Tacna (;

Aymara Aymara may refer to: Languages and people * Aymaran languages, the second most widespread Andean language ** Aymara language, the main language within that family ** Central Aymara, the other surviving branch of the Aymara(n) family, which today ...

and

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several Indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, an Indigenous South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language ...

: ''Taqna'') is the southernmost department and

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. The

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

an Army occupied the present-day Tacna Department during the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific (), also known by War of the Pacific#Etymology, multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Treaty of Defensive Alliance (Bolivia–Peru), Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought over Atacama Desert ...

from 1885 until 1929 when it was reincorporated into Peru.

Geography

The department of Tacna has borders with the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

on the west, the

department of Moquegua Moquegua () is a department and region in southern Peru that extends from the coast to the highlands. Its capital is the city of Moquegua, which is among the main Peruvian cities for its high rates of GDP and national education. Geography The ...

on the north, the

department of Puno Puno () is a department and region in southeastern Peru. It is the fifth largest department in Peru, after Cuzco, Madre de Dios, Ucayali, and Loreto. It is bordered by Bolivia on the east, the departments of Madre de Dios on the north, Cusc ...

on the northeast, the

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

n La Paz Department on the east, and the

Arica-Parinacota Region The Arica y Parinacota Region ( ) is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. It comprises two provinces, Arica and Parinacota. It borders Peru's Department of Tacna to the north, Bolivia's La Paz and Oruro departments to the eas ...

of Chile on the south. The border between the Tacna Region and Chile is known as ''La Línea de la Concordia''. The region is located below the

Titicaca Lake Titicaca (; ; ) is a large freshwater lake in the Andes mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It is often called the highest navigable lake in the world. Titicaca is the largest lake in South America, both in terms of the volume of ...

plateau and has a diverse

geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

, including

volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...

es,

desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

s, and mountainous zones, from which arise

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

s that cross over the punas and the

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

s, thus forming the

hydrographical Hydrography is the branch of applied sciences which deals with the measurement and description of the physical features of oceans, seas, Coast, coastal areas, lakes and rivers, as well as with the prediction of their change over time, for the pr ...

system of this zone. The region is small in size but has a significant

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

and

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

potential. It has various

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

s and diverse production.

Climate

This area has a high level of sunshine year round due to its stable descending air and high pressure. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Tacna has a

desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

, abbreviated "Bwh" on climate maps.

History

Prehistoric era

There is evidence of the presence of a very early culture that goes back almost 10 000 years. The

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

investigations in the region have proven that a civilization dwelt in this zone in the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

. The

Toquepala Caves Toquepala Caves are located near Toquepala mine, about from the city of Tacna, in the extreme southeast of Peru. They are notable for a number of rock paintings. The best known of them is the cave named ''Abrigo del Diablo'' ("Devil's rock fac ...

(7630 BC) and Abrigo de Caru (6240 BC) belong to this age. There are other sites such as Girata Complex, Mullini, and Queñavichinca, where investigations have not been concluded.

Spanish conquest

The first groups of

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

conquerors arrived in the region in 1535. These groups were formed by members of the Almagro expedition, organised to conquer Chile. During this time, the city of Tacna was called Villa San Pedro de Tacna. In 1615 and 1784 Tacna experienced violent earthquakes, and many towns were reduced to ruins. However, they were rebuilt in the same locations as before.

19th century

Tacna has a seat of honour in the emancipation process. In 1811,

Francisco Antonio de Zela Francisco Antonio de Zela y Arizaga (July 24, 1768, in Lima – July 18, 1819, in Panama City) is notable for sending forth the first anti-Spanish rebellion in the Peruvian city of Tacna on June 20, 1811, in an attempt to start the independenc ...

made the first declarations in favour of a libertarian administration from Tacna. Once the Peruvian independence struggle was well under way, the heroism of this city was honoured by the revolutionary government's proclamation to promote it to the rank of villa in 1823. On 26 May 1828, President

José de La Mar José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...

promulgated a law passed by Congress by which the city of Tacna was given the title of ''Ciudad Heroica'' (Heroic City). The administrative divisions before the war against Chile were as follows: During the

against Chile, the ''tacneños'' made contributions to the resistance of the state to the advances of the Chilean forces into the province, some giving up their lives in defence of the nation.

