1.
Chilean Civil War of 1891
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The Chilean Civil War of 1891, also known as Revolution of 1891 was an armed conflict between forces supporting Congress and forces supporting the President, José Manuel Balmaceda. The war saw a confrontation between the Chilean Army and the Chilean Navy, which sided with the president and the congress and this conflict ended with the defeat of the Chilean Army and the presidential forces and President Balmaceda committing suicide as a consequence. In Chilean historiography the war marks the end of the Liberal Republic, the Chilean civil war grew out of political disagreements between the president of Chile, José Manuel Balmaceda, and the Chilean congress. In 1889, the congress became distinctly hostile to the administration of President Balmaceda, according to usage and custom in Chile at the time, a minister could not remain in office unless supported by a majority in the chambers. At this juncture, the president assumed that the constitution gave him the power of nominating and maintaining in office any ministers of his choice, the Congress was now only waiting for a suitable opportunity to assert its authority. In 1890, it came to light that President Balmaceda had decided to nominate a close friend as his successor. This brought matters to confrontation and the congress refused to approve a budget for supplies to run the government, Balmaceda compromised with congress, agreeing to nominate a cabinet to their liking on condition that the budget would be approved. This cabinet, however, resigned when the ministers understood the full scope of the conflict between the president and congress, Balmaceda then nominated a cabinet not in accord with the views of Congress under Claudio Vicuña, whom it was no secret Balmaceda intended to be his successor. To avoid opposition to his actions, Balmaceda refrained from summoning an extraordinary session of the legislature for the discussion of the estimates of revenue and expenditure for 1891. On January 1,1891, president Balmaceda published a Manifest to the Nation in various newspapers to the effect that the budget of 1890 would be considered the official budget for 1891 and this act was interpreted by the opposition as illegal and beyond the attributes of the executive power. For the present, and without prejudice to the future, command of the sea was held by Montts squadron, Balmaceda hoped to create a navy, the congress took steps to recruit an army by taking its sympathizers on board the fleet. While both sides were preparing for extremities, Balmaceda administered the government under dictatorial powers with a congress of his own nomination. In June 1891 he ordered the election to be held. Preparations had long made for the naval pronunciamento, and in the end few vessels of the Chilean navy adhered to the cause of Balmaceda. If these were secured by the Balmacedists the naval supremacy of the congress would be seriously challenged, the organization of the revolutionary forces went on slowly. They were experiencing difficulty in obtaining the necessary arms and ammunition, a supply of rifles was bought in the United States, and embarked on board the Itata, a Chilean vessel in the service of the rebels. The United States authorities refused to allow this steamer to leave San Diego, the Itata, however, slipped away and made for the Chilean coast, carrying with her the representatives of the United States. A fast cruiser was sent in pursuit, but only succeeded in overhauling the rebel ship after she was at her destination
2.
Caldera, Chile
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Caldera is a port city and commune in the Copiapó Province of the Atacama Region in northern Chile. It has an excellent harbor, protected by breakwaters, being the city for the productive mining district centering on Copiapó to which it is connected by the first railroad constructed in Chile. Caldera lies about 75 km west of Copiapó at the Pacific, the climate is mostly warm and extremely dry, because of its location on the Atacama deserts coast. But the temperatures are moderated by the sea currents. However, lately the climate has become colder due to the climatic change, the commune spans an area of 4,666.6 km2. In 1687, Englishman Edward Davis reached the Playa Bahia Inglesa 6 km south of Caldera, in 1840, William Wheelwright of the Pacific Steam Navigation Company visited the region of Caldera. On his proposal the first railway was created in the year of 1851 from Caldera to Copiapó and its inauguration was on Christmas Day in 1851. Caldera became an important port for the exportation of minerals, the city itself was officially founded on 23 September 1850. The city has been struck by earthquakes and tsunamis several times the major ones being that of 1868,1877 and 1922. During the 1891 Chilean Civil War, Caldera Bay outside the city became the site of the Battle of Caldera Bay where torpedo boats loyal to Manuel Balmaceda sunk the rebel ironclad Blanco Encalada, in 1903,2,130 people lived in Caldera. According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Caldera had 13,734 inhabitants, of these,13,540 lived in urban areas and 194 in rural areas. The population grew by 13. 9% between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, former Railway Station, first in Chile, its construction dates back to 1850, with the beginnings of the works for the railway Caldera-Copiapó, first in Chile and third one in South America. It was designed to house inside a train in order to protect valuable minerals brought from Chañarcillo. The walls, meanwhile, were made of mud and reeds from Guayaquil, inside had a passenger platform and three load lines, all covered by a large shed 82 meters long by 32 meters wide. Church of San Vicente de Paul, Built in 1862 in wood, stone floor, inside there is an image of the Virgin of Sorrows, brought from Peru as spoils of war after the military campaigns during the War of the Pacific. Cave of Padre Negro, is a pilgrimage center built on a rock by the Colombian priest Crisógono Sierra -known locally as Padre Negro (Spanish for Black Father-, inside there are murals vigorous painter Luis Enrique Cerda. Municipal Cemetery of Caldera, first secular cemetery in Chile, was inaugurated on 20 September 1876, in its historical sector, mausoleums and tombs have cast iron structures made by English craftsmen and Carrara marble tombstones. Tornini House Museum, a museum, opened on 5 November 2010
3.
