Peru was once part of the great Incan Empire and later the major vice-royalty of Spanish South America. It was conquered in 1531–1533 by Francisco Pizarro. On July 28, 1821, Peru proclaimed its independence, but the Spanish were not finally defeated until 1824. For a hundred years thereafter, revolutions were frequent; a new war was fought with Spain in 1864–1866, and an unsuccessful war was fought with Chile from 1879 to 1883 (the War of the Pacific).
About 69,000 people were killed during the 1980–2000 wars between rebel groups and the government. The deaths were carried out by the rebels (54%) as well as the military (30%); other militias were responsible for the remainder.
In Sept. 2007, Chile's Supreme Court approved the extradition of former president Alberto Fujimori to Peru in order to try him on charges of corruption and human rights abuses. He had been in Chile since 2005, when he was detained after stopping there on his way from voluntary exile in Japan back to Peru in order to attempt a political comeback.
On Oct. 10, 2008, García's entire cabinet was forced to resign over an oil corruption scandal. On Oct. 11, 2008, in an attempt to regain popularity, President García appointed a leftist regional governor, Yehude Simon, as his prime minister-a move that shocked many. García's popularity took a hit in 2009 when he passed land laws that allowed large sections of the Amazon to be auctioned off to oil and gas companies.
About 69,000 people were killed during the 1980–2000 wars between rebel groups and the government. The deaths were carried out by the rebels (54%) as well as the military (30%); other militias were responsible for the remainder.
In Sept. 2007, Chile's Supreme Court approved the extradition of former president Alberto Fujimori to Peru in order to try him on charges of corruption and human rights abuses. He had been in Chile since 2005, when he was detained after stopping there on his way from voluntary exile in Japan back to Peru in order to attempt a political comeback.
On Oct. 10, 2008, García's entire cabinet was forced to resign over an oil corruption scandal. On Oct. 11, 2008, in an attempt to regain popularity, President García appointed a leftist regional governor, Yehude Simon, as his prime minister-a move that shocked many. García's popularity took a hit in 2009 when he passed land laws that allowed large sections of the Amazon to be auctioned off to oil and gas companies.