Lima (Capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru)

Timeline

1. 1535Lima (on the Rímac River) · PeruFrancisco Pizarro chose a site on the coastal plain of the Rímac Valley and named it 'Los Reyes' (City of the Kings), later commonly called Lima. The city adopted the standard Spanish grid street plan, with a cathedral, viceroy's palace, and main plaza; its proximity to the port (about 10 km from Callao) allowed it to quickly replace Cuzco as the administrative core of Spanish South America.
2. 1540–1600Viceroy's Palace and Main Plaza, Lima · LimaThe Viceroyalty of Peru was formally established in 1542, and Lima as capital set up institutional frameworks including the Royal Audiencia, the Inquisition, and the viceroy's palace. The University of San Marcos was founded in 1551, becoming one of the oldest universities in the Americas. Wealth from the Potosí silver mines (discovered in 1545) converged on Lima via the port of Callao, and the city's population and construction expanded rapidly.
3. 1600–1650Urban area of Lima · PeruBetween 1621 and 1630, Lima was at the height of the Spanish colonial empire. A grand cathedral, numerous monasteries, and Jesuit colleges were successively built; the viceregal government enforced the strict encomienda system to manage indigenous labor. The port of Callao, the largest port on the Pacific side of South America, connected to the Manila galleon trade system, through which vast quantities of Peruvian silver were exported. The city's population was about 25,000, making it one of the largest Spanish colonial cities in the Americas at the time.
4. 1820–1826Lima · PeruIn the 1820s the wave of South American independence movements swept the continent; José de San Martín declared Peruvian independence in July 1821, and Lima became the capital of the republic. After the Battle of Ayacucho in 1824 Spain completely lost the South American mainland, ending Lima's historic mission as the capital of a Spanish colonial viceroyalty, but it has continued as the capital of the Republic of Peru to this day.