Chile
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Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a South American country occupying a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, Chilean territory includes the Pacific islands of Juan Fernández, Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas, and Easter Island in Oceania. Chile also claims about 1,250,000 square kilometres of Antarctica, the arid Atacama Desert in northern Chile contains great mineral wealth, principally copper. Southern Chile is rich in forests and grazing lands, and features a string of volcanoes and lakes, the southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands. Spain conquered and colonized Chile in the century, replacing Inca rule in northern and central Chile. After declaring its independence from Spain in 1818, Chile emerged in the 1830s as a relatively stable authoritarian republic, in the 1960s and 1970s the country experienced severe left-right political polarization and turmoil. The regime, headed by Augusto Pinochet, ended in 1990 after it lost a referendum in 1988 and was succeeded by a coalition which ruled through four presidencies until 2010. Chile is today one of South Americas most stable and prosperous nations and it leads Latin American nations in rankings of human development, competitiveness, income per capita, globalization, state of peace, economic freedom, and low perception of corruption. It also ranks high regionally in sustainability of the state, Chile is a founding member of the United Nations, the Union of South American Nations and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. There are various theories about the origin of the word Chile, another theory points to the similarity of the valley of the Aconcagua with that of the Casma Valley in Peru, where there was a town and valley named Chili. Another origin attributed to chilli is the onomatopoeic cheele-cheele—the Mapuche imitation of the warble of a locally known as trile. The Spanish conquistadors heard about this name from the Incas, ultimately, Almagro is credited with the universalization of the name Chile, after naming the Mapocho valley as such. The older spelling Chili was in use in English until at least 1900 before switching over to Chile, stone tool evidence indicates humans sporadically frequented the Monte Verde valley area as long as 18,500 years ago. About 10,000 years ago, migrating Native Americans settled in fertile valleys, settlement sites from very early human habitation include Monte Verde, Cueva del Milodon and the Pali Aike Craters lava tube. They fought against the Sapa Inca Tupac Yupanqui and his army, the result of the bloody three-day confrontation known as the Battle of the Maule was that the Inca conquest of the territories of Chile ended at the Maule river. The next Europeans to reach Chile were Diego de Almagro and his band of Spanish conquistadors, the Spanish encountered various cultures that supported themselves principally through slash-and-burn agriculture and hunting. The conquest of Chile began in earnest in 1540 and was carried out by Pedro de Valdivia, one of Francisco Pizarros lieutenants, who founded the city of Santiago on 12 February 1541. Although the Spanish did not find the gold and silver they sought, they recognized the agricultural potential of Chiles central valley
4.
Torpedo boat
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A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and they were created to counter battleships and other slow and heavily armed ships by using speed, agility, and the power of their torpedo weapons. A number of torpedo boats attacking en masse could overwhelm a larger ships ability to fight them off using its large. The introduction of fast torpedo boats in the late 19th century was a concern to the eras naval strategists. In response, navies operating large ships introduced smaller ships to torpedo boats. The destroyer eventually became the predominant type of warship in the guided missile age. In the modern era, the old concept of a small, fast. The American Civil War saw a number of innovations in warfare, including an early type of torpedo boat. In 1861 President Lincoln instituted a blockade of Southern ports. The South also lacked the means to construct a fleet capable of taking on the Union Navy on even terms. One strategy to counter the blockade saw the development of torpedo boats, the David class of torpedo boats were steam powered with a partially enclosed hull. They were not true submarines but were semi-submersible, when ballasted, only the smokestack, the CSS Midge and CSS St. Patrick were David-class torpedo boats. The CSS Squib and CSS Scorpion represented another class of boats that were also low built but had open decks. The Confederate torpedo boats were armed with spar torpedoes and this was a charge of powder in a waterproof case, mounted to the bow of the torpedo boat below the water line on a long spar. The torpedo boat attacked by ramming her intended target, which stuck the torpedo to the ship by means of a barb on the front of the torpedo. The torpedo boat would back away to a distance and detonate the torpedo. In general, the Confederate torpedo boats were not very successful and their low sides made them susceptible to swamping in high seas, and even to having their boiler fires extinguished by spray from their own torpedo explosions. Torpedo misfires and duds were common, in 1864 Union Naval Lieutenant Cushing fitted a steam launch with a spar torpedo to attack the Confederate ironclad Albemarle
5.
