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Colonial period

At the beginning of the 15th century, the Inca Empire had the control of a very large area, bringing its influence even to Colombia and Chile.

Between 1526 and 1528, the Spanish conqueror Francisco Pizarro explored the Peruvian coastal regions and, marveled at the richness of the Inca Empire, went back to Spain to collect money and recruit men for another expedition to this country. Back to Peru, he went to Cajamarca, in the north, where he captured, ransomed and executed the Inca emperor Atahualpa in 1533. Later on Pizarro founded the city of Lima in 1535 but was murdered six years later. The rebellion of the last Inca chief, Manco Inca, ended in a failure with his submission in 1572.

The following two centuries were peaceful; Lima became the political, social and commercial center, the most important of the Andean nations. Meanwhile, the exploitation of the Indians by their invaders ended up in a rebellion in 1780, with the leadership of the self-named Inca Tupac Amaru II. The rebellion was short and several leaders were captured and executed. The Peruvian loyalty towards Spain continued until 1821 when the country was liberated by to liberators: the Venezuelan Simón Bolívar and Argentine José de San Martín.