PERU 





PERU 



History. The vast empire of the Incus, after 

 -rence of about three Centura's, was over- 

 thrown by the Spaniards, led by Pi/arro. \\ith 

 unspeakable treachery and cruelty. This ruth- 

 :iqueror was not typical of Spanish cul- 

 ture or character, for once he had been a name- 

 less outcast infant whom tradition says a sow 

 had suckled with her pips in th. 

 Tri.xillo, Spain. Ilr was a combination of 

 greedy ambition and brutal ferocity. In 1532, 

 with "a handful of men, without food, without 

 clothing, almost without anus, without knowl- 

 edge of the land to which they WPIV bound, 

 without a vessel to transport them," he en- 

 camped on the island of Gallo, off the Peruvian 

 coast, planning there the overthrow of the 

 great, prosperous, peaceful land of the Incas. 



His men, unable to dissuade him or to reach 

 the Spanish governor at Panama with their 

 protest, resorted to strategy. They sent back 

 on the governor's ship, as a present to the gov- 

 ernor's wife, a large ball of coarse yarn which 



THE FLAG OF PERU 

 Vertical lines are red ; plain surface, white. 



they manufactured in some way, and in the 

 heart of which was concealed a note telling of 

 their distress. The quick-witted lady unwound 

 the yarn and read the message; then induced 

 the governor to recall them. The recall was 

 ignored. Pizarro took the governor's ships and 

 landed on the coast. In one encounter with the 

 natives, his party was saved by the accident of 

 a horseman's falling from his steed ; for the 

 natives had supposed man and animal together 

 to be but a single being, and, stunned by 

 amazement at seeing it thus separated into 

 parts, they permitted the invaders to escape at 

 the time. Pizarro seized the Inca, or sovereign, 

 and eventually put him to death. 



Having need to send his horsemen to Xanca, 

 to capture the Inca's chief aid, Pizarro found it 

 absolutely necessary for his horses to be shod. 

 Iron was unknown, and the resourceful leader 

 had them shod with solid silver. Gold was 

 plentiful and was greedily seized by the buc- 



Outline and Questions on 

 Peru 



I. Size and I'ositlon 



( 1 ) Area 



( a t Actual 



<M Comparative 



. 'cat ion in continent 

 i :; ) Iloniering countries 



II. IhyIfnl 1-VntiircN mill Climate 



(1) Three topographic /ones 



i a ) The rainless coast strip 

 ( 1) ) The fertile plateaus 

 ( c) The eastern slope 



(2) Climate 



III. Imliistrit's and < oiimiuii<-n< ion 



(1) Agriculture 



(a ) Chief crops 



(2) Mining 



( a ) ( 'opper 



(b) Vanadium 



(c) Other minerals 



(3) Railways 



(4) Transportation by pack mules 



( 5 ) Commerce 



IV. The People 



(1) Population 



(2) Races 



(a) Natives 



(b) Whites 



(c) Mestizos 



(3) Education 



(4) Cities 



(5) Government 



(a) Republican form 



V. History 



(1) The civilization of the Incas 



(2) The Spanish conquest 



(3) Independence achieved 



Questions 



Who were the Incas? Describe their 

 civilization and give some details of 

 the conquest by which it was over- 

 thrown. 



How did the country receive its 

 name? 



How many of the South Ann-rim n 

 republics are larger than Peru? How 

 many have a, larger population? 



Are all these larger countries more 

 populous? 



What are mestizos? 



How does the Spanish of the cultured 

 Peruvians compare with that of the in- 

 habitants of other countries of the 

 western hemisphere? 



Who are the sambos f 



What is the "City of Kings," and who 

 founded it? 



Why is the westernmost part of Peru 

 practically rainless? 



What is the libra, and how much is 

 it worth? 



From what nation has Peru in recent 

 years received most of its imports? 



When was an important message sent 

 in a ball of yarn? 



When and why did the fall of a rider 

 from his horse save an army from de- 

 struction? 



Who shod his horses with solid sil- 

 ver? 



Tell the origin of the proverbial ex- 

 pression "to gamble away the sun be- 

 fore the sunrise." 



In what way were knotted cords 

 made an aid to memory? 