Frigate
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A frigate /ˈfrɪɡᵻt/ is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries. In the 17th century, this term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability and these could be warships carrying their principal batteries of carriage-mounted guns on a single deck or on two decks. The term was used for ships too small to stand in the line of battle. In the late 19th century, the frigate was a type of ironclad warship that for a time was the most powerful type of vessel afloat. The term frigate was used because such ships still mounted their principal armaments on a continuous upper deck. Ship classes dubbed frigates have more closely resembled corvettes, destroyers, cruisers. The rank frigate captain derives from the name of type of ship. The term frigate originated in the Mediterranean in the late 15th century, referring to a lighter galleass type ship with oars, sails and a light armament, built for speed and maneuverability. The etymology of the word is unknown, although it may have originated as a corruption of aphractus, aphractus was, in turn, derived from the Ancient Greek phrase ἄφρακτος ναῦς, or undefended ship. In 1583, during the Eighty Years War, Habsburg Spain recovered the Southern Netherlands from the rebellious Dutch and this soon led to the occupied ports being used as bases for privateers, the Dunkirkers, to attack the shipping of the Dutch and their allies. To achieve this they developed small, maneuverable, sailing vessels that came to be referred to as frigates, in French, the term frigate became a verb, meaning to build long and low, and an adjective, adding further confusion. Even the huge English Sovereign of the Seas could be described as a frigate by a contemporary after her upper decks were reduced in 1651. The navy of the Dutch Republic was the first navy to build the larger ocean-going frigates, the first two tasks required speed, shallowness of draft for the shallow waters around the Netherlands, and the ability to carry sufficient supplies to maintain a blockade. The third task required heavy armament, sufficient to fight against the Spanish fleet, the first of these larger battle-capable frigates were built around 1600 at Hoorn in Holland. The effectiveness of the Dutch frigates became most visible in the Battle of the Downs in 1639, encouraging most other navies, especially the English, to adopt similar designs. The fleets built by the Commonwealth of England in the 1650s generally consisted of ships described as frigates, the largest of which were two-decker great frigates of the third rate. Carrying 60 guns, these vessels were as big and capable as great ships of the time, however, most other frigates at the time were used as cruisers, independent fast ships. The term frigate implied a long hull design, which relates directly to speed and also, in turn, in Danish, the word fregat is often applied to warships carrying as few as 16 guns, such as HMS Falcon which the British classified as a sloop
6.
Troopship
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A troopship is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Attack transports, a variant of ocean-going troopship adapted to transporting invasion forces ashore, landing ships beach themselves and bring their troops directly ashore. Ships to transport troops were used in Antiquity. Ancient Rome used the navis lusoria, a vessel powered by rowers and sail, to move soldiers on the Rhine. HMT Olympic even rammed and sank a U-boat during one of its wartime crossings, individual liners capable of exceptionally high speed transited without escorts, smaller or older liners with poorer performance were protected by operating in convoys. The British government aided both Cunard and the White Star Line to construct the liners RMS Mauretania, RMS Aquitania, RMS Olympic, when the vulnerability of these ships to return fire was realized most were used instead as troopship or hospital ships. RMS Queen Mary and RMS Queen Elizabeth were two of the most famous converted liners of World War II, when they were fully converted, each could carry well over 10,000 troops per trip. Queen Mary holds the record, with 15,740 troops on a single passage in late July 1943. The modified Liberties were capable of transporting up to 450,550,30 Type C4 ship-based General G. O. Squier-class, the largest carrying over 6,000 passengers. A class of Victory ship-based dedicated troopship was developed late in World War II, a total of 84 such VC2-S-AP2 hull conversions was completed. A class of Type C3 ship – comprising mainly C3-S-A2 and C3-S-A3 hulls – was also converted to dedicated troopships, at least 15 classes of Attack Transport, consisting of at least 400 ships specially equipped for landing invasion forces rather than general troop movement. The designation HMT would normally replace RMS, MV or SS for ships converted to troopship duty with the United Kingdoms Royal Navy, initially troopships adapted as attack transports were designated AP, starting in 1942 keel-up attack transports received the designation APA. In the era of the Cold War the United States designed the SS United States so that it could easily be converted from a liner to a troopship, in case of war. More recently, RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 and the SS Canberra were requisitioned by the Royal Navy to carry British soldiers to the Falklands War, by the end of the twentieth century, nearly all long-distance personnel transfer was done by airlift in military transport aircraft
7.
