Viceroyalty of Peru Guayaquil and El Callao, but on 4 February he captured Valdivia, called at the time "The Key of the South Seas" and the "Gibraltar of the Pacific", due to its huge fortifications. However the viceroyalty managed to defend Chiloé Island until 1826. On September 8, 1820, the "Expedición Libertadora" of Peru, organized mainly by Argentinians and with some Peruvian and Chilean involvement, landed on the beach at Paracas Bay, near the city of Pisco, Peru. The army was under the command of José de San Martín. After fruitless negotiations with the viceroy, San Martín occupied the Peruvian capital of Lima
Rioja, Peru boats, canoes and rafts use the Mayo, Tonchima and Negro rivers for small cargo. Rioja, Peru Rioja is the capital of Rioja Province in the San Martín Region in northern Peru. It is situated to the west of Moyobamba. There are 24,263 inhabitants according to the 2007 census. The town is 848 metres above sea level and has a semi-humid subtropical climate. During the period of the Incas, the Rioja Province was inhabited by two tribes, the Uquihuas and the Chepenes. At the end of the 16th century, one of the first Catholic missionaries arrived at Uquihua. Rioja was founded