Abstract
This chapter describes the evolution of regional inequality in Peru between the years 1847 and 2017 using the latest available statistics on the spatial distribution of population and economic activity. The main results observed were the transformation of the economic space of this country. Regional inequality steadily rose throughout the nineteenth century and the early stages of the twentieth century. Throughout the Colonial Era, the Peruvian southern region concentrated most of the economic activity, population, and infrastructure. The prominence of the South had its roots on the population decline during the Spanish conquest and the economic activity driven by the mines located in the so-called “Alto Peru”, today’s Bolivia. After the War of the Pacific, many structural changes took place; the modernization of Lima’s manufacturing industry began, and different mining cycles affected inner regions. Improvements in infrastructures integrated the coastal regions to the domestic market. Since 1950, regional inequality started a downward trend due to the expansion of the domestic economy and market integration. This dynamism created huge migration flows to these regions and consolidated a new regional distribution of economic activity, with the more dynamic zones located in the capital and in the depression in the highlands.
Special thanks to Nouhaila Oudija and María Amparo Cruz-Saco for valuable contributions in the revision of the final version of this chapter.
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Notes
- 1.
The Panama Canal improved the connectivity of Peru with Europe and the east Coast of the United States. Even before its construction, it was necessary to use the Cabo de Hornos route, which made it difficult to export agro-industrial products.
- 2.
In the twentieth century, the Peruvian railways failed to connect Lima with the cities of the northern Coast. For this reason, the construction of the Panamericana Highway north affected the connectivity of this area. Until before its construction, the cities of the Coast were united with Lima through maritime transport.
- 3.
The Grace Contract was an agreement signed between an English company (Grace) and the Peruvian government. The Republic of Peru settled its debt through the transfer of the railways’ ownership to the Peruvian Corporation (British bondholders).
- 4.
According to Javier Pulgar Vidal, a Peruvian geographer, Peru has eight natural regions identified (Chala, Yunga—Marítima and Fluvial, Quechua, Suni, Puna, Janca, Selva Alta, and Selva Baja) in accordance with their altitude, climatic conditions, flora, fauna, and natural resources.
- 5.
Viceroy Theodore de Croix ruled Peru between 1784 and 1790 and was the successor of the Viceroy Francisco de Taboada. Before being named viceroy in 1783, he was responsible of the internal provinces of northern New Spain, a command established in 1778 in whose territory were included Nueva Vizcaya, Santa Fe of Nuevo Mexico, Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, Sonora and Sinaloa, the Californias, and Texas. All these territories had been included in the intendancy of La Paz.
- 6.
The intendencia of Puno was established in 1783 after the Rebellion of Túpac Amaru II. Its territory included the parties of Chucuito, Lampa, Azángaro, Carabaya, and Paucarcolla. The parties of Lampa, Azángaro, and Carabaya belonged to the bishopric of La Paz (obispado de la Paz), while those of Chucuito and Paucarcolla belonged to the bishopric of Cusco.
- 7.
The General Commandery of Maynas belonged to the Viceroyalty of New Granada. Its territory was transferred to Peru in 1802 and included the missions that had established the Jesuits, who were expelled in 1768. In 1802, the king created the bishopric and the General Commandery of Maynas in order to stop the progress of the Portuguese Bandeirantes. The border was demarcated in 1777 when the San Idelfonso Treaty was signed.
- 8.
(1) agricultural area (populated area of Chala, Yunga Maritime, Quechua, Suni, River Yunga, High Jungle, and Low Jungle); (2) livestock area (populated area of Puna, Janca, and Glaciers); (3) altitude (average height of the populated centres—PCs—by department); (4) distance to the sea (average distance of the PCs to the sea by department); (5) distance to the main port (average distance of the PCs to the nearest port by department); (6) population by PC (total population divided by the amount of PCs by department), and (7) growth of the populated area between 1795 and 2017.
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Seminario, B., Zegarra, M.A., Palomino, L. (2020). Peruvian Regional Inequality: 1847–2017. In: Tirado-Fabregat, D.A., Badia-Miró, M., Willebald, H. (eds) Time and Space. Palgrave Studies in Economic History. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47553-6_10
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