorn, yet, owing to the differences of elevation, it includes regions with every variety of climate. It lies between the parallels of 3° 21' S. and 19° 10' S. and between 68° and 81° 20' 45" W. long., and has an area of about 480,000 square miles.2 The length along the Pacific coast is 1240 miles, while the width ranges from 300 to 400 miles.

Boundaries.—The republic is bounded en the W. by the Pacific Ocean, on the E. by Brazil and Bolivia, on the N. by Ecuador, and on the S. by Chili. The northern boundary commences at the village of Santa Rosa, near the southern shore of the Gulf of Guayaquil, whence it passes southwards to the river Macara, a tributary of the Chira, which falls into the Pacific. It takes the course of the Macara, up the ravine of Espindula, to its source in the cordillera of Ayavaca; in the Amazonian basin it follows the river Cauches to its junction with the Chinchipe, and the Chinchipe to the Marañon. The Marañon then forms the boundary until the first Brazilian town is reached at Tabatinga. The frontier with Brazil was determined by article ii. of the treaty of San Ildefonso in 1777. A treaty dated 23d October 1851 further settled the boundary, which was fixed by the commissioners who explored the Yavari in 1866 and 1871. It first follows the course of the Yavari from the point where it falls into the Amazon, in 4° 13' 21" S., up to a point near its source in 7° 1' 17" S. ; from this it forms a straight line to a point in 6° 52' 15" S. on the left bank of the Madeira, being half the distance between the mouth of the Mamoré and that of the Madeira. This is the point where the frontiers of Peru, Brazil, and Bolivia meet. The Peru-Bolivian frontier, within the basin of the Amazon, has not been accurately defined. It follows the Madeira to the mouth of the Mamoré, then the Beni and its tributary the Madidi to the junction of the latter with a stream called the Pablo-bamba, ascending the ravine of the Pablo-bamba to the source of that stream in the eastern Andes. The line then crosses the Andes in a straight line southwards to the village of Conima on the shore of Lake Titicaca. Thence it passes across the lake in another straight line to the isthmus of Yunguyo, and thence to the mouth of the Desaguadero. From the Desaguadero the frontier takes a south-south-west direction to the source of the river Mauri, and then, until the recent war with Chili, it ran south along the watershed of the Maritime Cordillera to the source of the river Loa, which falls into the Pacific. The southern boundary separating the Peruvian province of Tarapaca from the Bolivian province of Atacama was formed by the ravine of Duende, south of the Loa, to the coast of the Pacific in 22° 23' S. near Tocapilla. This part of the frontier was carefully delineated in 1628, and the boundary marks are recorded in a document which is still extant. But the Chilians conquered and in 1884 annexed the Peruvian province of Tarapaca.

Physical Geography.—Peru is divided longitudinally into three well-defined regions, the coast, the sierra, and the montaña. The coast, extending from the base of the Maritime Cordillera to the Pacific Ocean, consists of a sandy desert crossed at intervals by rivers, along the banks of which there are fertile valleys. The sierra is the region of the Andes, and is about 250 miles in width. It contains stupendous chains of mountains, elevated plains and table-lands, warm and fertile valleys, and ravines. The montaña is the region of tropical forests within the valley of the Amazon, and skirts the eastern slopes of the Andes.

The coast has been upraised from the ocean at no very distant geological epoch, and is still nearly as destitute of vegetation as the African Sahara. It is, however, watered by fifty streams which cross the desert at intervals. Half of these have their origin in the summits of the Andes, and run with a permanent supply of water into the ocean. The others, rising in the outer range, which does not reach the snow-line and receives less moisture, carry a volume of water to the sea during the rainy season, but for the rest of the year are nearly dry. The absence of rain here is caused by the action of the lofty uplands of the Andes on the trade-wind. The south-east trade-wind blows obliquely across the Atlantic Ocean until it reaches Brazil. By this time it is heavily laden with vapour which it continues to bear along across the continent, depositing it and supplying the sources of the Amazons and La Plata. Finally, the trade-wind arrives at the snow-capped Andes, and here the last particle of moisture is wrung from it that the very low temperature can extract. Coming to the summit of that range, it rushes down as a cool and dry wind on the Pacific slopes beyond. Meeting with no evaporating surface, and with no temperature colder than that to which it is subjected on the mountain-tops, this wind reaches the ocean before it becomes charged with fresh moisture. The constantly prevailing wind on the Peruvian coast is from the south. From November to April there are usually constant dryness, a clear sky, and considerable, though by no means oppressive, heat. From June to September the sky is obscured for weeks together by fog, which is often accompanied by drizzling rain called "garua." In 1877 the maximum temperature at Lima was 78 _º Fahr. in February and the minimum 611/2º Fahr. in July. At the time when it is hottest and driest on the coast it is raining heavily in the Andes, and the rivers are full. When the rivers are at their lowest, the "garua" prevails on the coast. The climate of various parts of the coast is, however, modified by local circumstances.

The deserts between the river-valleys vary in extent, the largest being upwards of 70 miles across. On their western margin steep cliffs generally rise from the sea, above which is the "tablazo" or plateau, in some places slightly undulating, in others with ridges of considerable height rising out of it, the whole apparently quite bare of vegetation. The surface is generally hard, but in many places there are great accumulations of drifting sea-sand. The sand usually forms isolated hillocks, called "medanos," of a half-moon shape, having their convex sides towards the trade-wind. They are from 10 to 20 feet high, with an acute crest, the inner side perpendicular, the outer with a steep slope. Sometimes, especially at early dawn, there is a musical noise in the desert, like the sound of distant drums, which is caused by the eddying of grains of sand in the heated atmosphere, on the crests of the "medanos." Apparently the deserts are destitute of all vegetation ; yet three kinds of herbs exist, which bury themselves deep in the earth, and survive long periods of drought. One is an amaranthaceous plant, whose stems ramify through the sand-hills ; the other two are a Martynia and an Aniseia, which maintain a subterranean existence during many years, and only produce leafy stems in those rare seasons when sufficient moisture penetrates to the roots. In a few hollows which are reached by moisture the trees of the desert find support, the "algarrobo" (Prosopis horrida), a low tree of very scraggy growth, the "vichaya" (Capparis crotonoides), and "zapote del perro" (Colicodendrum scabridum), mere shrubs. Far away towards the first ascents to the Andes a tall branched cactus is met with, and there are Salicornias and Salsolas near the coast. But, when the mists set in, the low hills near the coast bordering the deserts, which are called "lomas," undergo a change as if by magic. A blooming vegetation of wild flowers for a short time covers the barren hills. Near Lima one of the low ranges is brightened by the beautiful yellow lily called "amancaes" (Ismene Amancaes). The other flowers of the "lomas" are the "papita de San Juan" (Begonia geranifolia), with red petals contrasting with the white inner sides, valerians, the beautiful Bomarea ovata, several species of Oxalis, Solarium, and crucifers. But this carpet of flowers is very partially distributed and lasts but a short time. Generally the deserts present a desolate aspect, with no sign of a living creature or of vegetation, Only in the very loftiest regions of the air the majestic condor or the turkey buzzard on may be seen floating lazily; perhaps a lizard will dart across the path; and occasionally a distant line of mules or a solitary horseman seems to shimmer weirdly in the retraction on the distant horizon.
The valleys form a marvellous contrast to the surrounding desert. A great mass of pale-green foliage is usually composed of the "algarrobo" trees, while the course of the river is marked by lines or groups of palms, by fine old willows (Salix humboldtiana), fruit-gardens, and fields of cotton, maize, sugar, and lucerne. In some valleys there are expanses of sugar-cane, in others cotton, whilst in others vineyards and olive-yards predominate. The woods of "algarrobo" are used for pasture, cattle and horses greedily enjoying the pendulous yellow pods.

For purposes of description the coast-region of Peru may be divided into six sections, commencing from the north:—(1) the Piura region; (2) the Lambayeque and Truxillo section (3) the Santa valleys; (4) the section from Lima to Nasca ; (5) the Arequipa and Tacna section; (6) Tarapaca.

(1) The great desert-region of Piura extends for nearly 200 miles from the Gulf of Gu_yaquil to the border of the Morrope valley, and is traversed by three riversÅ\the Tumbez, Chira, and Piura, the two former receiving their waters from the inner cordillera and breaking through the outer range. It is here that the coast of South America extends farthest to the westward until it reaches Capes Blanco and Pari_a, and then turns southwards to the Bay of Payta. The climate of Piura is modified by the lower latitude, and also by the vicinity of the forests of GuAYAQUIL. Fog and "garua" are much less frequent than in the coast-region farther south, while positive rain sometimes falls. At intervals of about tens years there are occasional heavy showers of rain from February to April. (2) The second section of the coast-region includes the valleys of the Morrope, the Chiclayo, and Lambayeque, the Sa_a, the Jequetepeque, the Chicama, Moche, Viru, and Chao. With the intervening deserts this section extends over 200 miles. All these valleys, except Morrope and Chao, are watered by rivers which furnish an abundant supply in the season when irrigation is needed. (3) The third section, also extending for 200 miles, contains the valleys of Santa, Nepeña, Casma, Huarmey Fortaleza, Pativilca, Supé and Huaura. The river Santa, which rises in the lake of Conococha 12,907 feet above the sea, and has an entire length of 180 miles, is remarkable for its long course between the outer and central ranges of the Andes, in a trough known as the "Callejon de Huaylas," 100 miles in length. It then breaks through in a deep gorge, and reaches the sea after a course of 35miles over the coast-belt, and after fertilizing a rich valley. The Santa and Nepeña valleys are separated by a desert 8 leagues in width, on the shores of which there is a good anchorage in the bay of Ferrol, where the port of Chimbote is to be the terminus of a projected railway. The Nepena, Casma, Huarmey, Fortaleza, and Supé rivers rise on the slope of an outer range called the Cordillera Negra, and are consequently dry during the great part of the year. Wells are dug in their beds, and the fertility of the valleys is thus maintained. The Pativilca (or Barranca) river and the Huaura break through the outer range from their distant sources in the snowy cordillera and have a perennial supply of water. There are 9 leagues of desert between the Nepeña and Casma, 16 between the Casma and Huarmey, and 18 between the Huarmey and Fortaleza. The latter desert, much of which is loose sand, is called the "Pampa de Mata Cavallos," from the number of exhausted animals which die there. Between the Supé and Pativilca is the desert called the "Pampa del Medio Mundo." (4) The next coast-section extends for over 300 miles from Chancay to Nasca, and includes the rivers of Chancay or Lacha, of Carabayllo, Rimac, Lurin, Mala. Cañete, Chincha, Pisco or Chunchanga, Yca and Rio Grande. Here the maritime range approaches the ocean, leaving a narrower strip of coast, but the fertile valleys are closer and more numerous. Those of Carabayllo and Rimac are connected, and the view from the Bay of Callao extends over a vast expanse of fertile plain bounded by the Andes, with the white towers of Lima in a setting of verdure. Lurin and Mala are smaller valleys, but the great vale of Cañete is one green sheet of sugar-cane; and narrow strips of desert separate it from the fertile plain of Chincha, and Chincha from the famous vineyards of Pisco. The valleys of Yca, Palpa, San Xavier, and Nasca are rich and fertile though they do not extend to the sea ; but between Nasca and Acari there is a desert 60 miles in width. (5) The Arequipa and Tacna section extends over 350 miles, and comprises the valleys of Acari, Atequipa, Atico, Ocoña, Majes or Camana, Quilca, with the interior valley of Arequipa, tampo, Ylo or Moquegua, Ité or Locumba, Sama, tacna, and Azapa or Arica. Here the Maritime Cordillera recedes, and the important valley of Arequipa, though on its western slope, is 7000 feet above the sea, and 90 miles from the coast. Most of the rivers here have their sources in the central range, and are well supplied with water. The coast-valleys through which they flow, especially those of Majes and Locumba, are famous for their vineyards, and in the valley of Tambo there are extensive olive plantations. (6) The most southern coast-section is that.of Tarapaca, extending, between the cordillera and the Pacific in a narrow strip from the ravine of Camarones, south of Arica, to the former southern frontier of Peru. Only two rivers reach the sea in Tarapaca, the Tiliviche in the north of the province, and the Loa in the extreme south. The other streams are lost in the desert soon after they issue from their ravines in the Andes. The reason o this is that in Tarapaca there is an arid range of hills parallel with the sea-shore, which is about 30 miles in width, and covered with sand and saline substances. Between this const-range and the Andes is the great plateau called the "Pampa de Tamarugal," from 3000 to 3500 feet above the sea, which is about 30 miles wide, and extends the whole length of Tarapaca. This plateau is covered with sand, and contains vast deposits of nitrate of soda. Here and there a few "tamarugas" or acacia trees are met with, which give their name to the region.

