|
Home Page -
Iquitos Travel Guide
- Loreto Department
Loreto Department Guide
 Surface:
142 377 sq. miles
Main resources: Rice, cassava, timber,
fruit trees, rubber and cebu cattle.
Population: 900 000 approximately.
Iquitos -its capital- has 400 000 aprox.
Provinces & districts: 6 provinces y 47
districts.
Foundation date: As a department of Peru
on February 7, 1866
Ethnic groups: Shipibos, Piros, Campas,
Yaguas,
Boras, Cashivos,
Orejones and Jíbaros
The region's first inhabitants grouped in small
tribes expanded in a primitive way on the
eastern slopes of the Andes. Many of them that
reached the Purus, Turua and Yaravi basins were
named after their chief or "curaca".
It is hard to precise the number of inhabitants
that existed at the time the first explorers and
missionaries arrived, nevertheless historical
records indicate that just in the first
one-hundred years of Christianization more than
100 thousand natives were baptized. This makes
it possible to estimate that at the time the
conquistadors came, the indigenous population
bordered 300 000; later these were mass killed
by sickness they acquire at contact with the
foreigners. Main death causes were smallpox,
diphtheria, malaria, yellow fever and whooping
cough.
Numerous missionaries, explorers and adventurers
recorded the first chronicles on these new
lands. In 1539 Francisco Pizarro commissioned
his brother Gonzalo to organize an expedition in
search of the mythical "Land of Cinnamon". The
expedition group departed from Cusco and
traveled to Quito to later follow the Napo River
course. After many days of hardships in the
jungle, Gonzalo Pizarro ordered Francisco de
Orellana to separate from the group and take a
few men to search for provisions. In these
circumstances, Orellana discovered the
Amazon River on
February 12, 1542. This discovery caused that
many enthusiastic adventurers moved by the
ambition of riches, tried to search for a
kingdom of gold. Also, the missionaries had the
Christian desire to take the gospel to the newly
discovered native tribes.
The jungle missions acquired great importance in
the 18-Century; during all the years following
the first Amazon expeditions, the Jesuits and
the Franciscans Christianized and founded
different jungle villages, contributing this way
to create new routes that shortened distances
between tribes and territories. In 1740, the
Jesuit Jose Bahamonde founded the Santa Barbara
de Nanay and Santa Maria de Iquitos villages on
the Mazan River. All the people joined in one
and migrated to the high shores of the Amazon,
Nanay and Itaya rivers.
According to the most accepted story,
Iquitos
was founded by the Jesuits with the name of San
Pablo de los Napeanos, becoming then the first
fluvial port on the Amazon River. In that time
it was a small village inhabited by the Iquito
indigenous tribe. Soon the village became a
strategic place for the departing missionaries
to other jungle regions. When the missions were
banned, a long period of isolation that lasted
through-out the 19-Century followed;
nevertheless, it was during this time that the
fundamentals of a new political organization
were established. By the turn of the 20-Century
the signs of progress seemed to reach the region
when steam navigation appeared, the elastic gum
demand was at its best and foreign migration
increased.
The long distance from the nation's capital and
the lack of communication means kept Loreto
isolated for most of the 19-Century. Just in
1880, when the world's demand for rubber reached
its highest, this area became important to many.
Iquitos was transformed, its population grew and
modern buildings appeared in its earthen
frontier streets.
Wealth was a consequence of rubber barons'
success but the economic heyday of Iquitos only
lasted 30 years. When world's rubber demand
turned from Amazonia to the Far-East colonies
because of their lower prices, the region’s
economy was seriously affected. The golden age
of opulence had ended. Nevertheless, Iquitos
would have other yet not equally compared
prosperity periods during the past 50 years from
the timber and oil exploitation.
Climate and Geography of Loreto
The Loreto Region is dominated by dense
vegetation with low elevation hills and surfaces
that are crossed by the Amazonian rivers. Loreto
is the largest region of the country (142 377
square miles) and the least populated.
The Amazon River Basin is the world's largest
drainage basin measuring 2 375 000 square miles,
about 40% of the South American continent. Also,
the Amazon River Basin claims the greatest
diversity of freshwater fish of any river basin
in the world, and its potential biomass is
estimated in more than 3000 fish species, most
of them beneficial for human nourishment.
In almost all the region, weather is hot and
rainy. Showers are bound to happen all through
the year. Average temperature is between 60°F to
70°F during the months of June and August to a
maximum of 100°F in the months of December to
March. Average humidity is 84% with heavy rains
all times.
See also:
|
