Francisco Pizarro's arrival in 1532 during a war of succession between two Inca rulers marked the beginning of the Spanish colonization of Peru, and the end of the Inca Empire.
* 1821 Independence proclaimed in Lima after its capture by the Argentine liberator, JosΘ de San Martφn, who had just freed Chile.
* 1824 Spain suffers final defeats at battles of Junφn and Ayacucho by Sim≤n Bolφvar and Gen. Sucre, the liberators of Venezuela and Colombia.
* 1836╨1839 Peru and Bolivia joined in short-lived confederation.
* 1866 PeruvianûSpanish War.
* 1879û1884 War of the Pacific. Chile defeats Peru and Bolivia. Peru loses territory in south.
* 1908 Augusto Leguφa y Salcedo's dictatorial rule.
* 1919 USA starts financing public works.
* 1924 Dr. Vφctor Ra·l Haya de la Torre founds left-wing nationalist American Revolutionary Popular Alliance (APRA) in exile in Mexico.
* 1930 Leguφa ousted. APRA moves to Peru as first political party.
* 1931╨1945 APRA banned.
* 1939û1945 Moderate, pro-US civilian government.
* 1948û1956 Gen. Manuel Odrφa in power. APRA banned again.
* 1956╨1962 Civilian government.
* 1962û1963 Two military coups.
* 1963 Election of Fernando Bela·nde Terry. Land reform, but military used to suppress communist-inspired insurgency.
* 1968 Military junta takes over. Attempts to alleviate poverty. Large-scale nationalizations.
* 1981 Border war with Ecuador over Cordillera del C≤ndor, which a 1942 protocol had given to Peru. Ecuador wants access to Amazon.
* 1982 Deaths and "disappearances" start to escalate as army cracks down on guerrillas and narcotics.
* 1985 Electoral win for left-wing APRA under Alßn Garcφa PΘrez.
* 1987 Peru bankrupt. Guzmçn's plans to nationalize banks blocked by new Libertad movement led by writer Mario Vargas Llosa.
* 1990 Over 3,000 political murders. Alberto Fujimori, an independent, is elected president on an anti-corruption platform. Economic austerity program sends some food prices up 600%.
* 1991 Cholera epidemic.
* 1992 Fujimori suspends democracy in coup and establishes Constituent Congress.
* 1993 New constitution. Death penalty reintroduced.