The coast of Peru has few protected anchorages, and the headlands are generally abrupt and lofty. These and the few islands are frequented by myriads of sea-birds, whence come the guano-deposits, the retention of ammonia and other fertilizing properties being due to the absence of rain. The islets off the coast are all barren and rocky.

The most northern is Foca, in 5° 13' 30" S. near the coast to the south of Payta. The islands of Lobos de Tierra and Lobos de Afuera (2), in 6° 27' 45" S. and 6° 56' 45" S. respectively are off the desert of Sechura, and contain deposits of guano. The two Afuera islands are 60 and 36 miles from the coast at the port of San José. The islets of Macabi, in 7° 49' 20" S., also have guano-deposits, now nearly exhausted. The two islets of Guañape, surrounded by many rocks in 8° 34' S., contain rich deposits. Chao rises 450 feet above the sea, off the coast, in 8° 46' 30" S. Corcobado is in 8º 57' S. La Viuda is off the port of Casma, in 9° 23' 30" S.; and Tortuga is 2 miles distant to the north. Santa Islet lies off the bay of Cosca, in 9º 1' 40", and the three high rocks of Ferrol in 9º 8' 30 S. Farther south there is the group of islets and rocks called Huaura, in 11º 2' S., the chief of which are El Pelado, Tambillo, Chiquitana, Bravo , Quitacalzones, and Mazorque. The Hormigas are in 11º 47' S. and 11° 58', and the Pescadores in 11° 47' S. The island of San Lorenzo, in 12° 4' S., is a lofty mass, 4 1/2 miles long by 1 broad, forming the Bay of Callao ; its highest point is 1050 feet. Off its south-east end lies a small but lofty islet called Fronton, and to the south-west are the Palomitas Rocks. Horadada Islet, with a hole through it is to the south of Callao Point. Off the valley of Lurin are the Pachacamac Islands, the most northern and largest being half a mile long. The next, called San Francisco, is like a sugar-loaf, perfectly rounded at the top. The others are mere rocks. Asia Island is farther south, 17 miles north-west o Cerro Azul .and about a mile in circuit. Pisco Bay contains San Gallan Island, high, with a bold cliff outline, 2 1/2 miles long by 1 broad the Ballista Islets and farther north the three famous Chinclia Islands, whose vast guano-deposits are now exhausted. South of the entrance to Pisco Bay is Zarate Island, and farther south the white level islet of Santa Rosa. The Infiernillo rock is quite black, about 50 feet high, in the form of a sugar-loaf, a mile west of the Point of Santa Maria, which is near the mouth of the Yca river. Alacran is a small islet off the lofty "morro" of Arica. A low island protects the anchorage of Iquique on the coast of Tarapaca, and farther south are the three islets of Patillos in 20° 46' 20" S., and the Pajaros, with guano-deposits, in 22° 6' 4" S. All these rocks and islets are barren and uninhabitable, mere outworks of the desert headlands.

The more common sea-birds, which haunt the islets and headlands in countless myriads, are the Sula variegata or guano-bird, a large gull called the Larus modestus the Pelecanus thayus, and the Sterna Ynca, a beautiful tern with curved white feathers on each side of the head. The rarest of all the gulls is also found on the Peruvian coast, namely the Xema furcatum.1 The immense flocks of birds, as they fly along the coast, appear like clouds, and one after another is incessantly seen to plunge from a height into the sea to devour the fishes, which they find in extraordinary numbers. The guano-deposits are in layers from ca 40 to 50 feet thick, of a greyish-brown colour outside, and of more and more solid from the surface downwards, owing to he the gradual deposit of strata and evaporation of fluid particles. Sea-lions (Otaria forsteri) are common on the rocky islands and promontories. These large creatures frequent particular islets for the purpose of breathing their last, the wounded or aged being helped there by their companions,

The Maritime Cordillera, overhanging the Peruvian coast, contains a long line of volcanic mountains, most of them inactive, but their presence is probably connected with the frequent and severe earthquakes, especially in the southern section of the coast. Since the year 1570 there have been seventy violently destructive earthquakes recorded on the west coast of South America, but the register is of course incomplete in its earlier part. The most terrible was that of 1745, which destroyed Callao. There had been subterranean noises for some days previously ; the first shock was at 10.30 P.M. on 28th October, and there were 220 shocks in the following twenty-four hours. The town was overwhelmed by a vast wave, which rose 80 feet; and the shocks continued until the following February. On 13th August 1868 an earthquake nearly destroyed Arequipa, and great waves rolled in upon the ports of Arica and Iquique. On 9th May 1877 nearly all the southern ports were overwhelmed. These fearful catastrophes are in greatest force where there are volcanoes, whether active or extinct, in the vicinity. That of 1877 had its origin in the volcanic mountains near the frontier of Peru and Bolivia, and spent its chief fury near its centre of origin, gradually working itself out as it went north. Usually the line of disturbance is meridional and along the coast, but in some instances the line takes a seaward direction at an angle with the mountain-chains.

The most important part of Peru is the region of the cordilleras of the Andes divided into "puna" or lofty uninhabited wilderness, and "sierra" or inhabitable mountain slopes and valleys. This great mountain-system, running south-east to north-west with the line of the coast, consists of three chains or cordilleras. The two chains which run parallel, and near each other on the western side, are of identical origin, and have been separated by the action of water during many centuries. On these chains are the volcanoes and many thermal springs. The narrow space between them is for the most part, but not always, a cold and lofty region known as the "puna," containing alpine lakes,—the sources of the coast-rivers. The great eastern chain, rising from the basin of the Amazon and forming the inner wall of the system, is of distinct origin. These three chains are called the Maritime Cordillera, the Central Cordillera, and the Andes. Paz Soldan and other Peruvian geographers give the name of Andes, par excellence, to the eastern cordillera.

The Peruvian Maritime Cordillera contains a regular chain of volcanic peaks overlooking the coast-region of Tarapaca, which attain a height of 16,000 to 18,000 feet. Chief among them are the snowy peak of Lirima over the ravine of Tarapaca, the volcano of Isluga overhanging Camiña, the unmeasured peak of Sehama, and Tacora near the Bolivian frontier. In rear of Moquegua there is a group of volcanic peaks, clustering round those of Ubinas and Huaynaputina. A great eruption of Huaynaputina commenced on 15th February 1600 and continued until the 28th. An incessant rain of fine white sand was poured over the surrounding country for a distance of 40 miles, accompanied by a mighty subterraneous roaring sound. But generally these volcanoes are quiescent. Farther north the Misti volcano rises over the city of Arequipa in a perfect cone to a height of over 18,000 feet, and near its base are the hot sulphur and iron springs of Yura. As the maritime chain advances northward it fully maintains its elevation. The peak of Sarasara, in Parinacochas (Ayacucho), is 19,500 feet above the sea, and in the mountains above Lima the passes attain a height of more than 15,000. In latitude 10º S. the maritime chain separates into two branches, which run parallel to each other for 100 miles, enclosing the remarkable ravine or Callejon de Huaylas,—the eastern or main branch being known as the Cordillera Nevada and the western as the Cordillera Negra. On the Nevada the peak of Huascan reaches a height of 22,000 feet, according to the trigo-nometrical measurement of the railway engineer Hindle. The Huandoy peak, above Carhuaz, reaches to 21,088 feet; the Hualcan peak, overhanging the town of Yungay, is 19,945 feet high; and most of the peaks in this part of the chain reach a height of 19,000 feet. During the rainy season, from October to May, the sky is generally clear at dawn, and the magnificent snowy peaks, with sharply-defined outlines, stand out in lovely contrast to the deep-blue background. But as the day advances the clouds collect, and the whole is shrouded in a dense veil. In most parts of the Peruvian Andes the line of perpetual snow is at 16,400 feet above the sea; but on the Cordillera Nevada, above the Callejon de Huaylas, it sinks to 15,400 feet. This greater cold is obviously caused by the intervention of the Cordillera Negra, which intercepts the warmth from the coast. As this lower chain does not reach the snow-line, the streams rising from it are very scantily supplied with water, while the Santa, Pativilca, and other coast-rivers which break through it from sources in the snowy chain have a greater volume from the melted snows. At the point where the river Santa breaks through the Cordillera Negra that range begins to subside, while the Maritime Cordillera continues as one chain to and beyond the frontier of Ecuador.
The Central Cordillera is the true water-parting of the system. No river, except the Marañon, breaks through it either to the east or west, while more than twenty coast-streams rise on its slopes and force their way through the maritime chain. The Central Cordillera consists mainly of crystalline and volcanic rocks, on each side of which are aqueous, in great part Jurassic, strata thrown up almost vertically. In 14° 30' S. lat. the central chain is connected with the Eastern Andes by the transverse mountain-knot of Vilcañota, the peak of that name being 17,500 feet above the sea. The great inland basin of Lake Titicaca is thus formed. The central chain continues to run parallel with the Maritime Cordillera until, at Cerro Pasco, another transverse knot connects it with the Andes in 10° 30' S. lat. It then continues northward, separating the basins of the Marañon and Huallaga ; and at the northern frontier of Peru it is at length broken through by the Marañon flowing to the eastward.

