History
[edit]
Early period[edit]
The area was inhabited for thousands of years by Amerindians. At the time of European encounter, the Napeano and Iquito peoples occupied the area. They had small seasonal settlements and were nomadic hunter-gatherers, living in close association with the rivers. The city name of Iquitos is derived from a group of native people called Iquitos by the Spaniards. They had previously inhabited areas along the rivers Pastaza, Arabela, Tigre, Nanay, and Curaray. Eventually, the native Iquito migrated to the area around the rivers Nanay, Amazonas, Itaya, and the Lake Moronacocha.
Between 1638 and 1769, the Iquitos and other native tribes of the Marañon rivers were obliged to settle down in various Missions (known as reducciones or reductions) founded and run by Jesuit missionaries from the Audiencia of Quito. The Jesuits settled in the major cities of the Audiencia of Quito, which was part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada at the time. During this period of nearly 130 years, 161 Jesuit missionaries worked to convert and educate the natives of the Amazon region. Among them were 63 criollos (white ethnic Spanish colonists born in the Audencia), 43 Spaniards, 32 Germans and Dutch, 20 Italians, 2 Portuguese, and 1 Frenchman. Their role in South America was to convert the natives of the Amazon Basin to Christianity. The Jesuits successfully gathered the natives living along the Marañon river into various Jesuit missions, where they were set to work at farming and other pursuits.
Commencing in 1730, the Jesuits took 37 years to found the Iquitos missions along the Marañon River, close to the mouth of the Napo and Amazon rivers. These were collectively known as Iquitos Missions, since all these settlements were mainly populated chiefly by the Iquitos natives of the region. The naming and foundation of all the Iquitos Missions were done by Jesuit Father José Bahamonde. He was born in Quito on 1 January 1710, accepted into the Jesuit order, and served as a missionary for decades. After Charles III of Spain suppressed and expelled the Society of Jesus from South America in 1767, Bahamonde was exiled to Italy, where he died in Ravenna, Italy on 11 May 1786.
The following is a chronological list of noted Iquitos Missions founded by Bahamonde and other Jesuits:
1730, Santa Maria de la Luz de los Iquitos "town," founded by Father Bahamonde – as recorded in the Archives of the Indies in Spain.
1740, Juan Nepomuceno de Iquitos, founded by Father Bahamonde
1741, Santa Bárbara de Iquitos, founded by Father Bahamonde
1742, San Sebastián de Iquitos, founded by fathers Bahamonde and Bretano
1748, Sagrado Corazón de Jesús de Maracanos (de Iquitos), founded by Father Bahamonde
1754, Santa María de Iquitos, founded by Father Uriarte
1757, San Pablo de los Napeanos, founded by Father Bahamonde
1763 San Javier de Iquitos, founded by Father Palme
1767 San José de Iquitos, founded by Father Uriarte. Later that year the Jesuits were expelled from South America by order of Charles III.
During the Spanish Colonial era, most of the Jesuit missions were under the jurisdiction of the Royal Audiencia of Quito. Created in 1563, it was a part of the Viceroyalty of Peru, and was transferred briefly to the Viceroyalty of New Granada on 27 May 1717 known as the Cedula Real of 1717 (Royal Decree of 1717). Six and a half years later, on 5 November 1723, Philip V of Spain dissolved the Viceroyalty of New Granada and reincorporated the Audiencia of Quito into the Viceroyalty of Peru. Sixteen years later Philip V of Spain decided to re-create the Viceroyalty of New Granada and to re incorporate the Audiencia of Quito through the Cedula Real (Royal Decree) dated 20 August 1739. Charles III of Spain suppressed the Society of Jesus, believing them too powerful, and expelled them from South America by order dated 20 August 1767. Given the distance from Quito and the lack of roads connecting to that city, a political vacuum was developed in the area. The undefended Jesuit missions were attacked by the Brazilian Bandeirantes. In response the King of Spain on recommendation of Francisco Raquena created the Government and Commandancy General of Maynas in 1802 to halt the invasion into the Spanish Amazon of land-hungry mestizo Portuguese Bandeirantes. In general, this amounted to the religious administration and military command of all tributaries of the Amazon river in the Amazon Basin that belonged to the Royal Audiencia of Quito in the Viceroyalty of New Granada being transferred again to the Viceroyalty of Peru. The Portuguese advance was halted at Tabatinga.
