Lima

I

Introduction

Lima, city in west-central Peru, capital of the country and of Lima Department, located on the Rímac River between the Pacific Ocean and Andes, in Peru's arid coastal region. The country's largest city, it is part of a fast-growing metropolitan area that is Peru's administrative, commercial, manufacturing, and cultural centre. Callao, Peru's chief port, is about 13 km (8 mi) to the west. The climate is temperate despite the tropical location, with temperatures moderated by the cold Peruvian (Humboldt) Current’s offshore and fogs (garúa) that blanket the coastal region during the colder months of May to October. Population 8,153,618 (2005 estimate).

II

Economy

Most of Peru's large textile and clothing industry is concentrated in Lima; other manufactured goods include motor vehicles, chemicals, and fish and petroleum products.

III

Places of Interest

Landmarks in downtown Lima include the large Plaza de Armas; the nearby cathedral (begun 1746), with a glass coffin said to contain the remains of the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro, Lima's founder; the Presidential Palace (1938); and several 16th- and 17th-century religious buildings that survived a damaging earthquake in 1746. The Acho Bullring (1764, restored 1945) is located north of the Rímac River, in suburban Rímac. The National University of San Marcos (1551), the National Agrarian University (1902), the National University of Engineering (1896), and other major universities are within the metropolitan area. Also of interest are museums of art, history, archaeology, and philately. The historic centre of Lima was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988, and in 1991 the site was expanded.

Major suburbs include the residential sections of San Isidro, Monterrico, Jesús María, Surquillo, and the famous beach resorts of Miraflores and Barranca. Huge barriades (“shanty towns”), also called pueblos jóvenes (“young towns”), have emerged on the outskirts of the region. Oil drums, cardboard, and other crude materials house the fast-growing population of impoverished job seekers from rural Peru who inhabit these slums.

IV

History

Lima was founded in 1535 by Spanish conquistadores (including Pizarro) and was originally named Ciudad de los Reyes (City of the Kings). Lima replaced Cuzco as Spain's viceregal capital of colonial Peru, and it quickly developed into Spain's largest and wealthiest settlement in the New World. Lima became the capital of Peru when the country became independent in 1826, and prospered with the arrival of the railway in 1851. It was looted and occupied from 1881 to 1883 by Chilean forces during the War of the Pacific. Rapid industrialization after 1940 was accompanied by a great increase in the city's population. Lima was severely damaged by earthquakes in 1940, 1966, 1970, and 1974. In December 2001, a firework explosion in a shopping centre killed about 300 people.