Chilean administration

On 26 May 1880, after the Battle of

Alto de la Alianza The Alto de la Alianza Monumental Complex () is a historical monument and landmark complex in the south of Peru, near the city of Tacna. The monument is located in the site of the Battle of Tacna, a battle that took place on May 26, 1880 between ...

, the

Chilean army The Chilean Army () is the land arm of the Chilean Armed Forces. This 80,000-person army (9,200 of which are conscripts) is organized into six divisions, an army aviation brigade and a special operations brigade. In recent years, and after sever ...

occupied the Tacna province. Under the terms of the treaty, Chile was to occupy the provinces of Tacna and Arica for ten years, after which a plebiscite was to be held to determine the region's sovereignty. Tacna remained under Chilean control for 50 years, during which Chilean groups and authorities led a campaign of Chilenization in an attempt to persuade the local population to abandon their Peruvian past and accept Chilean nationality. However, Peruvian

nationalists Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...

ensured that the Chilean propaganda failed and the planned plebiscite was never held. Finally, in 1929, the Treaty of Lima was signed in which Chile kept Arica, while Peru regained Tacna whilst receiving a $6 million indemnity and other concessions. From 1890 to 1929, Locumba served as the provisional capital of the area of the department not under Chilean administration. Some of the important persons who lived in Tacna during the Chilean administration was

Salvador Allende Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 1970 until Death of Salvador Allende, his death in 1973 Chilean coup d'état, 1973. As a ...

and his

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

; they lived in the city for eight years. Allende lived in Tacna from infancy. He arrived in 1908 and studied in the Tacna School (Liceo de Tacna).

Maritime dispute

On 26 January 2007, Peru's government issued a protest against

’s demarcation of the coastal frontier that the two countries share. Peruvian President

Alan García Alan Gabriel Ludwig García Pérez (; 23 May 1949 – 17 April 2019) was a Peruvian politician who served as President of Peru for two non-consecutive terms from 1985 to 1990 and from 2006 to 2011. He was the second leader of the American Popula ...

recalled his ambassador to Chile, Hugo Otero, to Lima to consult about the controversy over the

maritime boundary A maritime boundary is a conceptual division of Earth's water surface areas using physiographical or geopolitical criteria. As such, it usually bounds areas of exclusive national rights over mineral and biological resources,VLIZ Maritime Boun ...

the two countries share. According to the Peruvian Foreign Ministry, the Chilean legislatures endorsed a plan regarding the

Arica and Parinacota region The Arica y Parinacota Region ( ) is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. It comprises two provinces, Arica and Parinacota. It borders Peru's Department of Tacna to the north, Bolivia's La Paz and Oruro departments to the east ...

which did not comply with the established demarcation of the

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

. They alleged that the proposed Chilean law included an assertion of

sovereignty Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...

over 19,000 square metres of land in Peru's Department of

Tacna Tacna, officially known as San Pedro de Tacna, is a city in southern Peru and the regional capital of the Tacna Region. A very commercially active city, it is located only north of the border with Arica y Parinacota Region from Chile, inland f ...

. According to the Peruvian Foreign Ministry, Chile had defined a new region "without respecting the Concordia demarcation." The Peruvian government maintained that the dispute over the Chilean plan is part of an ongoing maritime dispute whereby Chile had tried to use the demarcation process to extend its maritime frontier. Over the past 50 years, Peru has maintained claims over roughly 40,000 square kilometers of ocean territory. The

an government asserted that the region in dispute is not a coastal site named Concordia, but instead refers to boundary stone No. 1, which is located to the northeast and 200 meters inland. Given that the proposed Chilean law did not recognize the borderline established by both nations in the 1929 agreement, Peru lodged diplomatic protests with Chile. In the complex territorial dispute, Chile was asserting the border near the Pacific Ocean to fit in the geographical parallel, which Lima asserted would cut off at least 19,000 squares metres of the Peruvian territory. A possible border dispute was averted when the Chilean Constitutional Court ruled on the issue on 26 January 2007, striking down the legislation. Whilst agreeing with the court's ruling, the Chilean government reiterated its stance that the maritime borders between the two nations were not in question and had been formally approved by the international community. On 28 January 2007, Peru's leading newspaper '' El Comercio'' reported that the President of the Cabinet of Ministers (Consejo de Ministros del Perú), Jorge del Castillo, expressed his grave concern over the pending maritime dispute with Chile.El Comercio /Politica/Lunes, 29 de enero de 2007
/ref> ICJ Peru Chile judgment map4