19th century: independence[edit]
In the early 19th century, following independence, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Brazil had overlapping claims to the Northwestern Amazon Basin, based on each country's interpretation of their colonial de jure titles. The disputed area was populated mostly by groups of nomadic Amerindian natives living in the Amazon jungle. In addition there were semi-assimilated sedentary Amerindians living with a handful of whites and mestizos, dedicated to trading in sparsely populated trading port villages that were found scattered along the river banks of the Amazon Basin. During the colonial era the disputed area known as Maynas had numerous missions administered by the Jesuits of Quito. After the Jesuits were expelled from South America, only a handful of missions survived in the 19th century as isolated trading villages. The Brazilians, by contrast, had a chain of villages along the Amazon River that stretched to its ports along the Atlantic Ocean.
Because Peru discovered that Ecuador and Colombia neglected to effectively control their Amazonian territories during their colonial era, Peru decided to back its de jure titles with de facto possession by setting up military posts in the relatively isolated trading villages and then flooding the disputed area with Peruvian colonists. The only problem lay with the expanding ambitions of Brazil, since it had slowly settled its part of the disputed area with colonists throughout its colonial era; it had a trading relationship with the Spanish-speaking trading posts and villages along the Marañon River. To neutralize Brazil from impeding Peru's planned colonization project, on 23 October 1851, Peru peacefully settled its disputes with Brazil and both countries agreed to a bilateral free navigation and friendly trade along the Amazon River.
As a result of the Peruvian-Brazilian treaty, the Peruvian President Ramon Castilla created the Military and Political Department of Loreto on 7 January 1861 from the former Maynas territory. Castilla ordered that a fluvial port be constructed in a strategic spot on the Amazon River. After some debate, his staff chose the trading port Village of Iquitos. On 5 January 1864, three steamships of the Peruvian Navy: Pastaza, Próspero y Morona, arrived in the Village of Iquitos.
This date is marked as the founding of the first fluvial Peruvian port of Iquitos by the government of Peru. A dockyard and navy factorage imported from England was immediately constructed. In time Iquitos grew so much that it was designated as the capital of the Department of Loreto on 9 November 1897. Iquitos also became the seat of a Roman Catholic Apostolic vicariate. Peru was able to map out and assume de facto control of the majority of the area of the Amazon region under dispute with Ecuador and Colombia. After many skirmishes with Ecuadorian and Colombian outposts, that at times led to war, Peru settled its border with Colombia in 1922 and with Ecuador in 1942.
Rubber boom in the 20th century[edit]
The Booth pier at Iquitos c. 1912Beginning in the 1900s, Iquitos became wealthy through its rubber industry throughout the rubber boom; it attracted thousands of immigrants from around the world, mostly young single men who hoped to make their fortunes in rubber. The rise of the automobile and related industries had dramatically increased the worldwide demand for rubber. Some men became merchants and bankers, and made their fortunes that way. Many of the European men married indigenous women and stayed in Iquitos the rest of their lives, founding ethnically mixed families. The immigrants brought European clothing styles, music, architecture and other cultural elements to Iquitos. They established an opera house that featured European classical music.