Robert Whitehead
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Robert Whitehead was an English engineer, most famous for developing the first effective self-propelled naval torpedo. He was born in Bolton, England, the son of James Whitehead, a cotton-bleacher and he trained as an engineer and draughtsman, and attended the Mechanics Institute in Manchester. His first professional employment was at a shipyard in Toulon, France, for Philip Taylor & Sons and he then moved to Trieste, on the Adriatic coast of Austria. Whiteheads work in Trieste was noticed by the owners of Fonderia Metalli, in 1856, Whitehead became manager of the company, and changed its name to Stabilimento Tecnico di Fiume. STF produced marine steam boilers and engines, which were the most modern products of that era, the Austrian Navy was a customer. In the early 1860s, Whitehead met engineer Giovanni Luppis, who had retired to Trieste from the Austrian Navy. Luppis had produced the first prototypes of a torpedo in 1860. Luppis device was a surface boat, propelled by compressed air. Whitehead and Luppis formed a partnership to perfect the torpedo as an effective weapon, Whiteheads initial torpedo experiments were conducted with the help of his 12-year-old son, John, and a workman, Annibale Ploech. They discarded Luppis concept of launch and control for an unguided weapon launched from a ship on a straight line at the target which became known as the Whitehead torpedo. This resulted in Minenschiff, the first self-propelled torpedo, officially presented to the Austrian Imperial Naval commission on 21 December 1866, the commission was impressed and the Austrian gunboat Gemse was adapted for launching torpedoes at the Schiavon shipyard in Fiume. The ship was equipped with a barrel, which was Whiteheads invention. More than 50 launch trials were performed in front of the factory, gemses commander, Frigate Lieutenant Count Georg Anton von Hoyos, later married Whiteheads daughter Alice. By 1870, Whitehead had managed to increase the speed to 7 knots. The torpedo was driven by a reciprocating engine run by compressed air. Whitehead added two important features to the torpedo, A self-regulating device that kept the torpedo at a constant preset depth and this consisted of a hydrostatic valve and pendulum balance, connected to a horizontal rudder, which controlled the running depth. Gyroscopic stabilisation to fix the torpedos direction, in 1898, Whitehead purchased the newly invented gyroscope mechanism from Ludwig Obry, who was also a naval officer. Whitehead fiercely guarded his trade secrets, employees were sworn to secrecy about the guidance mechanisms employed in his torpedoes
8.
Chilean Army
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The Chilean Army is the land arm of the Military of Chile. This 50, 000-strong army is organized into six divisions, a special operations brigade, in recent years, and after several major reequipment programs, the Chilean Army has become one of the most technologically advanced and professional armies in America. The Chilean Army is mostly supplied with equipment from Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United States, Israel, France, the Army of the Kingdom of Chile was created on December 2,1810 by order of the First National Government Junta of Chile. The army was involved in the Independence War, which was fought against royalist troops in battles such as Yerbas Buenas, San Carlos, Quechereguas, Rancagua, Chacabuco. The Armys first commander-in-chief was José Miguel Carrera, after obtaining independence from Spain, the newly formed Republic reorganized its military structure by creating the Military Academy of Chile, which was founded by General OHiggins in 1817. Diego Portales set up a militia, the Guardia Nacional. The militia was created in 1825 but Portales developed this parallel army to compensate the armys might, the Chilean Conscription Law of 1900 marked the beginning of the end of the Guardia Nacional. During the War of the Pacific, many high-ranking officers won valuable insights into the state of the army and became aware that the army required rebuilding. Other factor that supported the emulation, the deliberate systematic imitation of the technology, organisation. The emulation was backed by a coalition of civil and military leaders. Chile hired a French military training mission in 1858, and the Chilean legation in Berlin was instructed to find a mission during the War of the Pacific in 1881. But large-scale emulation of the Prussian Army began in 1886 with the appointment of Captain Emil Körner, also appointed were 36 Prussian officers to train officer cadets in the Chilean Military Academy. The emulation was focused in armaments, conscription, officer recruitment and instruction and it was extended also into military logistics and medical services, promotions, retirement, salary regulation and even uniforms, marching styles, helmets, parades, and military music. Armaments, Prior to 1883, the army was equipped with a variety of rifles, mostly French, from 1892 to 1902, the Chilean-Argentine Arms Race, marked the peak of Chilean arms purchase. 100,000 Mauser rifles and new Krupp artillery was bought for 3,000,000 DM in 1893,2,000,000 DM in 1895 and 15,000,000 DM in 1898, ammunition factories and small arms manufacturing plants were established. Conscription, Like others armies in South America, Chile had had an army of long-term service officers and soldiers. For a modern, professional and technically trained officer corps, the best alumni were candidates for general staff service. By the mid-1890s Körner organized the courses for a Noncommissioned Officers School, during the 1891 Chilean Civil War Körner was removed from duty by José Manuel Balmaceda
9.
