Arica Departament
Departamento de Arica
Department of Chile
Flag of Arica Departament

Arica Department within Tacna Province
CapitalArica
DemonymAriqueño
Area
 • Coordinates18°28′18″S 70°18′20″W / 18.47167°S 70.30556°W / -18.47167; -70.30556
Historical eraAftermath of the War of the Pacific
20 October 1883
• Established
1884
28 August 1929
• Return to Peru
28 August 1929
Subdivisions
 • TypeCommunes
 • UnitsArica
Preceded by		Succeeded by
Tacna Department
Arica Province
Tarapacá Province
Today part ofChile

The Arica Department was a territorial division of Chile that existed between 1884 and 1929. It was ceded by the Treaty of Ancón in 1883 and placed under military administration, and then created on the 31st of October 1884, as one of the three departments of the Tacna Province, and was returned to Peru at midnight on the 28th of August 1929, under the terms agreed upon in the Treaty of Lima of the same year.

History

The province was first established on October 31, 1883 by a law promulgated by President Domingo Santa María which defined its limits as the Tacna Province to the north, the Quebrada de Camarones to the south, the Andes mountain range to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west.[1] This was under the conditions of Treaty of Ancón, by means of which Chile achieved dominion over the Tarapacá Department, and possession of the provinces of Tacna and Arica for a decade, after which a plebiscite was to be held in 1894 to determine the region's sovereignty, however, it was never carried out.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] The provisional legal organization would end up working for 50 years, until 1929. During its early years, resistance was at its peak, with some Peruvian military personnel organizing guerrillas, such as Gregorio Albarracín's, of about a hundred men, which were defeated in battle in 1882, with Albarracín and his son being killed in action.[10]

On April 23, 1921, measles in epidemic form was reported in the province, as well as neighboring Antofagasta, occurring among troops. At the same time, smallpox was reported present.[11][12]

On June 3, 1929 the Treaty of Lima was signed by then Peruvian Representative Pedro José Rada y Gamio and Chilean Representative Emiliano Figueroa Larrain, leading to the effective return of Tacna to Peru at midnight, on the 28th of August 1929, creating the Department of Tacna, and Arica (both the former Peruvian Department as well as some territory of the Department of Tacna ceded by the treaty) was permanently given to Chile, being integrated into the Tarapacá Province, ending the existence of the Chilean Province of Tacna. Nevertheless, even with the border conflict officially over, controversy would continue among nationals of both Peru and Bolivia, who would continue her claims over her lost territories, seeking once again a connection to the ocean with the assistance of international mediators on the issue which is yet to be solved, and continues to this day.[2][13][14][15][16] The handover had no official ceremony, with some Chilean officials temporarily staying behind to assist Peru regarding the new administration. Nonetheless, the return of the territory was met with ceremonies in Peru, with President Augusto B. Leguía overseeing a military parade in Lima, and church bells ringing in celebration. Some Chilean citizens, who had remained in the province after the handover asked to be repatriated.[17]

Administration

According to a law of December 30, 1927, in the Department of Arica the following communes and sub-delegations were created:

Comuna Subdelegaciones
Arica Morro
Azapa
Lluta
Putre Putre
Belén Belén
Codpa Codpa
General Lagos General Lagos

The communes of Arica, Putre, Belén, Codpa and General Lagos, all formed a single municipal group, whose head was the city of Arica.

In 1930, after remaining a year without belonging to any province after the suppression of the province of Tacna, when part of the homonymous department was annexed to Peru, this department becomes the Province of Tarapacá, as a result of the Treaty of Lima.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Guía administrativa, industrial y comercial de las provincias de Tacna, Tarapacá y Antofagasta (in Spanish). Imprenta y Encuadernación "Chile". 1913. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  2. 1 2 "DISPUTE SETTLED AFTER 50 YEARS". The Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. Feb 22, 1929.
  3. ↑ "PERU AND CHILE CONTROVERSY EXPLAINED". The Gazette Times. Associated Press. 26 Jan 1919.
  4. ↑ "TACNA-ARICA PLESBICITE". The Sunday Tribune. 9 Mar 1925.
  5. ↑ "COOLIDGE PUTS CHILE-PERU DISPUTE UP TO VOTERS". Reading Eagle. 9 Mar 1925.
  6. ↑ "CHILEANS WIN PERU DISPUTE". The Evening Independent. 9 Mar 1925.
  7. ↑ "PERU WANTS HEARING". The Spokesman-Review. 3 Feb 1919.
  8. ↑ "Peruanos y Chilenos". Diario del Hogar. 27 Apr 1907.
  9. ↑ "Chile Wins Verdict In Old Dispute Over Provinces". The Telegraph-Herald. 9 Mar 1925.
  10. ↑ "NO PEACE FOR PERU". The Morning Herald. 16 Nov 1882.
  11. ↑ Prevalence of Disease: Foreign and Insular. (1921). Public Health Reports (1896-1970), 36(24), 1420-1435. Retrieved August 19, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4576026
  12. ↑ Volume Information. (1921). Public Health Reports, 36(25), III-XXXII. Retrieved August 19, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4576027
  13. ↑ "Bolivian Bid Meets New Parley Rebuff". Newark Sunday Call. 1922-05-21. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  14. ↑ "Bolivia Wants Seaport Along Pacific Coast". Urbana Daily Democrat. 24 Jan 1919.
  15. ↑ "Tacna-Arica". The Toledo News Bee. Feb 25, 1929.
  16. ↑ "BOLIVIA NO ABANDONA SUS PRETENSIONES A UN PUERTO MARITIMO (Bolivia does not abandon its claims to a maritime port)". El Tiempo. 20 May 1929.
  17. ↑ "Tacna Province Now Back in Peru's Hands". Schenectady Gazette. Aug 31, 1929.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.