The Eastern Andes is a magnificent range in the southern part of Peru, of Silurian formation, with talcose and clay slates, many quartz veins, and eruptions of granitic rocks. Mr Forbes says that the peaks of Illampu (21,470 feet) and Illimani (21,040 feet) in Bolivia are Silurian and fossiliferous to their summits. The eastern range is cut through by six rivers in Peru, namely, the Marañon and Huallaga, the Perene, Mantaro, Apurimac, Vilcamayu, and Paucartambo, the last five being tributaries of the Ucayali. The range of the Andes in south Peru has a high plateau to the west and the vast plains of the Amazonian basin to the east. The whole range is highly auriferous, and the thickness of the strata is not less than 10,000 feet. It is nowhere disturbed by volcanic eruptions, except at the very edge of the formation near Lake Titicaca, and in this respect it differs essentially from the Maritime Cordillera. To the eastward numerous spurs extend for varying distances into the great plain of the Amazons. It is here that the majestic beauty of the Andean scenery is fully realized : masses of dark mountains rise for thousands of feet, with their bases washed by foaming torrents and their summits terminating in sharp peaks or serrated ridges; the lower slopes are covered with dense vegetation; and everywhere there is flowing water in cascades or rushing torrents, the condensed moisture of the trade-winds hurrying back to the Atlantic. The Andes lose their majestic height to the northward; and beyond Cerro Pasco the eastern chain sinks into a lower range between the Huallaga and Ucayali. But throughout the length of Peru the three ranges are clearly defined.

For purposes of description the sierra of Peru may be conveniently divided into four sections, each embracing portions of all three ranges. The first, from the north, comprises the upper basins of the Mara_on and the Huallaga, and is 350 miles long by 100 broad. The second extends from the Knot of Cerro Pasco to Ayacucho, about 200 miles, including the Lake of Chinchay-cocha and the basin of the river Xauxa. The third or Cuzco section extends 250 miles to the Knot of Vilcañota with the basins of the Pampas, Apurimac, Vilcamayu, and Paucartambo. The fourth is the basin of Lake Titicaca, about 150 miles in length and breadth.

The Lake of Chinchay-cocha, in the second section, is 36 miles long by 7 miles broad, and 13,000 feet above the sea. Its marshy banks are overgrown with reeds and inhabited by numerous water-fowl. From this lake the river Xauxa flows southwards through a populous valley for 150 miles before entering the forests. Lake Titicaca, in the fourth or most southern section, is about 80 miles long by 40 broad, the frontier of Bolivia passing across it diagonally. It is 12,545 feet above the sea by the railroad-levels. The drainage is carried off southwards by the river Desaguadero to the great swampy Lake of Aullagas in the south of Bolivia, while it is fed by streams from the Andes and the Central Cordillera. The largest is the Ramiz, formed by the two streams of Pucara and Azangaro, both coming from the Knot of Vilcañota to the north. The Suchiz, formed by the Cavanilla and Lampa streams, falls into the lake on the north-west side, as well as the Yllpa and Ylave. Much of the water flows out by the Desaguadero, but a great proportion is taken up by evaporation in the dry season from April to September. The waters are gradually receding under the combined influence of evaporation and the sediment brought down by the rivers. The deepest part of the lake is on the Bolivian side ; in other parts it is very shoaly, and along the shore there are many acres of tall reeds. The principal islands are Titicaca and Coati (at the south end near the peninsula of Copacabana), Campanaria (9 miles from the east shore), Soto, and Esteves. There are two other lakes in the Collao, as the elevated region round Titicaca is called. Lake Arapa, a few miles from the northern shore of Titicaca, is 30 miles in circumference. Lake Umayo is on higher ground to the west-ward. The lake in Peru which is third in size is that of Parina-cochas on the coast watershed, near the foot of the snowy peak of Sarasara. It is 12 miles long by 6 broad, but has never been visited and described by any modern traveller. The smaller alpine lakes, often forming the sources of rivers, are numerous.

The great rivers of the sierra are the Marañon, rising in the Lake of Lauricocha and flowing northward in a deep gorge between the Maritime and Central Cordilleras for 350 miles, when it forces its way through the mountains at the famous Pongo de Mauseriche and enters the Amazonian plain. The Huallaga rises north of Cerro Pasco, and, passing Huanuco, flows northwards on the other side of the Central Cordillera for 300 miles. It breaks through the range at the Pongo de Chasuta and falls into the Marañon. The other great rivers are tributaries of the Ucayali. The Pozuzu, flowing eastward from the Knot of Cerro Pasco, joins the Pachitea, which is the most northern important affluent of the Ucayali. The Xauxa, becoming afterwards the Mantaro, receives the drainage of Xauxa, Huancavelica, and Ayacucho. The southern valleys of this part of the sierra furnish streams which form the main rivers of Pampas, Pachachaca, and Apurimac. These, uniting with the Mantaro, form the Ene, and the Ene and Perene (which drains the province of Tambo) form the Tambo. The classic river of Vilcamayu rises on the Knot of Vilcañota, flows north through a lovely valley, receives the Yanatilde and Paucartambo on its right bank, and, uniting with the Tambo, forms the Ucayali. Most of these main streams flow through profound gorges in a tropical climate, while the upper slopes yield products of the temperate zone, and the plateaus above are cold and bleak, affording only pasture and the hardiest cereals.
The great variety of elevation within the sierra produces vegetation belonging to every zone. There is a tropical flora in the deep gorges, higher up a sub-tropical, then a temperate, then a sub-arctic flora. In ascending from the coast-valleys there is first an arid range, where the great-branched cacti rear themselves up among the rocks. Farther inland, where the rains ye more plentiful, is the native home of the potato. Here also are other plants with edible roots—the "oca" (Oxalis tuberosa), "ulluca" (Ullucus tuberosus), "massua" (Tropoeolum tuberosum), and "learcó" (Polymnia sonchtfolia). Among the first wild shrubs and trees that are met with are the "chilca" (Baccharis Feuillei), with a pretty yellow flower, the Mutisia acuminata, with beautiful red and orange flowers, several species of Senecio, calceolarias, the Schinus Molle, with its graceful branches and bunches of red berries, and at higher elevations the "lambras" Alnus acuminata), the "sauco" (Sambucus peruviana), the "queñuar" (Buddleia incana), and the Polylepis racemosa. The Buddleia, locally called "oliva silvestre," flourishes at a height of 12,000 feet round the shores of Lake Titicaca. The temperate valleys of the sierra yield fruits of many kinds. Those indigenous to the country are the delicious "chirimoyas," "paltas" or alligator pears, the "paccay," a species of Inga, the "lucma," and the "granadilla" or fruit of the passion-flower. Vineyards and sugar-cane yield crops in the warmer ravines; the sub-tropical valleys are famous for splendid crops of maize ; wheat and barley thrive on the mountain slopes ; and at heights from 7000 to 13,000 feet there are crops of "quinua" (Chenopodium Quinua). In the loftiest regions the pasture chiefly consists of a coarse grass (Stipa Ychu), of which the llamas eat the upper blades while the sheep browse on the tender shoots beneath. There are also two kinds of shrubby plants, a thorny Composita called "ccanlli" and another called "tola," which is a resinous Baccharis, and is used for fuel.

The animals which specially belong to the Peruvian Andes are the domestic llamas and alpacas and the wild vicunas. There are deer, called "taruco" (Cervus antisensis), the "viscacha," a large rodent, a species of fox called "atoc" ; and the "puma" (Felis concolor) and "ucumari" or black bear with a white muzzle, when driven by hunger, wander into the loftier regions. The largest bird is the condor, and there is another bird of the vulture tribe, with a black and white wing feather, formerly used by the Yncas in their head-dress, called the "coraquenque" or "alcamari." The "pito" is a brown speckled creeper which flutters about the rocks. There is a little bird, the size of a starling, with brown back striped with black, and white breast, which the Indians call " yncahualpa" ; it utters a monotonous sound at each hour of the night. A partridge called "yutu" frequents the long grass. On the lakes there is a very handsome goose, with white body and dark-green wings shading into violet, called "huachua," two kinds of ibis, a large gull (Larus serranus), frequenting the alpine lakes in flocks, flamingoes called "parihuana," ducks, and water-hens. Many pretty little finches fly about the maize-fields and fruit-gardens, and a little green parakeet is met with as high as 12,000 feet above the sea.

The third division of Peru is the region of the tropical forests, at the base of the Andes, and within the basin of the Amazons. It is traversed by great navigable rivers. The Marañon, having burst through the defile of the Pongo de Mauseriche, and the Huallaga through that of Chasuta, enter the forests and unite after separate courses of about 600 and 400 miles, the united flood then flowing eastward to the Brazilian frontier. After 150 miles it is joined by the Ucayali, a great navigable river with a course of 600 miles. The country between the Huallaga and the Ucayali, traversed by the eastern cordillera, is called the Pampa del Sacramento. The forests drained by the Marañon, Huallaga, and Ucayali form the northern portion of the Peruvian montaña. The southern half of the montaña is watered by streams flowing from the Eastern Andes, which go to form the river Madre de Dios or Amaru-mayu, the principal branch of the river Beni, which falls into the Madeira. The region of the Peruvian montaña, which is 800 miles long from the Marañon to the Bolivian frontier, is naturally divided into two sections, the sub-tropical forests in the ravines and on the eastern slopes of the Andes and the dense tropical forests in the Amazonian plain. The sub-tropical section is important from the value of its products, and interesting from the grandeur and beauty of its scenery. Long spurs run off from the Andes, gradually decreasing in elevation, and it is sometimes a distance of 60 or 80 miles before they finally subside into the vast forest-covered plains of the Amazon basin. Numerous rivers flow through the valleys between these spurs, which are the native home of the quinine-yielding chinchona trees. The most valuable species, called C. Calisaya, is found in the forests of Caravaya in south Peru and in those of Bolivia. The species between Caravaya , and the head-waters of the Huallaga yield very little of the febrifuge alkaloid, But the forests of Huanuco and Huamalies abound in species yielding the grey bark of commerce, which is rich in chinchonine, an alkaloid efficacious as a febrifuge, though inferior to quinine. With the chinchona trees grow many kinds of Melastomaceae, especially the Lasiandra, with masses of purple flowers, tree-ferns, and palms. In the warm valleys there are large plantations of coca (Erytkroxylon Coca), or CUCA. (see vol. vi. p. 684), the annual produce of which is stated at 15,000,000 lb. The other products of these warm valleys are most excellent coffee, cocoa, sugar, tropical fruits of all kinds, and gold in great abundance. In the vast untrodden forests farther east there are timber trees of many kinds, incense trees, a great wealth of india-rubber trees of the Hevea genus, numerous varieties of beautiful palms, sarsaparilla, vanilla, ipecacuanha, and copaiba. The abundant and varied fauna is the same as that of the Brazilian forests.
Population.—The earliest reliable enumeration of the people of Peru was made in 1793, when there were 617,700 Indians, 241,225 mestizos (Indian and white), 136,311 Spaniards, 40,337 negro slaves, and 41,404 mulattos, giving a total of 1,076,977 souls, without counting the wild Indians of the montaña. The ecclesiastics numbered 5496, including 1260 nuns. This tells a sad story of depopulation since the fall of the Yncas, to which the abandoned terraces on the mountain-sides, once highly cultivated, bear silent testimony. In 1862 the population was officially estimated at 2,487,716. The latest census was taken in 1876 with much care. The result was 2,673,075 souls (males 1,352,151, females 1,320,924); of these 57 percent, were Indians, 23 per cent. mestizos, and 20 per cent. of Spanish descent, negroes, Chinese, and foreigners; so that Peru is still the country of the Ynca people.





