Peru (Discovering South America)

Introduces Peru, describing its history, politics, culture, and geography.

Nearly 500 years ago the representatives of two great, but very different, civilizations clashed in the Andes Mountains of modern-day Peru. The Incas who lived in the region had established a highly advanced civilization and built great cities and temples of stone. From Europe, Spanish soldiers led by the conquistador Francisco Pizarro came seeking the Incas' gold. In the five centuries since then, the blend of Spanish and Amerindian cultures has contributed greatly to the development of modern Peru. The Republic of Peru is a land of great variety. High mountains, dense jungles, and barren deserts are all found close together. The country is the third largest, by area, in South America. Though Peru has great natural wealth, its economic development has been slow and there remains a wide gap in income between the wealthiest and poorest citizens. There's a lot to discover about Peru! Each title in this series contains color photos, maps, a chronology of events related to the country, recipes, list of festivals, ideas for projects and reports, and back matter including: an index, further reading lists for books and internet resources, and a series glossary. Mason Crests editorial team has placed Key Icons to Look for throughout the books in this series in an effort to encourage library readers to build knowledge, gain awareness, explore possibilities and expand their viewpoints through our content rich non-fiction books. Key Icons are as follows: Words to Understand are shown at the front of each chapter with definitions. These words are then used in the prose throughout that chapter, and are emboldened, so that the reader is able to reference back to the definitions- building their vocabulary and enhancing their reading comprehension. Sidebars are highlighted grap