Historical Dictionary of Peru (Historical Dictionaries of the Americas)

With 10,000 years of history, Peru, with its formidable Inca and pre-Inca civilizations and its rich colonial and post-colonial past, formed the very foundations of multi-ethnic South American history and society. It is a country rich in natural and human resources, but has been largely confined to a state of underdevelopment for much of its history. However, since 2000 Peru has shown significant signs of economic and political progress as its economy grew rapidly and it polity democratized. The Historical Dictionary of Peru packages in a unique way the course of Peru’s evolution and recent trajectory, with substantial sections devoted to describing and analyzing the country’s history, politics and social order, combined with shorter entries on the important people and events that have contributed to its current state of affairs. It also includes a comprehensive profile of the country based on an array of data, tables and statistics. In short, PERU will be an indispensable introduction and source for high school, college and graduate students, travelers and tourists and American government and business personnel with Peru as a destination. The Historical Dictionary of Peru contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 700 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. “For a moderately sized South American country, Peru has a tremendous amount of history stretching back more than a thousand years to the coastal cultures of Moche and Nasca and the Inca civilization. These and other indigenous societies were wiped out, but the people remained, and Quechua and other indigenous languages are still widely spoken, along with Spanish. In Peru there have been wars with other countries and civil wars, elections and new governments, and coups and uprisings. The country’s economy has experienced moments of glory with silver, gold, and oil, but never enough to provide for all and overcome huge differentials of wealth. Thus, social problems also abound. This Historical Dictionary of Peru is most welcome as one of the latest and last volumes in the Historical Dictionaries of the Americas series. It starts off with a long and rich chronology, an introduction to the country, and numerous acronyms and abbreviations. The dictionary section provides information on important people, notable places, decisive events, and a broad range of geographical, economic, social, and political items. A useful appendix contains statistical background. The bibliography is large and inclusive, so interested readers can find further details.”