Political Divisions.—The empire of the Yncas was divided into four main divisions, Chinchay-suyu to the north of Cuzco, Anti-suyu to the east, Colla-suyu to the south, and Cunti-suyu to the west, the whole empire being called Ttahuantin-suyu, or the four governments. Each was ruled by a viceroy, under whom were the "huaranca-camayocs," or officers ruling over thousands, and inferior officers, in regular order, over 500, 100, 50, and 10 men. All disorders and irregularities were checked by the periodical visits of the "tucuyricocs" or inspectors. The Spanish conquest threw this complicated system out of gear. In 1569 the governor, Lope Garcia de Castro, divided Peru into "corregimientos" under officers named "corregidors," of whom there were 77, each in direct communication with the Government at Lima. An important administrative reform was made in 1784, when Peru was divided into 7 "intendencias," each under an officer called an "intendente." These "intendencias" included about 6 of the old "corregimientos," which were called "partidos," under officers named "sub-delegados." Thus the number of officers reporting direct to Lima was reduced from 77 to 7, a great improvement. The republic adopted the same system, calling the "intendencias" "departments" under a prefect, and the "partidos" "provinces" under a sub-prefect. Peru is divided into 18 departments, 2 littoral provinces, and what is called the constitutional province of Callao. The departments contain 95 provinces. The Government recognizes 65 cities, 70 towns, 1337 smaller towns, 641 villages, 40 hamlets on the sea-coast, and 600 in the rural districts. The departments (going from north to south) are :—
Coasts.
Piura.
Lambayeque
Libertad.
Ancachs.
Lima.
Yca.
Arequipa.
Moquegua.
Tacna.
Sierra.
Caxamarca.
Huanuco.
Junin.
Huancavelica.
Ayacucho.
Apurimac.
Cuzco.
Puno.
Montaña.
Amazonas and Lorete.

Towns and Seaports.—The principal towns on the coast, except Payta, Callao, and Arica, are always some distance from the seashore. San Miguel de Piura, founded by Pizarro in 1532, is on the river of the same name. The towns in all parts of Peru are built on the same plan where the ground will allow of it, in squares or "quadras," with the streets at right angles, and a quadrangular open space or "plaza," one side being occupied by the principal church, near the centre. The church usually has an ornamental facade in the Renaissance style, with two towers. The houses on the coast are flat-roofed, with folding doors to the street, leading to a court or "patio," with rooms opening on it. Piura is a town of this class. Farther south are the cities of Lambayeque, Chiclayo, and Saña. Truxillo, founded by Pizarro in 1535, is of more importance. It is of oval shape, and was surrounded by walls with fifteen bastions, built in 1686, which have recently been demolished. Besides the cathedral, seat of a bishopric founded in 1609, there are three churches, and formerly four monasteries and a Jesuit college. Truxillo is the most important city north of Lima.

To the north of Lima there are five principal ports and thirteen smaller ones. Payta has a good anchorage and exports the cotton of the Chira and Piura valleys, the anchorages of Tumbez to the north and Sechura to the south being subsidiary to it. Pimentel is the port for the valleys of Lambayeque and Chiclayo, and Eten for that of Ferreñafe, the older port of San Jose having been abandoned as more dangerous. Pacasmayo, also a precarious anchorage, is the port which taps the rich valley of Jequetepeque. Farther south Malabrigo is the port for the valley of Chicama. Huanchaco was formerly the port for Truxillo, but Salaverry, a few miles to the south, has been substituted as affording a safer anchorage. Santiago de Chao and Guañape in the Viru district are lesser ports, the latter being resorted to by ships loading with guano at the adjacent islands. Chimbote, in the bay of Ferrol, has a good anchorage, and is important as the principal outlet for the Santa valley and the department of Ancachs. Farther south are the lesser ports of Santa, Samanco, Casma, Huarmey, Supé, Huacho, Chancay, and Ancon.

Lima, the capital (see vol. xiv. p. 644), according to the census of 1876, had a population of 100,046, of whom 33,020 were of European descent, 23,010 half-castes, 19,630 Indians, 15,378 foreigners, and 9008 negroes. South of Lima are the cities of Chincha and Yea, with the principal seaport of Pisco, whence the wines and spirits of the adjacent valleys are exported. The small ports of Cerro Azul and Tambo Mora export the sugars of the Cañete and Chincha valleys. Farther south the exposed port of Chala, with a bad anchorage, is used for the valley of Acari and the province of Parinacochas in the mountains. South-east of Yea are the charming agricultural towns of Palpa and Nasca. AKEQUIPA (see vol. ii. p. 484), the most important coast-city south of Lima, was founded by Pizarro in 1536. South of Arequipa is the littoral province of Moquegua, with a pleasant town, the centre of a vine-growing industry. The cities of Tacna, Arica, and Iquique are in the Chilian province of Tarapaca. The ports of Arequipa were formerly Quilca, then Islay, and now Mollendo. Ylo and Pacocha, in the same bay, are the ports of Moquegua ; Saña, under the lofty headland of the same name, is a port where landing is impossible except in "balsas," and it is little used. Arica was a very important port before the Chilian invasion, as through it passed all the trade to Bolivia. Iquique and Pisagua are the chief ports of Tarapaca, the others being Junin, Mexillones, Molle, Chucumata, Patillos.

In the sierra there is the same regularity in intention in laying out the plan of the towns, but it is often interfered with by the irregularity of the ground. High-pitched red tiled roofs take the place of the flat roofs of the coast. The upper stories often recede, leaving wide corridors under the overhanging eaves, and in the "plazas" there are frequently covered arcades. Fruit-gardens and fields waving with lucerne and barley encircle the towns, and there is almost always a background of mountain-ranges. The principal interior towns in the north of Peru are Caxamarca, Huaraz, Huanuco, Cerro Pasco, the centre of the great silver-mining industry, 13,200 feet above the sea, Tarma, and Xauxa. Huancavelica owed its existence to the famous quicksilver mine. Ayacucho, formerly Guamanga, founded by Pizarro in 1539, is a charming abode amidst lovely scenery. Between Ayacucho and Cuzco are the pleasant towns of Andahuaylas and Abancay. CUZCO (see vol. vi. p. 744), the centre of Peru, the old capital of the Yncas, lies at the foot of the famous hill of Sacsahuaman. South of Cuzco are many delightful places in the vale of Vilcamayu, and the towns in the Collao, the chief being Puno on the shore of Lake Titicaca.

Commerce.—The resources of Peru consist of its mineral wealth, its flocks, yielding valuable wool, its crops, and the products of its virgin-forests. Silver-mines extend along the whole length of the cordilleras from Hualgayoc to Puno. The mines are worked here and there, the great centre of this industry being at Cerro Pasco, where 1,427,592 ounces of silver were produced in 1877. The value of the silver exported from Peru in that year was £575,000, of copper £330,000 ; of gold there is no return. The exportation of guano from the Chincha Islands began in 1846 and continued until 1872. Between 1853 and 1872 there were 8,000,000 tons shipped from these islands. The deposits on the Guanape Islands were first worked in 1869, and from that year to 1871 as many as 838,853 tons were shipped,—460,000 tons remaining. On the three Macabi Islands there were 400,000 tons of guano in 1872, and large deposits on the Lobos Islands. But the most important discoveries of guano-deposits, since the exhaustion of the Chincha Islands, have been on the coast of Tarapaca. In 1876 the quantity at Pabellon de Pica was calculated at 350,000 tons, at Punta de Lobos 200,000 tons, at Huanillos 1,000,000 tons (buried under huge boulders of rock), at Chipana 250,000 tons. The total quantity of guano on islands north of Lima may be 600,000 tons, and on the coast of Tarapaca 1,800,000 tons.

Since 1830 nitrate of soda has been exported from the southern ports of Peru, the deposits being found on the western side of the Pampa de Tamarugal in Tarapaca. This region contains sufficient nitrate for the supply of Europe for ages. From 1830 to 1850 the export from Iquique amounted to 239,860 tons; in 1875 the annual export reached its maximum (326,869 tons).

The sugar cultivation in the coast-valleys is a great source of wealth. In 1877 the yield was estimated at 85,000 tons, valued at £1,360,000; of this quantity 63,370 tons went to Great Britain. Cotton, an indigenous product of the coast-valleys, is next in importance to sugar, the estates being worked with intelligence and a due outlay of capital. The cultivation of the vine is also a profitable industry,—a well-known spirit and excellent wine being made in the valleys of Pisco and Yca, and in the districts of Majes and Moquegua. Rice-crops are raised at Ferreñafe ; olives are grown largely in the Tambo valley ; and the silk-worm and cochineal insect have been successfully cultivated. In the sierra large quantities of wheat, barley, and potatoes are raised, and millions of pounds of alpaca and sheep’s-wool are exported. From the forests of the montaña come chinchona bark, coca, coffee of the finest quality, cocoa, india-rubber, and some medicinal roots.

Communication.—Several railroads have been constructed of late years to connect the coast-towns and valleys with their seaports. That from Payta to Piura, contracted for in 1872, is 63 miles long ; one from the port of Pimentel to Chiclayo and Lambayeque has a length of 45 miles. There are 50 miles of railway from Eten to Ferreñafe, 93 from Pacasmayo to Magdalena, 25 from Malabrigo to Ascope and the Chicama valley, 85 from Salaverry to Truxillo, 172 from Chimbote to Huaraz (only 52 finished). Several short lines radiate from Lima. A line from Pisco to Yca is 48 miles long, from Mollendo to Arequipa 107, from Ylo to Moquegua 63 miles, from Arica to Tacna 39 miles ; and there are railroads in Tarapaca connecting the nitrate-works with the ports of Pisagua, Iquique, and Patillos. At Cerro Pasco a short line, begun in 1869, connects the silver-mines with the town. A railroad was commenced in 1870, from Callao and Lima, across the western and central cordilleras to Oroya, 12,178 feet above the sea in the valley of Xauxa, a distance of 136 miles. It ascends the valley of the Rimac, rising nearly 5000 feet in the first 46 miles. It then threads intricate gorges of the Andes, along the edges of precipices and over deep chasms. It tunnels the Andes at a height of 15,645 feet. There are sixty-three tunnels, and the bridge of Verrugas spans a chasm 580 feet wide, resting on three piers, the centre one being 252 feet high, made of hollow wrought-iron. This great work is completed (1884) as far as Chicia, a distance of 86 3/4 miles. Another railroad across the Andes connects Arequipa with Puno on the shores of Lake Titicaca. The summit is crossed in a cutting only 6 feet deep, 14,660 feet above the sea. The first locomotive reached Puno on 1st January 1874. The line is 232 miles long, and is to be prolonged to Cuzco. The cost of the Oroya line has been £4,625,887, and of the Arequipa and Puno line £4,346,659.

