Lima
Industry & Trade
Accomodation
Options for accommodation in Lima in 1921 are a little more basic than investigators may expect of a large, international city. Those hoping to find the type of luxury hotels they may have encountered in other capital cities will be disappointed. That said, Larkin has arranged for the investigators (as well as Jesse Hughes/Jackson Elias) to stay at one of the best hotels Lima has to offer: Hotel Maury, located in the center of the city. As well as dozens of well-furnished rooms, the hotel offers a well-appointed banquet room and an extravagantly stocked bar, famous for its Pisco Sours (a cocktail created by American bartender Victor Vaughn Morris). Larkin and de Mendoza are staying at the Hotel España, which is some 10 minutes’ walk from the Hotel Maury.
Infrastructure
Getting Around
Transportation in Lima is unlikely to pose much of a problem. Many locations are reached on foot which is what most of Lima's population gets around. There is public transportation, the main option available is the extensive network of electric trams for a very reasonable fee. The city is also served by buses, although these are far more limited and less reliable than the trams.
History
In the pre-Columbian era, what is now Lima was inhabited by indigenous groups under the Ychsma policy, which was incorporated into the Inca Empire in the 15th century. In 1532 a group of Spanish conquistadors, led by Francisco Pizarro, defeated the Inca ruler Atahualpa and took over his empire.
Since the Spanish Crown had appointed Pizarro governor of the lands he conquered, he chose the Rímac Valley to found his capital on 18 January 1535, as Ciudad de los Reyes (City of Kings). In August 1536, rebel Inca troops led by Manco Inca Yupanqui besieged the city but were defeated by the Spaniards and their native allies.
Lima gained prestige after being designated capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru and site of a Real Audiencia in 1543. During the next century it flourished as the centre of an extensive trade network that integrated the Viceroyalty with the rest of the Americas, Europe and the Far East. However, the city was not free from dangers; the presence of pirates and privateers in the Pacific Ocean lead to the building of the Walls of Lima between 1684 and 1687. The 1687 Peru earthquake destroyed most of the city buildings; the earthquake marked a turning point in the city's history as it coincided with a trade recession and growing economic competition with cities such as Buenos Aires.
In 1746, another powerful earthquake severely damaged Lima and destroyed Callao, forcing a massive rebuilding effort under Viceroy José Antonio Manso de Velasco. In the later half of the 18th century, Enlightenment ideas on public health and social control shaped development. During this period, Lima was adversely affected by the Bourbon Reforms as it lost its monopoly on overseas trade and its control over the mining region of Upper Peru. The city's economic decline left its elite dependent on royal and ecclesiastical appointment and thus, reluctant to advocate independence.
A combined expedition of Argentine and Chilean patriots under General José de San Martín landed south of Lima in 1820 but did not attack the city. Faced with a naval blockade and the action of guerrillas on land, Viceroy José de la Serna e Hinojosa evacuated its capital in July 1821 to save the Royalist army. Fearing a popular uprising and lacking any means to impose order, the city council invited San Martín to enter Lima and signed a Declaration of Independence at his request. However, the war was not over; in the next two years the city changed hands several times.
After independence, Lima became the capital of the Republic of Peru but economic stagnation and political turmoil brought urban development to a halt. This hiatus ended in the 1850s, when increased public and private revenues from guano exports led to a rapid development of the city. The export-led expansion also widened the gap between rich and poor, fostering social unrest. During the 1879–1883 War of the Pacific, Chilean troops occupied Lima, looting public museums, libraries and educational institutions. At the same time, angry mobs attacked wealthy citizens and the Asian population; sacking their properties and businesses. The city underwent renewal and expansion from the 1890s to the 1920s. During this period the urban layout was modified by the construction of broad avenues that crisscrossed the city and connected it with neighboring towns.
On 24 May 1940 an earthquake destroyed most of the city, which at that time was mostly built of adobe and quincha. In the 1940s Lima started a period of rapid growth spurred by migration from the Andean region, as rural people sought opportunities for work and education. The population, estimated at 600,000 in 1940, reached 1.9 million by 1960.
Geography
Climate
Despite its location in the tropics and in a desert, Lima's proximity to the cool waters of the Pacific Ocean leads to temperatures much lower than those expected for a tropical desert and thus Lima can be classified as a desert climate (Köppen: BWh) with subtropical temperature ranges. Temperatures rarely fall below 12 °C (54 °F) or rise above 29 °C (84 °F). Two distinct seasons can be identified: summer, from December through April; and winter from June through October. May and November are generally transition months, with a more dramatic warm-to-cool weather transition.
Daily temperatures oscillate between lows of 18 °C (64 °F) to 22 °C (72 °F) and highs of 24 °C (75 °F) to 29 °C (84 °F). Frequent coastal fogs on many mornings and high clouds in some afternoons and evenings can be present, namely, between the months of May and October. Summer sunsets are colorful, labeled by locals as "cielo de brujas" (Spanish for "sky of witches"), since the sky commonly turns shades of orange, pink and red around 7 pm. Winter weather is dramatically different. Grey skies, breezy conditions, higher humidity and cooler temperatures prevail. Long (2-weeks or more) stretches of dark overcast skies are not uncommon. Persistent morning drizzle occurs occasionally from June through September, coating the streets with a thin layer of water that generally dries up by early afternoon. Winter temperatures vary little between day and night. They range from lows of 14 °C (57 °F) to 16 °C (61 °F) and highs of 16 °C (61 °F) to 19 °C (66 °F), rarely exceeding 20 °C (68 °F) except in the easternmost districts.
Relative humidity is always very high, particularly in the mornings. High humidity produces brief morning fog in the early summer and a usually persistent low cloud deck during the winter (generally developing in May and persisting into late November or even early December). The predominantly onshore flow makes the Lima area one of the cloudiest among the entire Peruvian coast. Lima has only 1284 hours of sunshine a year, 28.6 hours in July and 184 hours in April, which is exceptionally little for the latitude. By comparison, London has an average of 1653 hours of sunshine per year, and Moscow 1731 hours of sunshine per year. Winter cloudiness prompts locals to seek for sunshine in Andean valleys located at elevations generally above 500 meters above sea level.
While relative humidity is high, rainfall is very low due to strong atmospheric stability. The severely low rainfall impacts on water supply in the city, which originates from wells and from rivers that flow from the Andes. Inland districts receive anywhere between 1 and 6 cm (2.4 in) of rainfall per year, which accumulates mainly during the winter months. Coastal districts receive only 1 to 3 cm (1.2 in). As previously mentioned, winter precipitation occurs in the form of persistent morning drizzle events. These are locally called 'garúa', 'llovizna' or 'camanchacas'. Summer rain, on the other hand, is infrequent and occurs in the form of isolated light and brief showers. These generally occur during afternoons and evenings when leftovers from Andean storms arrive from the east. The lack of heavy rainfall arises from high atmospheric stability caused, in turn, by the combination of cool waters from semi-permanent coastal upwelling and the presence of the cold Humboldt Current and warm air aloft associated with the South Pacific anticyclone.
Lima's climate (like that of most of coastal Peru) gets severely disrupted in El Niño events. Coastal waters usually average around 17–19 °C (63–66 °F), but get much warmer. Air temperatures rise accordingly.
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