<P> The Spanish Crown gave the name legal status with the 1529 Capitulación de Toledo, which designated the newly encountered Inca Empire as the province of Peru . Under Spanish rule, the country adopted the denomination Viceroyalty of Peru, which became Republic of Peru after independence . </P> <P> When the Spanish landed in 1531, Peru's territory was the nucleus of the highly developed Inca civilization . Centered at Cuzco, the Inca Empire extended over a vast region, stretching from northern Ecuador to central Chile . </P> <P> Francisco Pizarro and his brothers were attracted by the news of a rich and fabulous kingdom . In 1532, they arrived in the country, which they called Peru . (The forms Biru, Pirú, and Berú are also seen in early records .) According to Raúl Porras Barrenechea, Peru is not a Quechuan nor Caribbean word, but Indo - Hispanic or hybrid . </P> <P> In the years between 1524 and 1526 smallpox, introduced from Panama and preceding the Spanish conquerors swept through the Inca Empire . The death of the Incan ruler Huayna Capac as well as most of his family including his heir, caused the fall of the Incan political structure and contributed to the civil war between the brothers Atahualpa and Huáscar . Taking advantage of this, Pizarro carried out a coup d'état . On November 16, 1532, while the natives were in a celebration in Cajamarca, the Spanish in a surprise move captured the Inca Atahualpa during the Battle of Cajamarca, causing a great consternation among the natives and conditioning the future course of the fight . When Huáscar was killed, the Spanish tried and convicted Atahualpa of the murder, executing him by strangulation . </P>

When did the spanish began to settle in peru