Two steamers were launched on Lake Titicaca in March 1874, which carry the traffic from Bolivia to Puno. Extensive harbour-works have been completed at Callao since 1870; and iron piers have been constructed at other ports. Steam communication connects the Peruvian ports on the Huallaga and Marañon with the Brazilian line at Tabatinga.

Education and Literature. —Universities and colleges were founded in Peru very soon after the conquest, and there was intellectual progress both among the Indians and the families of Spanish descent. The university of San Marcos at Lima is the most ancient in the New World, having been created by order of Charles V. in 1551. The college of San Carlos was founded in 1770, and the school of medicine in 1792. At Cuzco the university of San Antonio Abad was founded in 1598, and the college of San Geronimo at Arequipa in 1616. Since the independence there has been very considerable intellectual and educational progress in the country. There is a university of the first rank at Lima, 5 lesser universities, 33 colleges for boys and 18 for girls, 1578 schools for boys and 729 for girls, besides private schools. The most prolific author in Spanish times was Dr Pedro de Peralta y Barnuevo, author of an epic poem called Lima Fundada and many other works. Towards the latter end of the last century scientific studies began to receive attention in Peru. M. Godin, a member of the French commission for measuring an arc of the meridian near Quito, became professor of mathematics at San Marcos in 1750 ; and the botanical expeditions sent out from Spain gave further zest to scientific research. Dr Gabriel Moreno (died 1809), a native of Huamantanga in the Maritime Cordillera, studied under Dr Jussieu, and became an eminent botanist. Don Hipolito Unanue, born at Arica in 1755, wrote an important work on the climate of Lima and contributed to the Mercurio Peruano. This periodical was commenced in 1791 at Lima, the contributors forming a society called "Amantes del Pais," and it was completed in eleven volumes. It contains many valuable articles on history, topography, botany, mining, commerce, and statistics. An ephemeris and guide to Peru was commenced by the learned geographer Dr Cosme Bueno, and continued by Dr Unanue, who brought out his guides at Lima from 1793 to 1798. In 1794 a nautical school was founded at lima, with Andres Baleato as instructor and Pedro Alvarez ns teacher of the use of instruments. Baleato also constructed a map of Peru. A list of Peruvian authors in viceregal times occupies a long chapter in the life of St Toribio1 by Mentalvo ; and the bibliographical labours of the Peruvian Leon Pinelo are still invaluable to Spanish students.

The topographical labours of Cosme Bueno and Unanue were ably continued at Lima by Admiral Don Eduardo Carrasco, who compiled annual guides of Peru from 1826. But the most eminent Peruvian geographer is Dr Don Mariano Felipe Paz Soldan, whose Geografia del Peru appeared in 1862. His still more important work, the Diccionario geografico estadistico del Peru (1877), is a gazetteer on a most complete scale, displaying an immense amount of labour, research, and literary skill. In 1868 appeared his first volume of the Historio, del Peru Independiente, and two others have since been published. The earlier history of Peru has been written in three volumes by Sebastian Lorente; Mariano Rivero has ably discussed its antiquities; and Manuel Fuentes has edited six interesting volumes of memoirs written by Spanish viceroys. But the most valuable and important historical work by a modern Peruvian is undoubtedly General Mendiburu’s Diccinario Historico-Biografico del Peru, a monument of patient and conscientious research, combined with critical discernment of a high order, which has certainly secured for its accomplished author a permanent place in the history of literature. As laborious historical students, Don José Toribio Polo, the author of an ecclesiastical history of Peruvian dioceses, and Don Enrique Torres Saldamando, the historian of the Jesuits in Peru, have great merit. Among good local annalists may be mentioned Juan Gilberto Valdivia, who has written a history of Arequipa, and Pio Benigno Mesa, the author of the Annals of Cuzco.

The leading Peruvian authors on constitutional and legal subjects are Dr José Santistevan, who has published volumes on civil and criminal law; Luis Felipe Villaran, author of a work on constitutional right; Dr Francisco Garcia Calderon (late president of Peru), author of a dictionary of Peruvian legislation in two volumes; Dr Francisco Xavier Mariategui, one of the fathers of Peruvian independence; and Dr Francisco de Paula Vijil (died 1875), orator and statesman as well as author, whose work Defensa de los Gobiernos is a noble and enlightened statement of the case for civil governments against the pretensions of the court of Rome. Manuel A. Fuentes, an able statistician and the author of the Estadistica de Lima, has also written a manual of parliamentary practice.

On the whole, Peruvian literature since the independence has attained to highest merit in the walks of poetry and romance. The Guayaquil author Olmedo, who wrote the famous ode on the victory of Junin, and the Limenians Felipe Pardo and Manuel Segura are names well known wherever the Spanish language is spoken. Pardo, as well as Segura, wrote in a satirical vein. Both died between 1860 and 1870. The comedies of Segura on the customs of Lima society, entitled Un Paseo a Amancaes and La Saya y Manto, have no equal in the dramatic literature of Spanish America and few in that of modern Spain. From 1848 date the first poetical efforts of Arnaldo Marquez, Manuel Nicolas Corpancho, Adolfo Garcia, Clemente Althaus, Pedro Paz Soldan (better known under his nom de plume of "Juan de Arona"), Carlos Augusto Salaverry, a son of the ill-fated general, Luis Benjamin Cisneros, Trinidad Fernandez, Constantino Carrasco, Narciso Arestegui, José Antonio Lavalle, Ricardo Palma, and Numa Pompilio Llona. Marquez is undoubtedly the most correct in diction and the most richly endowed with imaginative sentiment among Peruvian poets of the present generation. Corpancho was a dramatist of the romantic school and author of a bright little volume of poems entitled Brevas. He perished in a shipwreck off the coast of Mexico when barely thirty years old. Adolfo Garcia is the poet of most robust and vigorous thought, and he has written much, but only one volume of his select poems has been published (Havre, 1870). Among other productions of great merit this book contains a sonnet to Bolivar, which is one of the most beautiful that has appeared from the muse of Peru. Althaus (d. 1880) was a poet, imaginative, tender, elegant, and very careful as regards rhythm and diction. Paz Soldan, a good classical scholar, has published three volumes of poems. Salaverry is one of Peru's best lyrical poets; and the novels of Cisneros, entitled Julia and Edgardo, have secured him a lasting reputation. Fernandez and Carrasco were two poets of merit who died very young. The principal work of Carrasco was his metrical version of the Quichua drama of Ollantay. Lavalle and Arestegui are chiefly known as novelists. Palma has published three books of poetry, entitled Armonias, Verbos y Gerundos, and Pasionarias. Since 1870 he has devoted his great literary powers to writing the historical traditions of Peru in prose, of which six volumes have already appeared. They display great research, and are written in a graceful and agreeable style. Palma is a member of the Spanish Academy, a distinction shared, among Peruvian poets, with Felipe Pardo. The collected poems of Llona have recently been published ; his Canto de la Vida is highly spoken of for its depth of thought and elegance of diction.

Peruvians have not neglected their early history and the study of the literature and language of the Yncas. Several have followed in the footsteps of Rivero. José Sebastian Barranca, the naturalist and antiquary, and Gavino Pacheco Zegarra, a native of Cuzco, have published translations of the ancient Ynca drama of Ollantay. Among Peruvian naturalists since the independence the most distinguished have been Rivero, the geologist and mineralogist, and his friend and colleague Nicolas de Pierola, author of Memorial de Ciencias Naturalcs. Dr Cayetano Heredia, rector of the college of medicine in Lima from 1845 to his death in 1861, was an ardent patron of medical science. His successor, Dr Miguel de los Rios, has followed in his footsteps; and since 1856 many valuable contributions have been published by Peruvian physicians in the Gaceta Medica de Lima.

The most prominent publicists of Peru have been Mariategui, Vijil, Reynaldo and Cesareo Chacaltana, Ricardo Heredia, Jose Casimiro Ulloa, Toribio Pacheco, and Luciano Cisneros.

The Peruvian priesthood though justly accused of tyranny in their relations with the Indians in early times, and of immorality in many instances, can point to numerous learned and upright prelates to devoted parish priests, to noble-minded teachers and ardent patriots in their body. Founded in 1541, and raised to archiepiscopal rank in 1545, the see of Lima has been ruled by twenty-three prelates. The first was a Dominican friar, Dr Gerommo de Loaysa (1542-1575) who was more a politician than a priest. But the second Dr Toribio Mogrovejo (1581-1606), devoted himself to the welfare of his flock, and died in the odour of sanctity, being finally canonized as St Toribio. Since the independence, Archbishop Luna Pizarro has added lustre to the see by his learning and ability. The bishopric of Cuzco was founded by Pope Paul III. in 1537, and has had twenty-seven prelates. Among them, Dr Gorrichategui (1771-76) was an excellent Quichua scholar and preacher and a devoted friend of the oppressed Indians; Dr Moscoso y Peralta (1777-89) was a prelate of consummate virtue and learning. The bishoprics of Arequipa, Guamanga (Ayacucho), and Trucxillo were created in 1609. The missionary bishopric of Maynas or Chachapoyas was founded in 1802, those of Huanuco and Puno in recent times. The Jesuits were once very powerful and wealthy in Peru, and both Jesuits and Franciscans, while working at their calling as missionaries, achieved much valuable geographical work on the rivers and in the forests of the montaña. Since the independence the religious orders have been gradually suppressed, yet monks as well as priests were in the front rank in advocating the cause of liberty. The ecclesiastical seminary at Lima, founded by St Toribio in 1601, was removed to part of the monastery of San Francisco in 1859, where it still flourishes, and where youths intended for holy orders are educated. The priests occupy a very important position in the social system, and much of the teaching is in their hands. Such men as Luna Pizarro and Vijil have performed their duties in a singularly faithful and enlightened spirit. Unfortunately there is still deplorable laxity among parish priests, though there are many noble exceptions.

Inhabitants.—The early inhabitants of Peru originally consisted of several distinct nations, subdivided into many tribes, which were eventually combined in the empire of the Yncas. The principal race was that of the imperial Yncas themselves, inhabiting the two central sections of the sierra, from the Knot of Cerro Pasco to that of Vilcañota, a distance of 380 miles. Here nature has worked on her grandest and most imposing scale. The scenery is magnificent, the products of every zone are collected in the valleys and on the mountain-sides; but the difficulties in the way of advancing civilization, caused by the obstacles of nature, are such as to tax man’s ingenuity to the utmost. A country like this was well adapted for the cradle of an imperial race. Six nations originally peopled this central mountain-region—the Yncas in the valley of the Vilcamayu and surrounding plateaus, the Canas round the sources of the Apurimac, the Quichuas along the upper courses of the Pachachaca and the Apurimac, the Chancas, a very warlike people, from Guamanga to the Apurimac, the Huancas in the valley of the Xauxa, and the Rucanas round the summits and on the slopes of the Maritime Cordillera. These six nations were divided into "ayllus" or tribes, the most distinct of which were the still famous Morochucos and Yquichanos, brave mountaineers of the Chanca nation. There are reasons for believing that these nations once spoke different languages, especially the Chancas, but, excepting a few words imbedded in the general language of the Yncas, they are now lost.