Chilean Navy
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The Chilean Navy is the naval force of Chile. This led to the development of the Chilean Navy, and the first legal resolutions outlining the organization of the institution were created. Chiles First National Fleet and the Academy for Young Midshipmen which was the predecessor of the current Naval Academy were founded, as well as the Marine Corps, the first commander of the Chilean Navy was Manuel Blanco Encalada. However the famous British naval commander Lord Cochrane who formerly had been a Captain in the Royal navy, was hired by Chileans to organize, Cochrane recruited an almost all-anglophone complement of officers and midshipmen and crews of British, Irish and American seamen. He became a key figure in the war against loyalist forces in Peru and was instrumental in taking control of the fortresses of Valdivia even though he failed in his attempt to conquer Chiloé Island. In March 1824, the Chilean Navy and Army undertook an expedition to expel the Spanish from Chiloé Archipelago, an expedition was dispatched to Chiloé Island however ended in failure when the Chilean Army led by Jorge Beauchef was defeated at the Battle of Mocopulli. It was only after Ramón Freires Chiloé expedition in 1826 did the royalist forces at Chiloé under the command of Antonio de Quintanilla, surrender, after the wars of independence, a series of conflicts demonstrated the importance of the Navy to the nation. First of these conflicts were the War of the Confederation, the Chincha Islands War, to deal with this new area of activity the navy founded in 1874 the Hydrographic Office whose first director was Francisco Vidal Gormaz. The anniversary of this battle is celebrated every year as a holiday called Día de las Glorias Navales. After navy visits to Easter Island in 1875 and 1887, Chilean navy officer Policarpo Toro managed to negotiate an incorporation of the island into Chile with native Rapanui in 1888, by occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations. To secure this advantage and not letting new Argentine acquisitions challenge Chilean Naval power the Chilean government decided to modernize its navy, the modernization plan included the ordering of two cruisers, two torpedo boat destroyers and the modernization of two armoured ships in English docks. A new pre-dreadnought battleship, Capitán Prat, was ordered under the new program in 1889. Tarapacá was by that time Chiles richest region in terms of resources and was without the fleet practically out of reach for the Chilean Army. From here the navy organized an army made of nitrate miners which they armed and trained to face the 40, on the elections of October 1891 Jorge Montt was elected president. Not all navy officers sided with the congress, some like Juan Williams Rebolledo, Juan José Latorre and Policarpo Toro remained on the presidential side and Francisco Vidal Gormaz declared his neutrality. After the war officers were removed from their offices. After incidents with Chile in 1872,1877 and 1878 Argentina had decided that a navy, even if modern, was not enough to back up its ambitions in Patagonia. Over the 1880s and 1890s Chile and Argentina engaged in an arms race fueled by nationalistic rhetoric, both countries signed a treaty in 1902 to end the arms race
10.
