On June 5, 2009, in Bagua, Peru, 23 members of the Peruvian Na tional Police and 10 indigenous protestors were confirmed dead, but purportedly more than 40 indigenous protesters killed in some of the worst violence in Peru's recent history. The conflict erupted following Peruvian president Alan García’s attempt to sell tribal lands to oil, gas, mining, and forestry interests in an effort to expand the Peruvian economy and open resource- rich lands to private development by national and multinational firms. The backlash that the García administration has faced underscores the tension that has been created by the alleged unauthorized appropriation of tribal lands by the Peruvian government without regards for the rights, culture, and environment of the indigenous people who have inhabited these lands for centuries.

 The Incas, who originated in Peru, are considered far ahead of their time in fields such as astronomy, anatomy, architecture, and many other disciplines. Along with these achievements, they followed an advanced system of property ownership derived from pre-Inca civilizations called ayllus, a Quechua word that literally translates to “extended family.” By using this system, the central Inca empire was able to provide land ownership to its subjects and allow them to solve sustenance issues on their

own without reliance on the central Inca government. In essence, this system gave citizens legal entitlement to their lands and the ability to pass their lands on to future generations. This system lasted until the Spanish made their notorious appearance in the 16th Century.
With the defeat of the Incan Empire at the hands of Francisco Pizarro, the Spanish conquistador, a major change was in store for the indigenous peoples of Peru and those who inhabited other lands ap- propriated by the Spanish crown. In place of the

ayllu system, which favored a high degree of autonomy, the Spanish installed a peonage system that lasted from the 1500s into the 20th Century. Spanish landlords commanded under a hacienda structure, in which campesinos essentially worked as slaves of their landlord with little or no pay, were not allowed to organize community activities, nor permitted to travel outside.

-- Indigenous Land Rights and Development in the Peruvian Amazon: Communalism versus Capitalism. Timothy Marti.

http://www.terra.com.pe/noticias/noticias/act2360297/amazonia-ano-baguazo-ley-selva.html