In the basin of Lake Titicaca there was another race, anciently called Colla, but now better known as Aymara. Their language survives, and, though closely allied grammatically, the vocabulary diners from that of the Yncas. Within the Colla region, but differing from the rest of the inhabitants both in language and physical appearance, there was a savage tribe called Urus, inhabiting the reed-beds and islands in the southern part of Lake Titicaca. In the region north of the Knot of Cerro Pasco comprising the basin of the Marañon there were many warlike tribes speaking a language which the Yncas called Chinchaysuyu. The most important of these tribes were the Conchucos, Huamachucos, and Ayahuecas far to the north.

The Peruvian coast appears originally to have been inhabited by a, diminutive race of fishermen called Changes, a gentle and hospitable people, never exceeding 5 feet in height, with flat noses. They fished in boats made of inflated seal-skins, lived in seal-skin huts, and slept on heaps of dried seaweed. Vestiges of this early race may be traced in the far south, as well as at Eten, Morrope, and Catacaos in the north. The later and more civilized coast-people were a very different and an extremely interesting race. They appear to have formed distinct communities in the different valleys each under a chief, of whom the most civilized and powerful was the Chimu, who ruled over the five valleys of Pativilca, Huarmey, Santa, Viru, and Moche, where Truxillo now stands. The subjects of this prince made great advances in civilization, and his vast palaces near Truxillo now form extensive ruins. The irrigation works of this coast-people were most elaborate; every acre of cultivable ground was brought under cultivation, and water was conveyed at high levels from great distances. The Yncas called these people Yuncas, but they have entirely passed away, giving place to the negroes and Chinese labourers who now swarm in the coast-valleys. There is no dictionary of the Yunca language, but there is a grammar and a short list of words written in 1644, before it had entirely ceased to be spoken.

The Ynca or Quichua tribes of the Andes of Peru average a height of 5 feet to 5 feet 6 inches. They are of slender build, but with well-knit muscular frames, and are capable of enduring great fatigue. Their complexions are of a fresh olive-colour, skin very smooth and soft, beardless, hair straight and black, the nose aquiline. They are good cultivators, and excel as shepherds by reason of their patience and kindness to animals. They are naturally gentle, most affectionate to their families, with an intense love of home; but at the same time they are enduring and brave. The Aymaras are more thick-set than the Yncas, and their chief physical peculiarity is that the thigh, instead of being longer, is rather shorter than the leg. The whole build is admirably adapted for mountain-climbing.

The policy of the Yncas was to enforce the use of their language, called by the earliest Spanish grammarian "Quichua," among all the conquered tribes. Hence its very general use throughout the mountainous part of Peru, the only differences being the survival of words in some of the districts from the language or dialect that was superseded. Quichua was the language of a people far advanced in civilization; it was assiduously cultivated by learned men for several centuries; not only songs but elaborate dramas and rituals were composed in it; and it is still the language of the majority of the people of Peru. Aymara, which is a closely-allied tongue, is spoken along the shores of Lake Titicaca.

The wild Indians of the montaña, except a few tribes on the skirts of the Andes, do not belong to the Peruvian family. They are part of the great Tupi group of nations, and belong to the region of the Amazons. On the banks of the Huallaga are the Cocomas, Cholones, Panos, and Motilones; and on the Ucayali the wild tribes of the Cashibos, Capahuanas, Remos, Amajuacas, and Mayorunas. The Conibos, Pirros, Sencis, Setebos, and Shipibos are peaceful traders. The Antis or Campas form a large and important tribe on the upper course of the Ucayali, with probably a large share of Ynca blood in their veins. The savage Indians on the tributaries of the Beni are called Chunchos. It is, however, to another family of the American race that the tribes of the Amazons mainly belong.

History.—Cyclopean ruins of vast edifices, apparently never completed, exist at Tiahuanaco near the southern shore of Lake Titicaca. Remains of a similar character are found at Huaraz in the north of Peru, and at Cuzco, Ollantay-tambo, and Huiñaque between Huaraz and Tiahuanaco. These works appear to have been erected by powerful sovereigns with unlimited command of labour, possibly with the object of giving employment to subjugated people, while feeding the vanity or pleasing the taste of the conqueror. Their unfinished state seems to indicate the break-up of the Government which conceived them and which must have held sway over the whole of Peru, and the occurrence of Aymara words, especially in the names of places over the whole area, points to an Aymara origin for this lost and prehistoric empire. It is certain that for ages afterwards the country was again broken up into many separate nations and tribes. Then the most civilized and most powerful s. people, the Yncas of Cuzco and the Vilcamayu, began slowly to build up and cement together a later and more civilized empire. This great work, which probably occupied five centuries, was just completed when the Spaniards discovered Peru. The history of Ynca civilization has yet to be written. Our knowledge even of the Spanish writers who collected information at the time of the conquest is still very incomplete. Much that is essential for a correct appreciation of this interesting subject is still inedited and in manuscript. But, to comprehend it, a knowledge is also necessary of; the people, of their country and languages. Without such qualifications for the task, the numerous traditions, customs, and beliefs cannot be understood nor assigned to the particular epochs and nationalities to which each belonged. With our existing imperfect knowledge the subject cannot be adequately treated without a detailed and critical examination of conflicting evidence which would be foreign to the purpose of the present article.

The great Ynca Huayna Ocapac died in 1527, the year when Pizarro first appeared on the coast. His consolidated empire extended from the river Ancasmayu north of Quito to the river Maule in the south of Chili. The Yncas had an elaborate system of state-worship, with a ritual, and frequently recurring festivals. History and tradition were preserved by the bards, and dramas were enacted before the sovereign and his court. Roads with post-houses at intervals were made over the wildest mountain-ranges and the bleakest deserts for hundreds of miles. A well-considered system of land-tenure and of colonization provided for the wants of all classes of the people. The administrative details of government were minutely and carefully organized, and accurate statistics were kept by means of the "quipus"' or system of knots. The edifices displayed marvellous building skill, and their workmanship is unsurpassed. The world has nothing to show, in the way of stone-cutting and fitting, to equal the skill and accuracy displayed in the Ynca structures of Cuzco. As workers in metals and as potters they displayed infinite variety of design, though not of a high order, while as cultivators and engineers they in all respects excelled their European conquerors.

The story of the conquest has been told by Prescott and Helps, who give ample references to original authorities ; it will be sufficient here to enumerate the dates of the leading events. On 10th March 1526 the contract for the conquest of Peru was signed by Almagro and Luque, Gaspar de Espinosa supplying the funds. In 1527 Francisco Pizarro, after enduring fearful hardships, first reached the coast of Peru at Tumbez. In the following year he went to Spain, and on 26th July 1529 the capitulation with the crown for the conquest of Peru was executed. Pizarro sailed from San Lucar with his brothers in January 1530, and landed at Tumbez in 1532. The civil war between Huascar and Atahualpa, the sons of Huayna Ccapac, had been fought out in the meanwhile, and the victorious Atahualpa was at Caxamarca on his way from Quito to Cuzco. On 15th November 1532 Francisco Pizarro with his little army entered Caxamarca and in February 1533 his colleague Almagro arrived with reinforcements. The murder of the Ynca Atahualpa was perpetrated on 29th August 1533, and on 15th November Pizarro entered Cuzco. He allowed the rightful heir to the empire, Manco the legitimate son of Huayna Ccapac, to be solemnly crowned on 24th March 1534. Almagro then undertook an expedition to Chili, and Pizarro founded the city of Lima on 18th January 1535. In the following year the Yncas made a brave attempt to expel the invaders, and closely besieged the Spaniards in Cuzco during February and March. But Almagro, returning from Chili, raised the siege on 18th April 1537. Immediately afterwards the dispute arose between the Pizarros and Almagro as to the limits of their respective jurisdictions. An interview took place at Mala, on the sea-coast, on 13th November 1537, which led to no result, and Almagro was finally defeated in the battle of Las Salinas near Cuzco on 26th April 1538. His execution followed. His adherents recognized his young half-caste son, a gallant and noble youth generally known as Almagro the Lad, as his successor. Bitterly discontented, they conspired at Lima and assassinated Pizarro on 26th June 1541. Meanwhile Vaca de Castro had been sent out by the emperor, and on hearing of the murder of Pizarro he assumed the title of governor of Peru. On 16th September 1542 he defeated the army of Almagro the Lad in the battle of Chupas near Guamanga. The ill-fated boy was beheaded at Cuzco.

Charles V. enacted the code known as the "New Laws" in 1542. "Encomiendas," or grants of estates on which the inhabitants were bound to pay tribute and give personal service to the grantee, were to pass to the crown on the death of the actual holder ; a fixed sum was to be assessed as tribute ; and forced personal service was forbidden. Blasco Nunez de Vela was sent out, as first viceroy of Peru, to enforce the "New Laws." Their promulgation aroused a storm among the conquerors. Gonzalo Pizarro rose in rebellion, and entered Lima on 28th October 1544. The viceroy fled to Quito, but was followed, defeated, and killed at the battle of Anaquito on 18th January 1546. The "New Laws" were weakly revoked, and Pedro de la Gasca, as first president of the Audiencia (court of justice) of Peru, was sent out to restore order. He arrived in 1547, and on 8th April 1548 he routed the followers of Gonzalo Pizarro on the plain of Xaquixaguana near Cuzco. Gonzalo was executed on the field. La Gasca made a redistribution of "encomiendas" to the loyal conquerors, which caused great discontent, and left Peru before his scheme was made public in January 1550. On 23d September 1551 Don Antonio de Mendoza arrived as second viceroy, but died at Lima in the following July. The country was then ruled by the judges of the Audiencia, and a formidable insurrection broke out, headed by Francisco Hernandez Giron, with the object of maintaining the right of the conquerors to exact forced service from the Indians. In May 1554 Giron defeated the army of the judges at Chuquinga, but he was hopelessly routed at Pucara on 11th October 1554, captured, and on 7th December executed at Lima. Don Andres Hurtado de Mendoza, marquis of Cañete, entered Lima as third viceroy of Peru on 6th July 1555, and ruled with an iron hand for six years. He at length brought the turbulent conquerors to their knees. All the leaders in former disturbances were put on board a ship at Callao and sent to Spain. Corregidors, or governors of districts, were ordered to try summarily and execute every turbulent person within their jurisdictions. All unemployed persons were sent on distant expeditions, and moderate "enromiendas" were granted to a few deserving officers. The previous anarchy was thus completely stamped out. At the same time the viceroy wisely came to an agreement with Sayri Tupac, the son and successor of the Ynca Manco, and granted him a pension. He took great care to supply the natives with priests of good conduct, and promoted measures for the establishment of schools and the foundation of towns in the different provinces. The cultivation of wheat, vines, and olives, and European domestic animals were introduced. The next viceroy was the Conde de Nieva (1561-64). His successor, the licentiate Lope Garcia de Castro, who only had the title of governor, ruled from 1564 to 1569. From this time there was a succession of viceroys until 1824. The viceroys were chief magistrates, but they were not supreme. In legal matters they had to consult the Audiencia of judges, in finance the Tribunal de Cuentas, in other branches of administration the Juntas de Gobierno and de Guerra.