Bolivia
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Bolivia, officially known as the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in western-central South America. It is bordered to the north and east by Brazil, to the southeast by Paraguay, to the south by Argentina, to the southwest by Chile, and to the northwest by Peru. One-third of the country is the Andean mountain range, with one of its largest cities and principal economic centers, El Alto, Bolivia is one of two landlocked countries that lie outside Afro-Eurasia. Bolivia is geographically the largest landlocked country in the Americas, but remains a small country in economic. Before Spanish colonization, the Andean region of Bolivia was part of the Inca Empire, Spanish conquistadors arriving from Cuzco and Asunción took control of the region in the 16th century. During the Spanish colonial period Bolivia was administered by the Royal Audiencia of Charcas, spain built its empire in great part upon the silver that was extracted from Bolivias mines. After the first call for independence in 1809,16 years of war followed before the establishment of the Republic, named for Simón Bolívar, on 6 August 1825. Since independence, Bolivia has endured periods of political and economic instability, including the loss of peripheral territories to its neighbors, such as Acre. The countrys population, estimated at 11 million, is multiethnic, including Amerindians, Mestizos, the racial and social segregation that arose from Spanish colonialism has continued to the modern era. Spanish is the official and predominant language, although 36 indigenous languages also have official status, of which the most commonly spoken are Guarani, Aymara, modern Bolivia is constitutionally a unitary state, divided into nine departments. Its geography varies from the peaks of the Andes in the West, to the Eastern Lowlands and it is a developing country, with a medium ranking in the Human Development Index and a poverty level of 53 percent. Its main economic activities include agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, and manufacturing such as textiles, clothing, refined metals. Bolivia is very wealthy in minerals, especially tin, Bolivia is named after Simón Bolívar, a leader in the Spanish American wars of independence. Sucre opted to create a new nation and, with local support. The original name was Republic of Bolívar, some days later, congressman Manuel Martín Cruz proposed, If from Romulus comes Rome, then from Bolívar comes Bolivia. The name was approved by the Republic on 3 October 1825, the region now known as Bolivia had been occupied for over 2,500 years when the Aymara arrived. However, present-day Aymara associate themselves with the ancient civilization of the Tiwanaku culture which had its capital at Tiwanaku, the capital city of Tiwanaku dates from as early as 1500 BC when it was a small, agriculturally based village. The community grew to urban proportions between AD600 and AD800, becoming an important regional power in the southern Andes
11.
Peru
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Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the west by the Pacific Ocean. Peruvian territory was home to ancient cultures spanning from the Norte Chico civilization in Caral, one of the oldest in the world, to the Inca Empire, the largest state in Pre-Columbian America. The Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century and established a Viceroyalty with its capital in Lima, ideas of political autonomy later spread throughout Spanish America and Peru gained its independence, which was formally proclaimed in 1821. After the battle of Ayacucho, three years after proclamation, Peru ensured its independence, subsequently, the country has undergone changes in government from oligarchic to democratic systems. Peru has gone through periods of political unrest and internal conflict as well as periods of stability, Peru is a representative democratic republic divided into 25 regions. It is a country with a high Human Development Index score. Its main economic activities include mining, manufacturing, agriculture and fishing, the Peruvian population, estimated at 31.2 million in 2015, is multiethnic, including Amerindians, Europeans, Africans and Asians. The main spoken language is Spanish, although a significant number of Peruvians speak Quechua or other native languages and this mixture of cultural traditions has resulted in a wide diversity of expressions in fields such as art, cuisine, literature, and music. The name of the country may be derived from Birú, the name of a ruler who lived near the Bay of San Miguel, Panama. When his possessions were visited by Spanish explorers in 1522, they were the southernmost part of the New World yet known to Europeans, thus, when Francisco Pizarro explored the regions farther south, they came to be designated Birú or Perú. An alternative history is provided by the contemporary writer Inca Garcilasco de la Vega, son of an Inca princess, the Spanish Crown gave the name legal status with the 1529 Capitulación de Toledo, which designated the newly encountered Inca Empire as the province of Peru. Under Spanish rule, the country adopted the denomination Viceroyalty of Peru, the earliest evidences of human presence in Peruvian territory have been dated to approximately 9,000 BC. Andean societies were based on agriculture, using such as irrigation and terracing, camelid husbandry. Organization relied on reciprocity and redistribution because these societies had no notion of market or money, the oldest known complex society in Peru, the Norte Chico civilization, flourished along the coast of the Pacific Ocean between 3,000 and 1,800 BC. These early developments were followed by archaeological cultures that developed mostly around the coastal, the Cupisnique culture which flourished from around 1000 to 200 BC along what is now Perus Pacific Coast was an example of early pre-Incan culture. The Chavín culture that developed from 1500 to 300 BC was probably more of a religious than a political phenomenon, on the coast, these included the civilizations of the Paracas, Nazca, Wari, and the more outstanding Chimu and Mochica. Their capital was at Chan Chan outside of modern-day Trujillo, in the 15th century, the Incas emerged as a powerful state which, in the span of a century, formed the largest empire in pre-Columbian America with their capital in Cusco