There were twenty-five different commercial houses dealing with rubber at Iquitos in the year 1900. These enterprises were founded by influential citizens of the city, some of the most prominent of these people include Julio César Arana, Cecilio Hernández, as well as Luis and Adolfo Morey. The rubber baron Carlos Fitzcarrald was also active in the city of Iquitos until he drowned in a steamship accident on the Urubamba River in 1897. Rubber entrepreneurs participated in regional politics, and directly as well as indirectly funded the development of the city. A number of successful rubber entrepreneurs held political offices, or had influence over politics in the city during this era. In 1901, Luis F. Morey became a senator for the department of Loreto, which Iquitos was the capital of. Enrique A. Llosa, who had a business relationship with Arana and Luis Morey, became the mayor of Iquitos in 1901. The following year, Arana became the city's mayor, and in 1903 he assumed the office of President for Loreto's chamber of commerce. Cecilio Hernández was also elected as the mayor, later in 1906. A census conducted in 1903 by Bentio Lores, the subprefect of the Bajo Amazonas at the time, documented that there were 9,438 inhabitants in Iquitos.
Decauville Locomotive in the early 1900s
In 1908, Hildebrando Fuentes, Prefect of Loreto between 1904–1906, published Loreto: Apuntes geográficos, históricos, esdisticos, politicos y sociales which was based on information he collected while in Iquitos. According to Cristóbal Cardemil-Krause, Fuentes writings "make clear the existence of significant tensions between national and private interests. Entrepreneurs in Loreto controlled the area and appeared to create a state within the state, limiting the effects of Fuentes's decisions." Fuentes also described the practice of Correrias which were slave raids carried out by rubber tappers that resulted in the killing of many indigenous people. Men and older indigenous women were typically killed by the rubber tappers, while children and young females were brought to rubber camps or nearby cities, including Iquitos. The captive children and young females were typically sold at these cities. Fuentes referred to these correrias as "the great crime of the mountain" and in regards to his inability to act against the rubber tappers, he claimed that "[t]hey do all this significantly beyond the reach of authority.". Fuentes wrote that the majority of the indigenous servants at Iquitos consisted of indigenous people captured during correrias, and at times these people were sold in Iquitos for a price ranging between £30 and £50. Walter Ernest Hardenburg, an American engineer that had a prominent role in exposing the Putumayo genocide, also claimed that indigenous people were trafficked in Iquitos and sold in that city for prices ranging between £20 and £40.
In an effort to discourage human trafficking from Loreto to the Brazilian Amazon, government commissioner Joaquin Capello issued a decree in 1900 that required employers to provide a bond for any of their workers that were leaving Peru. This bond was initially set at 200 Peruvian soles and had the intention of attracting employers to transport their workers back into the country once their contracts expired. The bond amount was later increased by Capello's successors. In 1903, subprefect Benito Lores denounced the continuance of human trafficking in Loreto, he stated that instances of human trafficking were covered up under the pretense of transferring debts from one employer to another. Lores claimed that many of the wealthy residents of Iquitos were transporting indigenous peons and transferring their debts to patrons on rivers in Brazil. Once under the custody of their new Brazilian patrons, these indigenous people were interred deep into the forest, far away from the influence of governmental authorities, "where there is no law other than the whip or the bullet." Members of the local business class denied these allegations of trafficking reported by Lores: and in 1904 several rubber merchants signed a petition addressed to the new Prefect Hildebrando Fuentes which demanded the annulment of Capello's decree from 1900. These merchants argued that the decree was unconstitutional due to it prohibiting the free movement of people. Another argument was that instead of benefitting the affected peons, the decree worsened their situation since patrons charged the bail amount against the peons debt. The petition suggested that local authorities and representatives from the chamber of commerce should establish legislation to regulate the removal of peons from the country.
The wealthiest Europeans built great mansions in the late 19th century, some of which survive. Casa de Fierro (Spanish for the Iron House) is said to have been designed by Gustave Eiffel, designer of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, but evidence supporting this claim is scant. After a Briton, Henry Wickham, smuggled rubber seeds out of the area to establish competing rubber plantations in British colonies in southeast Asia and Africa, the boom came to an end. In addition, a 1913 investigative report by Roger Casement, the British consul-general to Iquitos who had investigated labor conditions for natives in the Congo Free State when it was under King Leopold's control, revealed the abuses committed against indigenous workers in the Putumayo River Basin by the Peruvian Amazon Company (PAC), owned by businessman Julio César Arana. Its several British board members and numerous stockholders in London were pressured into making changes in the operations of the company. Many of the British shareholders divested themselves of this company in an effort to force changes. While Arana was forced to liquidate the PAC, he retained access to most of its assets as well as territory and he continued to operate in the rubber industry through the rubber enterprise of Cecilio Hernández. Casement wrote that he was convinced that "[t]he entire Indian population is enslaved in the montaña and whereupon the devil plant, the rubber tree, grows and can be tapped. The wilder the Indian the wickeder the slavery."