Don Francisco de Toledo, the second son of the count of Oropesa, entered Lima as viceroy on 26th November 1569. Fearing that the little court of the Ynca Tupac Amaru (who had succeeded his brother Sayri Tupac) might become a formidable focus of rebellion, he sent troops to seize the young prince, and unjustly beheaded the last of the Yncas in the square of Cuzco in the year 1571. After a minute personal inspection of every province in Peru, he, with the experienced aid of the learned Polo de Ondegardo and the judge Matienza, established the system under which the native population of Peru was ruled for the two succeeding centuries; and future viceroys referred to him as the great master of statesmanship who was their guide, and to his ordinances as their acknowledged text-book. His Libro de Tasos fixed the tribute to be paid by the Indians, exempting all men under eighteen and over fifty. He found it necessary, in order to secure efficient government, to revert in some measure to the system of the Yncas. The people were to be directly governed by their native chiefs, whose duty was to collect the tribute and exercise magisterial functions. The chiefs or "curacas" had subordinate native officials under them called "pichca-pachacas" over 500 men, and "pachacas" over 100 men. The office of curaca (or "cacique") was made hereditary, and its possessor enjoyed several privileges. Many curacas were descended from the imperial family of the Yncas, or from great nobles of the Yncarial court. In addition to the tribute, which was in accordance with native usage, there was the "mita," or forced labour in mines, farms, and manufactories. Toledo enacted that one-seventh of the male population of a village should be subject to conscription for this service, but they were to be paid, and were not to be taken beyond a specified distance from their homes.





In their legislation the Spanish kings and viceroys showed a desire to protect the people from tyranny, but they were unable to prevent the rapacity and lawlessness of distant officials. The country was depopulated by the illegal methods of enforcing the mita, and an air of sadness and desolation spread over the land. Toledo was succeeded in 1581 by Don Martin Henriquez, who died at Lima two years afterwards. The subsequent history of the vice-royalty is well worthy of detailed attention by students of history in all countries possessing a colonial empire. The Spanish colonies suffered from the strict system of monopoly and protection, which was only slightly relaxed by the later Bourbon kings, and from the arbitrary proceedings of the Inquisition. Between 1581 and 1776 as many as fifty-nine heretics were burned at Lima, and there were twenty-nine "autos," but the Inquisition affected Europeans rather than natives, for the Indians, as catechumens, were exempted from its terrors. The curacas sorrowfully watched the gradual extinction of their people by the operation of the mita, protesting from time to time against the exactions and cruelty of the Spaniards. At length a descendant of the Yncas, who assumed the name of Tupac Amaru, rose in rebellion in 1780. The insurrection lasted until July 1783, and the cruel executions which followed its suppression failed to daunt the people. The death of Tupac Amaru shook the power of Spain and made it totter to its fall. From that time both Indians and Peruvians of Spanish descent began to think for themselves, and to entertain ideas of liberty and progress. Tupac Amaru was followed by Dr Pedro José Chavez de la Rosa, the Spanish bishop of Arequipa, and Dr Toribio Rodriguez de Mendoza, rector of the university of San Carlos at Lima, whose pupils, among whom were the future republican statesmen Drs Luna Pizarro and Vijil, became ardent advocates of reform. When, on 3d August 1814, Mateo Garcia Pumacagua, a Peruvian chief, raised the cry of independence at Cuzco, he was joined by many Peruvians of Spanish descent, but was defeated in the battle of Umachiri (12th March 1815), taken, and executed. At the same time the youthful and enthusiastic poet Melgar suffered death in the cause of his country.

Peru was the centre of Spanish power, and the viceroy had his military strength concentrated at Lima. Consequently the more distant provinces, such as Chili and Buenos Ayres, were able to throw off the yoke first. But the destruction of the viceroy power was essential to their continued independent existence. The conquest of the Peruvian coast must always depend on the command of the sea. A fleet of armed ships was fitted out at Valparaiso in Chili, under the command of Lord Cochrane and officered by Englishmen. It convoyed an army of Argentine troops, with some Chilians, under the command of the Argentine general San Martin, which landed on the coast of Peru in September 1820. San Martin was enthusiastically received, and the independence of Peru was proclaimed at Lima on his entrance, after the viceroy had withdrawn (28th July 1821). On 20th September 1822 San Martin resigned the protectorate, with which he had been invested, saying that the "presence of a fortunate soldier is dangerous to a newly-constituted state," and on the same day the first congress of Peru became the sovereign power of the state. After a short period of government by a committee of three, the congress elected Don José de la Riva Aguero to be first president of Peru on 26th February 1823. He displayed great energy and capacity as an administrator, but the aid of the Colombians under Bolivar was sought, and the native ruler was unwisely deposed. Bolivar arrived at Lima on let September 1823, and began to organize an army to attack the Spanish viceroy in the interior. On 6th August 1824 the cavalry action of Junin was fought with the Spanish general Canterac near the shores of the lake of Chinchay-cocha. It was won by a gallant charge of the Peruvians under Colonel Suarez at the critical moment. Soon afterwards Bolivar left the army to proceed to the coast and the final battle of Ayacucho (9th December 1824) with the viceroy and the whole Spanish power was fought by his second in command, General Sucre. The Spaniards were completely defeated. The viceroy and all his officers were taken prisoners, and Spanish power in Peru came to an end.

General Bolivar now showed that he was actuated by personal ambition; he intrigued to impose a constitution on Peru, with himself as president for life. He failed, and left the country on 3d September 1826, followed by all the Colombian troops in March 1827. General Lamar, who commanded the Peruvians at Ayacucho, was elected president of Peru on 24th August 1827, but was deposed, after waging a brief but disastrous war with Colombia, on 7th June 1829. General Gamarra, who had been in the Spanish service, and was chief of the staff in the patriot army at Ayacucho, was elected third president on 31st August 1829.

For fifteen years, from 1829 to 1844, Peru was painfully feeling her way to a right use of independence. The officers who fought at Ayacucho, and to whom the country felt natural gratitude, were all-powerful, and they had not learned to settle political differences in any other way than by the sword. From 1837 to 1839 there was a lawless and unprincipled intervention on the part of Chili which increased the confusion. Three men, during that period of probation, won a prominent place in their country's history, Generals Gamarra, Salaverry, and Santa Cruz. Gamarra, born at Cuzco in 1785, never accommodated himself to constitutional usages ; too often he made his own will the law ; but he attached to himself many loyal and devoted friends, and, with all his faults, which were mainly faults of ignorance, he loved his country and sought its welfare according to his lights. Salaverry was a very different character. Born at Lima in 1806, of pure Basque descent, he joined the patriot army before he was fifteen and displayed his audacious valour in many a hard-fought battle. Feeling strongly the necessity that Peru had for repose, and the guilt of civil dissension, he wrote patriotic poems which became very popular. Yet he too could only see a remedy in violence. He seized the supreme power, and perished by an iniquitous sentence on 18th February 1836.1 Andres Santa Cruz was an Indian statesman. His mother was a lady of high rank, of the family of the Yncas, and he was very proud of his descent. Unsuccessful as a general in the field, he nevertheless possessed remarkable administrative ability and for nearly three years (1836-39) realized his lifelong dream of a Peru-Bolivian confederation.2 But Peruvian history is not confined to the hostilities of these military rulers. Three constitutions were framed, in 1828, 1833, and 1839. There were lawyers, statesmen, and orators who could defend the rights and liberties of the people. On 7th November 1832 Dr Vijil, the deputy for Tacna, rose in his place in congress and denounced the unconstitutional acts of President Gamarra in a memorable speech of great eloquence. Nor should a much humbler name ever be omitted in writing the history of republican Peru. Juan Rios, a private soldier, was sentry at the door of congress when Gamarra illegally sent his troops to disperse the members. He defended his post against two companies, and fell mortally wounded.

In 1844 General Ramon Castilla restored peace to Peru, and was elected constitutional president on 20th April 1845. Ten years of peace and increasing prosperity followed. In 1849 the regular payment of the interest of the public debt was commenced, steam communication was established along the Pacific coast, and a railroad was made from Lima to Callao. After a regular term of office of six years of peace and moral and material progress Castilla resigned, and General Echenique was elected president. But the proceedings of Echenique’s government in connexion with the consolidation of the internal debt were disapproved by the nation, and, after hostilities which lasted for six months, Castilla returned to power in January 1855. From December 1856 to March 1858 he had to contend with and subdue a local insurrection headed by General Vivanco, but, with these two exceptions, there was peace in Peru from 1844 to 1879, a period of thirty-five years. The existing constitution was framed in 1856, and revised by a commission in 1860. Slavery and the Indian tribute were abolished; by its provisions the president is elected for four years, and there are two vice-presidents. The congress consists of a senate and chamber of deputies. The senators are elected by departments and the deputies by the people, every 30,000 inhabitants having a representative. When congress is not sitting there is a permanent commission of the legislature, elected at the end of each session, and consisting of seven senators and eight deputies. The chamber of deputies may accuse the president of infractions of the constitution and the senate passes judgment. The president appoints the prefects of departments and sub-prefects of provinces; the prefects nominate the governors of districts. In each province there is a judge ; a superior court of justice sits at the capital of each department; and there is an appeal to the supreme court at Lima. Castilla retired at the end of his term of office in 1862, and died in 1868. On 2d August 1868 Colonel Balta was elected president. Before his time the public debt had been moderate, amounting to £4,491,042, and the interest had been regularly paid since 1849. But Balta’s government increased it to £49,000,000, the payment of the interest of which from the ordinary revenues was simply impossible, me creditors, as security, had the whole of the guano and nitrate deposits assigned to them. With the vast sum thus raised President Balta commenced the execution of public works, principally rail-roads on a gigantic scale. His period of office was signalized by the opening of an international exhibition at Lima. He was succeeded (2d August 1872) by Don Manuel Pardo, an honest and enlightened statesman, who did all in his power to retrieve the country from the financial difficulty into which it had been brought by the reckless policy of his predecessor, but the conditions were not capable of solution. He regulated the Chinese immigration to the coast-valleys, which, from 1860 to 1872, had amounted to 58,606. He paid great attention to statistics, promoted the advance of education, and encouraged literature. He was the best president Peru has ever known, and his death in 1878 was a public calamity. On 2d August 1876 General Prado was elected, and his term of office saw the commencement of that calamity which has since overwhelmed his country.1

On 5th April 1879 the republic of Chili declared war upon Peru, the alleged pretext being that Peru had made an offensive treaty, directed against Chili, with Bolivia, a country with which Chill had a dispute ; but the publication of the text of this treaty made known the fact that it was strictly defensive and contained no just cause of war. The true object of Chili was the conquest of the rich Peruvian province of Tarapaca, the appropriation of its valuable guano and nitrate deposits, and the spoliation of the rest of the Peruvian coast.

