Peru History Timeline & FactsSouth America - Concise History of the Mesoamerican civilisations Mesoamericans were the ancient civilisations of South America which is now divided into 12 independent countries consisting of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The diverse civilizations of ancient Mesoamerica included the Olmecs, Toltecs, Aztecs, Incas and Mayans. The Mayans empire covered Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador. Click the following link for details of the ancient South American / Mesoamerican Civilisations History Timeline & Facts Concise History of Peru 1200s-1500s The Incan Indians built a great empire in Peru 1520s The Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro led an expedition into Peru 1530s Pizarro conquered the Inca and made Peru a Spanish colony 1535 Pizarro founded Lima 1780 The Mestizos, led by Tupac Amaru, revolted against the rule of Spain 1781 The Spanish captured and executed Tupac Amaru and crushed the uprising 1810 - Overthrow of the king of Spain by Napoleon 1820 Jose de San Martin of Argentina invaded Peru to free the Peruvians from the Spanish rule 1821 Peru declared its independence from Spain 1823 Simon Bolivar led an army from Venezuela and Colombia into Peru to help fight the Spanish 1824 Antonio Jose de Sucre defeated the Spanish at Ayacucho 1826 Spain surrendered 1827 General Jose de la Mar became the first Peruvian president 1879 Spain recognizes the independence of Peru 1879 Peru went to war with Chile to aid Bolivia 1881 Chile occupied Lima 1883 The Treaty of Ancon ended the war - Chile was allowed to keep the Peruvian province of Tacna 1929 Chile returned Tacna to Peru 1975 Quechua, the language of the Inca, was made an official language along with Spanish of Peru Peru History Time line |