History
First ruled by the Incans and then taken over by the Spanish, Peru is a country of diverse people with colorful cultures. Almost half of Peru's population are Indian, and ten percent are European with large numbers of African and Asian minorities.
Peru's population of over 23 million people is almost equally divided between the highlands and the population centers of the coast. While the inland regions are marked with extreme poverty and subsistence farming, the river valleys and the lowlands and produced a wealthy cosmopolitan culture. In the late 19th century, the construction of the railroads connected Peru and its mining businesses, and with that, brought large foreign investments and much development to Peru. However, with this development, a power vacuum occurred, and a struggle to fill this vacuum ensued with the lower classes taking power.
The people, however, desperately seeking guidance have many times turned to leaders that later turn into despots and are forced to make them resign again leaving a void that needed to be filled. The current government is no different. Plagued with rumors of corruption, government is inevitably having difficulties earning trust and faith of the people.
cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/pe.html#top
ddg.com/LIS/aurelia/perhis.htm
Geography
Peru is located on the west coast of South America and is bordered by the Southern Pacific Ocean, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia and Chile ance can easily be divided up into three regions: the Costa or the coast, the Sierra or the central Andean Highlands, and the Selva or the eastern Amazonian jungle.
The coast is mostly an arid and hilly region between the high cliffs and the Pacific coast. Drainage from glaciers create a huge river system that creates the longest and largest river system in the world called the Amazon. This river basin covers almost 60% of Peru's land mass. The longest mountain range in the world, the Andes, also stretches through Peru providing many lakes, gorges, thermal springs, hills and rolling valleys.