TACNA AND ARICA
[Illustration: A VENERABLE PALM OF TACNA.]
At the time of the Independence, Arica was a province of Arequipa, which
then comprised, in addition to its present territory, the provinces of
Moquegua, Arica, and Tarapacá. Afterward Arica was divided to create the
province of Tacna, and, in 1839, Moquegua was separated from Arequipa
and joined to Tacna, Arica, and Tarapacá, to form the Department of
Moquegua. In 1868, Tarapacá was made an independent Littoral Province,
with Iquique as its capital; and, in 1875, the province of Moquegua was
elevated to the same dignity. Tacna and Arica, with the small province
of Tarata, which had been formed the year previous by a division of
Tacna, were then joined to constitute the Department of Tacna, one of
the richest and most important of the republic, politically and
commercially.
In Arica, as well as Tarapacá, nitrate exists in large quantities; and
this product, the exports of which had already, in 1875, reached a
quarter of a million tons annually, was then rapidly making Tarapacá the
richest province of Peru, and its capital, Iquique, a flourishing centre
of commercial prosperity. When war brought disaster to the country a few
years later, and the indemnity demanded by Chile meant the dismemberment
of the republic, the Littoral Province of Tarapacá, ceded
unconditionally, became a part of Chile at the same time that Tacna and
Arica passed into the temporary possession of that country, in
accordance with the treaty of Ancón, in 1883.
Thus, by the mere accident of being a border province, Tarapacá—whose
people had fought for their country in all its battles; had been taught
from their cradles to worship the national heroes and to emulate their
patriotic deeds; had been among the first to join their
fellow-countrymen when a call to arms brought the nation into the field
against a common foe—Tarapacá, the victim of circumstances, was
condemned to recognize the government that had issued a declaration of
war against its people, and, in the hour of victory, had demanded its
territory as payment for the costs of war. The conquering nation made
what has been regarded by many as an exorbitant claim; but Chile acted
on precedent and within the law of nations. The deplorable fact is not
that a country should have taken the full measure of its reward for
victory, but that, after nearly two thousand years of Christianity, it
should still be permitted among Christian nations for one government to
demand, and another to grant, the dismemberment of a united nation,
whose sons have stood together as compatriots through all its
vicissitudes, have labored for its well-being and gloried in its
progress; and that they and their property should suddenly be placed
under foreign jurisdiction, because the decisions of a war council will
it so. It is believed by some pessimists that the dominion of military
force is as strong to-day as ever, and that only the necessity for
preserving “the balance of power” prevents wars of conquest in the
twentieth century as relentless as those of the fifteenth—but who, that
has seen the “Christ of the Andes,” or read the Constitution of the
United States, can believe this to be true?
[Illustration: BRIDGE ACROSS THE SAMA RIVER, PROVISIONAL BOUNDARY
BETWEEN PERU AND CHILE.]
As regards Tacna, the situation being temporary, or presumably so, one’s
sensibilities are not so afflicted by the condition. When the plebiscite
comes, a majority vote will suffice to give the Peruvians back their
ownership, on their government’s paying ten million dollars indemnity.
These provinces have always been closely identified with the political
life of Peru. It was from Tacna that the first band of patriots started
out to join the Independent forces on the plain of Oruro against the
royalist armies; and it was from this capital that the voice of the
grand old republican, Gonzales Vigil, sounded the first clarion notes of
appeal for liberal government in the newly organized councils of the
nation. Statesmen, scholars, and soldiers have come out of the homes of
Tacna and Arica to serve their government in the cabinet, the college,
and the battlefield. And the Morro de Arica, a perpetual monument to the
courage of Peruvian officers, serves ever to remind those who wait for
the promised plebiscite that their children must be told its history.
[Illustration: SNOW PEAKS ON THE BOLIVIAN BORDER, TACNA.]
