Photo credit: Quinet
The Peruvian population has been formed by the combination of different groups over five centuries. Amerindians inhabited Peruvian territory for several millennia before Spanish conquest in the 16th century. Spaniards and Africans arrived in large numbers under colonial rule, mixing widely with each other and with Indigenous peoples. After independence, there has been a gradual European immigration. Chinese arrived in the 1850s and have since become a major influence. Other immigrant groups include Arabs and Japanese. (more...)