| The viceroyalty established at Lima in 1542 initially had jurisdiction over all of South America except Portuguese Brazil. |
| The name Peru was pervasive during the colonial period and was used to denominate the larger sections of the powerful viceroyalty of Lima. |
| Ecuador was part of the viceroyalty of Peru, and the Inca Atahualpa had his capital in Quito. |
| Spain quickly established the viceroyalties of New Spain and Peru, claimed all native gold and silver mines, and forced Indians to work them. |
| With the establishment of the Spanish viceroyalties, the era of European colonization began. |
| Then came the exposure of the population to the threat of piracy, a scourge which the Spanish tried to counteract throughout their viceroyalties with fortifications. |