By the terms of the treaty mentioned, the Sama River marks the northern
boundary of the territory occupied by Chile, which leaves a part of the
provinces of Tacna and Tarata under Peruvian government. The entire area
of these provinces is about fourteen thousand square miles, the
districts at present occupied by Chile covering three-fourths of the
territory. The Department of Tacna extends from the Pacific Ocean inland
to the Bolivian border, and is bounded on the north and northwest by the
Peruvian states of Puno and Moquegua. The coast region is warm and dry,
and the pampas of Arica are rich in nitrate deposits. The city of Arica,
situated on the beautiful bay of the same name, possesses one of the
most delightful climates in the world. It is the seaport terminus of the
Tacna and Arica railway, and the chief outlet for the traffic of a vast
territory. The new offices of the Arica and La Paz railway—which is now
under construction by Chile to connect the Bolivian city with this
seaport—occupy a handsome building overlooking the harbor, and the city
has several attractive public edifices, parks, and plazas. Tacna is the
social and educational centre of the department, and its capital; though
under the existing conditions, the centre of Peruvian government is
established at Locumba, on the Locumba River, within the territory still
under the control of Peru. Tacna was given the title and privileges of a
town by supreme decree in 1823, in recognition of the brave services its
people had rendered to the cause of Independence; and a few years later
it was raised to the dignity of “Heroic City,” when it became the
capital of the province. The government authorities of that part of the
province of Tacna occupied by Peru reside at Ilabaya, in the
northwestern district of Ilabaya, a picturesque town on the river of the
same name. The province of Tarata has also two capitals, the Chilean
authorities occupying Tarata, and the Peruvian government being centred
at Candarave, sixty miles from Locumba.
[Illustration: CALLE SAN MARTIN, NEAR PARK ENTRANCE, TACNA.]
The Sama valley is a rich agricultural district, its products including
sugar, cotton, maize, wine, and an abundance of pasturage for cattle and
horses. Ascending the valley from the coast, the scene is one of
continually increasing verdure and beauty. The Sama River receives its
chief tributaries, the Chaspaya, Tarata, and Estique, as it crosses the
province of Tarata, this region being also drained by the tributaries of
the Locumba,—the Curibaya and Ilabaya. In this valley are grown grapes
of a quality and flavor especially suitable for the sweet wines that are
manufactured here as well as in the neighboring valleys of Moquegua. On
the green uplands and along the banks of these rivers, cattle and horses
find pasture all the year round; and in the sierra, especially on the
high plateau near Puno, may be seen the alpaca and vicuña, from the
glossy coat of which are made fine and beautiful fabrics. The Cordillera
del Barroso, the name given to that part of the Andean range which
crosses Tacna and Arica, is described by Carlos Cisneros in his atlas of
Peru as _sui generis_ in configuration, not presenting the aspect of a
series of mountains sloping from lofty peaks to lower levels, but
forming rather a high plateau, fourteen thousand feet or more above sea
level, with colossal _cerros_, or peaks, rising here and there in
solitary grandeur. Their crests, once burning volcanoes, are now covered
with a perpetual mantle of snow. Here the vicuña loves to make his
haunts, far from the disturbing fears that drive him from inhabited
districts to find a home in the highest and coldest regions of the
sierra. Tutupaca, Chipicani, Sahama, and other extinct volcanoes of this
region present a wonderful sight in their sublime solitude.
[Illustration: VIEW OF THE SUMMIT OF THE SIERRA, TACNA.]
The completion of the new railway from Ilo to Moquegua is of importance
not only to the Littoral Province of Moquegua, but also to northwestern
Tacna and Tarata, which are thereby placed in closer and easier
communication with maritime traffic. The extension of this line to
Desaguadero would undoubtedly prove a strong competitor to the Arica and
La Paz route, as it would be shorter and over a less broken country. The
people of Peru strongly resent the continued postponement of the
plebiscite, feeling that Chile has taken unfair advantage of that
“possession which is nine-tenths of the law;” but it is hoped that in
the greater unity which has become a feature of the international policy
of South American countries—and which is particularly evident in the
readiness shown by all these republics to settle their disputes through
arbitration—a solution of this vexed question will be made satisfactory
to both of the governments concerned.
[Illustration: EL CHUPIQUIÑA, AN EXTINCT VOLCANO IN TACNA.]
[Illustration: A GOLD TRAIN EN ROUTE FROM SANTO DOMINGO TO TIRAPATA WITH
BULLION IN BARS.]