On 27 January 2014, in the final ruling of the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...

located in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, Peru gained some maritime territory. The maritime boundary extends only to off of the coast. From that point, the new border runs in a southwesterly direction to a point that is equidistant from the coast of the two countries. Under the ruling, Chile lost control over part of its formerly claimed maritime territory and gave additional maritime territory to Peru. From the 27 January 2014 court press release:

Political division

Tacna Department is divided into four

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

s (, singular: ''provincia''), which are composed of 26

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

s (''distritos'', singular: ''distrito'').

Provinces

The provinces, with their capitals in parentheses, are: *

Candarave Candarave is a town in the Tacna Region in southern Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, ...

(

) *

Jorge Basadre Jorge Alfredo Basadre Grohmann (12 February 1903 – 29 June 1980) was a Peruvian historian known for his extensive publications about the independent history of his country. He served during two different administrations as Minister of Educati ...

( Locumba) *

(

) * Tarata ( Tarata)

Economy

Tacna's primary income earner is copper mining. Agriculturally, Tacna produces 53.15% of the whole olive crop in Peru. It also produces maize, potatoes, wheat, cotton, oregano, alfalfa, and grapevine (for the production of wine and pisco). It also has a sizable herd of dairy cattle and lamb. In addition to mining and agriculture, fishing is also important, as Tacna's offshore region is abundant in fish resources.

Local customs

Typical dishes and beverages

Tacna offers visitors colorful dishes exquisitely combined and abundantly served. The ''picante a la Tacneña'' and ''patazca Tacneña'' belong to this region. Corn and cheese, ''chicharrones'' with toasted corn, cuy, or guinea pig ''chactado'', corn cake with peanuts and raisins, baked pork, grilled lamb, are also local specialties. To drink, Tacna has macerated Brussels apricot, ''frutilla'' or tumbo, and wines produced in the local vineyards.

Festivities

Carnivals. They are celebrated in different towns and villages with typical local dances that can go on for entire days and nights. * April – the Corn and Potato Festival in Tacna. * 26 May – the Anniversary of the

Battle of Alto de la Alianza The Battle of Tacna, also known as the Battle of the Peak of the Alliance (Spanish: ''Batalla del Alto de la Alianza''), effectively destroyed the Peru-Bolivian alliance against Chile, forged by a secret treaty signed in 1873. On 26 May 1880, t ...

. * 7 June – the Anniversary of the

Battle of Arica The Battle of Arica, also known as ''Assault and Capture of Cape Arica'', was a battle in the War of the Pacific. It was fought on 7 June 1880, between the forces of Chile and Peru. After the Battle of Tacna and the following Bolivian withdra ...

. * 20 June – Day to remember the tacneño patriot

. * 23 June – Night of San Juan. * 28 August – '' Procesión de la Bandera''. A civic procession act in which women of Tacna carry the red and white

Peruvian flag The Flag of Peru (), often referred to as The Bicolour (), was adopted by the government of Peru in 1825, and modified in 1950. According to the article 49 of the Constitution of Peru, it is a vertical triband (flag), triband with red outer band ...

through the streets of the city. Later, various associations, groups of students, and the armed and police forces take part in a parade that ends in the main square, where the Arch of the Heroes is located. It is part of a week that celebrates the reincorporation of Tacna into Peruvian territory. Simultaneously, a fair for farm and livestock products, industrial goods, and handicrafts takes place.

References

External links

Gobierno Regional de Tacna
– Tacna Regional Government official website
Diario Digital Sur Noticias
– Tacna Digital News official website
www.tacnavirtual.com
web site of Tacna {{Authority control