Barracks of the Loreto regiment in Iquitos, Peru
The army garrison at Iquitos was sent to the Caraparaná tributary of the Putumayo River in 1908 to assist Arana's company in acquiring several Colombian rubber estates through force. This detachment was accompanied by the Peruvian warship Iquitos. According to Victor Macedo, this garrison force consisted of 120 men, 80 of which had perished by 1910, mostly on the Caraparaná River.
In 1911, more than 237 arrest warrants were issued by judges Carlos A. Valcárcel and Rómulo Paredes against employees of the PAC due to their perpetration of the Putumayo Genocide. Pablo Zumaeta, a brother-in-law of Arana and the general manager of PAC, had an arrest warrant issued against him by Valcárcel on July 29, however Zumaeta requested to appeal it and this warrant was annulled by the Superior Court of Iquitos before the end of 1911. Zumaeta was permitted by local authorities and the Prefect to remain in his residency in Iquitos while his arrest warrant was active. Once the arrest warrant was annulled, Zumaeta was allowed to return to public life, he was out of hiding by November 2 of 1911. Valcárcel left Iquitos in protest of the Superior Courts decision to annul Zumaeta's warrant, Valcárcel was also accused by Zumaeta with "revealing public documents". The Superior Court of Iquitos dismissed Valcárcel from his office on the basis that he abandoned his post without permission.
Judge Rómulo Paredes, Pablo Zumaeta and Gennaro Herrera, another prominent citizen of Iquitos, all ran for the mayoral election of Iquitos in 1911, which was held on November 5 and 6. Paredes emerged as the candidate with the most votes from the election, in response to these results the political faction backing Zumaeta filed an appeal with the Junta Escrutadora, which decided to annul the election. The Junta Escrutadora consisted of five members, two of which, Juan Bautista Vega and Victor Israel, were known associates of Julio Cesar Arana. In 1912, Zumaeta became the mayor of Iquitos, he served another term in this office in 1914. Valcárcel issued arrest warrants against Julio Arana and Juan Bautista Vega on December 10 of 1912 however these were also annulled by the Superior Court of Iquitos. Many of those under the employ of Arana that were issued arrest warrants evaded capture. Two of the most prominent criminals involved in the Putumayo Genocide that were arrested, Armando Normand and Aurelio Rodríguez, escaped from prison at Iquitos in May 1915 prior to a verdict in their trial.
In 1912, Hardenburg published The Putumayo, the Devil's Paradise, the editor of this book noted that the English consul-general in Iquitos, David Cazes, should have been aware of human trafficking occurring between the Putumayo River and Iquitos. Judge Rómulo Paredes implicated Cazes with "aiding the guilty parties in keeping from the Peruvian Government an exact knowledge of what was taking place". The editor also wrote that the twenty-one constables employed by the Peruvian government on the Putumayo River "had all been bribed by the English traders and shut their eyes to what was happening in the jungle." Hardenburg reported that he had witnessed one Peruvian comisario on the Putumayo River, César Lúrquin, travelling on a steamship with a young indigenous Huitoto girl, Hardenburg concluded that Lúrquin intended to sell this child in Iquitos. Regarding Lúrquin, Hardenburg wrote "instead of stopping on the Putumayo, travelling about there and really making efforts to suppress crime by punishing the criminals, he contented himself with visiting the region four or five times a year—always on the company’s launches—stopping a week or so, collecting some children to sell, and then returning and making his “report.”"