After the capture of the "Huascar" off Point Angamos on 8th October 1879 by two Chilian ironclads and four other vessels, the Peruvian coast was at the mercy of the invaders, and Tarapaca, surrounded by trackless deserts, yet open to the sea, though bravely defended for some time by the Peruvian army, fell into the hands of the enemy after the hotly-contested battle of Tarapaca on 17th November 1879.

Chili then landed an army farther north, and on 26th May 1880 the battle of Tacna was
fought, followed by the capture of the port of Arica on 7th June. In these combats the Peruvians lost 147 officers alone. The possession of the sea enabled the Chilian ships to desolate the whole coast; and, the Peruvian army having been almost annihilated, only a force of volunteers and raw recruits could be assembled for the defence of the capital. After the two desperately-contested battles of Chorrillos and Miraflores on the 13th and 15th of January 1881, Lima was entered on the l7th, and was not evacuated by the invaders until 22d October 1883. During that period General Caceres, the hero of the defence, carried on a gallant but unequal struggle in the sierra. At last a provisional Government, under General Iglesias, signed a treaty with the Chilians on 20th October 1883, by which the province of Tarapaca was ceded to the conquerors, Tacna and Arica were to be occupied by the Chilians for ten years, and then a vote by plebiscitum is to decide whether they are to belong to Peru or Chili; and there are clauses respecting the sales of guano ; while all rights to the nitrate deposits, which are hypothecated to the creditors of Peru, have been appropriated by the Chilian conquerors. This most disastrous war has brought ruin and misery on the country, and has thrown Peru back for many years. The country contains the elements of recovery, but it will be a work of time.

Bibliography.—The history of Ynca civilization is to be found in works contemporaneous with the conquest or written in the succeeding century, in the native literature, and in the modern descriptions of ruins and other remains. The highest authority is Pedro de Cieza de Leon, whose Chronicle, which bears the stamp of impartiality, accuracy, and intelligence, was written within twenty years of the conquest (Eng. tr. of parts i. and ii. by the Hakluyt Society, 1864, 1883). The valuable writings of the learned lawyer Polo de Ondegardo, which discuss the polity and administrative rule of the Yncas, have been edited in Spanish, and one of his interesting reports has been translated and issued by the Hakluyt Society. Cristoval de Molina, the priest of the hospital of Cuzco, has described the rites, ceremonies, and ritual of the Yncas in great detail; he wrote in 1580, but his manuscript was not translated and issued (by the Hakluyt Society) until 1873. It has since been ably edited in Spanish, at Madrid. Miguel Balboa, who was in the country from 1566 to 1586, wrote an excellent historical work, which is translated into French in the series of M. Ternaux Compans. The Natural History of the Indies, by the Jesuit José de Acosta, is a work of considerable repute, first published in 1596. An English version, which originally appeared in 1604, was reprinted and edited for the Hakluyt Society in 1880. The famous commentaries of Garcilasso de la Vega were published in 1609 ; and the first part, relating to the Yncas, was translated and issued by the Hakluyt Society in 1869. The Suma y Narracion de los Yncas, by Juan de Betanzos, is certainly one of the most valuable of the earlier authorities, as the author was an excellent scholar, well acquainted with the Ynca language, and a citizen of Cuzco. But most of his work is lost. The remainder was edited in Spanish by Senor Espada in 1880. The works of Avila, Arriaga, and Ramos give accounts of local superstitions and beliefs soon after the conquest. In the 17th century valuable labours on Ynca history were given out by Fernando Montesinos, whose work was translated into French in the Ternaux Compans edition, and by a native named Juan de Santa Cruz Salcamayhua. The latter curious narrative has been edited in Spanish recently, and issued in a translated form by the Hakluyt Society. General accounts of Ynca civilization have been written by Robertson, Prescott, and Helps, none of whom, however, were acquainted with more than a portion of these authorities or with the native languages, and none had been in the country. A valuable modern work on Peruvian antiquities is the Antiguedades Peruanas, by Don Mariano Rivero, published at Vienna in 1851, and translated into English at New York. Markham’s Cuzco and Lima (1855) contains the results of a personal visit to the coast and to the ruins in and round Cuzco. D’Orbigny has described the ruins near Lake Titicaca; but the best modem work treating of architectural remains throughout Peru, as they may be seen now, is E. G. Squier’s Peru (1877). Pérou et Bolivie, by Charles Wiener (1880), is also a valuable work. The language and literature of the Yncas have been treated of by Rivero, who gives a list of earlier grammars and vocabularies; in the Quichua grammar and dictionary, and the translation of the drama of Ollantay, by Markham ; in Dr Von Tschudi’s Kechua Sprache (1853), and in his subsequent critical work published in 1875 ; and by Gavino Zegarra in the fourth volume of Collection Linguistique Americaine (1878). Don Vicente Lopez of Buenos Ayres has also written a learned work on the subject entitled Races Aryennes.

The career of Pizarro and the conquest of Peru are recounted in the general histories of Herrera and Gomara, and in Garcilasso de la Vega (part ii.). The best accounts of the first part of the conquest are by Francisco de Xeres, the conqueror’s secretary, and by Hernando Pizarro. Both have been translated into English and issued by the Hakluyt Society. The narrative of Pedro Pizarro has only recently been edited at Madrid, and, as the author was one of the conquerors and an eye-witness, it is very important. Agustin de Zarate, who was employed in Peru very soon after the conquest, wrote a history which is valuable, especially the latter portion relating to events of which he was an eye-witness. The history of the Quito war by Cieza de Leon remained in manuscript until 1877, when it was admirably edited by Senor Espada. These authorities (excepting the last) were made use of by Robertson, Prescott, and Helps. But none of the three brings the narrative down to the conclusion of the civil wars in Peru and the settlement of the country. An account of the last rebellion, led by Francisco Hernandez Giron, and of the final settlement, is given by the Palencian Diego Fernandez in his history of Peru (Seville, 1571). There is no translation of this work. There is no history of the colonial period ; there are, however, abundant materials for it in the laws and. ordinances, in the detailed reports of successive viceroys, in the histories of religious orders, and in innumerable memoirs, biographies, and reports both printed and in manuscript. Stevenson, in his narrative (3 vols., 1823), gives some account of the last years of viceregal government. A mass of documents relating to the great rebellion of the Ynca Tupac Amaru was published by Don Pedro de Angelis at Buenos Ayres in 1836. The work of Don Gregorio Funes, dean of Cordova, published in 1817, contains further information, and the diary of the governor of La Paz, while besieged by the Indians, will be found in Temple’s Travels in Peru. There are narratives of the rebellion in the Voyage dans le nord de Bolivie by Weddell, and in the Travels in Peru and India (1862) by Markham. The events which led to the final achievement of Peruvian independence have been traced out in an interesting work by Don Benjamin Vicuña Mackenna, entitled La Historia de la Independencia del Peru, 1809-1819 (Lima, 1800). The events of the war of independence are narrated by the Spaniards Garcia Camba and Terrazas, and in English in the charming Memoirs of General Miller, and, as regards naval affairs, in the autobiography of the earl of Dundonald. Three volumes of the history of the republic have been published by Dr Don Paz Soldan. There are useful materials for history in the two anonymous volumes published in 1858 and signed "Pruvonena," in the lives of Lamar by Villaran, of Salaverry by Bilbao, and in the history of the campaign of Yungay by Placencia. The works of Colonel Espinosa, especially his Dicctionario Republicano, and of Dr Vijil are also important. Histories of the war between Peru and Chili have been hurriedly published by two Chilians, Diego Barros Arana and Vicuna Mackenna. The former is a mere partisan production of no value as a history The latter, though prejudiced, is honestly written, and is useful as containing many original documents. Another history will be written by Paz Soldan; and meanwhile narratives have been published in English by Markham, and in Italian by Caivano.

The most valuable geographical and topographical works on Peru are by Peruvians, including the writings of Cosme Bueno and Unanue, articles in the Mercurio Peruano, and the works already mentioned of Dr Paz Soldan. Some papers by Haenke, Miller, Bollaert, Raimondi, Pentland, and Markham will be found in the Journals of the Royal Geographical Society. But the most important of all is the great official work by Don Antonio Raimondi, three volumes of which have already appeared, besides the same author’s geographical account of the department of Ancachs. The natural history of Peru has been described in the German works of Dr Von Tschudi, and briefly in the English translation of his travels (1847). The first great work on Peruvian botany was the Flora Peruviana by Riuz and Pavon, followed by the Chloris Andina of Dr Weddell, which forms two volumes of the great work of Castelnau. In his Quinologie Weddell describes the quinine-yielding chinchona trees of Peru and Bolivia, and further information on the chinchona genus, as well as on coca cultivation, Cuzco maize, and quinoa, will be found in Markham’s Peruvian. Bark (1880). Besides the works already mentioned, Dr A. Smith published a book giving useful information respecting the climate of Lima and other parts of Peru entitled Peru as it is (1839); and there are some other books of travel of no special value. (C. R. M.)


Footnotes

FOOTNOTE (page 669)
1 Before the war with Chili the southern limit of Peru was in 22° 23' S. lat., the coast-line measured 1400 miles, and the area was 504,000 square miles (see p. 679 below).


FOOTNOTE (page 675)
1 The city of Lima produced two saints, the archbishop St Toribio, who flourished from 1578 to 1606, and Santa Rosa, the patron saint of the city of the kings (1586-1616), whose festival is celebrated on 26th August.


FOOTNOTES (page 678)
(1) The romance of his life has been admirably written by Manuel Bilbao (1st ed., Lima, 1853 2d ed., Buenos Ayres, 1867).
(2) The success on of presidents and supreme chiefs of Peru from 1829 to 1844 was as follows:—1829-33, Agustin Gamarra; 183435, Luis José Orbegoso; 1835-36, Felipe Santiago Salaverry; 1836-39, Andres Santa Cruz; 1839-41, Agustin Gamarra; 1841-44, Manuel Menendez.


FOOTNOTE (page 679)
1 The succession of presidents of Peru, since the establishment of peace by Castilla in 1844, has been as follows :—1845-51, Ramon Castilla; 1851-55, José Rufino Echenique ; 1855-62, Ramon Castilla ; 1862-63, Miguel San Roman (died 3d April 1863) ; 1863-65, José Antonio Pezet (vice-president) ; 1865-68, Mariano Ignacio Prado; 1868-72, José Balta ; 1872-76, Manuel Pardo ; 1876-79, Mariano Ignacio Prado; 1879-81, Nicolas de Pierola (supreme chief) ; 1881 (12th March), Francisco Garcia Calderon; 1883 (20th October), General Iglesias.



The above article was written by: Clements R. Markham, C.B., author of War between Peru and Chili.