Illustration of the rubber baron Julio César Arana, published by the ‘La Felpa’ newspaper in 1908.Anthropologist Michael Taussig claimed that David Cazes enterprise, the Iquitos Trading Company, was dependent on Julio César Arana's business. During Casement's investigation in 1910, he found out that several Barbadian men employed by the PAC had complained to Cazes that they were physically abused by agents of Arana's company: however Cazes did not relay this information to the British Foreign Office. Regarding Cazes, Casement wrote that "[h]e knew a very great deal of the Putumayo and kept it quiet – like everyone else in Iquitos. The Arana influence was too strong – and he was a trader and sold to them." Cazes was also aware of the newspaper publications of Benjamin Saldaña Rocca, which publicly denounced Arana's company for perpetrating atrocities against indigenous people, he did not forward this information to the British Foreign Office either. Prior to November of 1911, the Beatriz steamship, owned by Cazes's company, was chartered by the Peruvian government to transport Peruvian soldiers and supplies to the Putumayo River as well as transport rubber from the Peruvian Amazon Company on that river to Iquitos. On November 27 of 1911, Roger Casement wrote that Beatriz arrived at Iquitos with 41 tons of rubber, he noted that no freight was charged by the government for the transportation of this rubber. Casement was informed by Cazes that this was in accordance with an agreement between Arana's company and the Peruvian government.
During the Peruvian Amazon Company's perpetration of the Putumayo genocide, the company's steamships occasionally trafficked indigenous people to Iquitos, where they were sold. Walter Ernest Hardenburg wrote that every steamship that left the Putumayo carried "from five to fifteen little Indian boys and girls, who are torn, sobbing, from their mothers’ arms without the slightest compunction" Casement implicated several other rubber businesses with trafficking indigenous people on their steamships for the slave trade in Iquitos, specifically Wesche & Company and the Khan Polack Company, which were both operating on the Ucayali River. He emphasized that these companies were just as responsible for the propagation of a slave market in the region as the armed raiders carrying out slave raids against the indigenous people. The reason being that these two companies supplied the raiders and transported groups of enslaved indigenous people to Iquitos or towards rubber extraction camps. The head of Wesche & Company, Emilio Strassberger, was elected as mayor of Iquitos between 1912–1913.
Aerial view of the city in 1987
Rubber from plantations in Asia was soon produced at lower cost, undercutting that of South America, and rubber declined in importance in Peru. Iquitos continued to operate as an important trading port in the Amazon basin. It exploited its timber, oil and mineral resources for export and processing, along with agricultural and other products.
Among the unique communities formed by the 19th-century immigrants to the rubber boom was one of Sephardic Jews from Morocco. Many of the men married native women and made families in Iquitos. They established a synagogue and the Jewish cemetery. In the first generation, some of the women or children converted to Judaism, but by the end of the 20th century, four or five generations later, most descendants were no longer practicing Jews. Most were reared as Catholic.
20th century[edit]
Belén District
In the 1990s, a descendant of a Jewish settler undertook serious study of Judaism. He began to revive the practice of Judaism among his family, friends, and other Sephardi descendants. After years of study, with the help of a sympathetic Conservative rabbi in Lima and another from Brooklyn, New York, eventually a few hundred people studied, practiced as Jews, and converted to Judaism. (Formal conversion was necessary according to Halakha as their mothers were not Jewish.) Many of the converts have emigrated to Israel under its Law of Return. A documentary was made about this community in 2010. Emigration of Peruvians from this Iquitos community has continued; about 150 emigrated in 2013 to 2014, see "Peruvian Jews in Israel" for more.
On 13 August 2012, a special plaque was placed in the plaza 28 de Julio of the city in a ceremony to commemorate the Amazon River and rainforest as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. The plaque was forged in Munich, Germany. Iguazu Falls in Argentina has also been recognized as one of these top natural wonders.
In 2021, it was announced that a large (100 MW/100 MWH) solar and storage power facility would be built at Iquitos by 2026, replacing as much as half the diesel burned to produce electricity in the city.
