Amazonas
Peru
Amazonas
is a region in northern Peru. It is bordered by Ecuador on
the north and west, the Cajamarca Region on the west, the La
Libertad Region on the south and the Loreto and San Martín
regions on the east. Its capital is the city of Chachapoyas.
Geography
The
Amazonas region is made up by of rainforest and highlands,
although the rainforest area is larger and extends
northwards up to the border with Ecuador in the top of the
Cordillera del Cóndor. The highlands are located in the
region's southern provinces and covers only one-fourth of
its area.
The
large and deep Marañón Valley, which constitutes another
important morphological characteristic of this region,
crosses a large part of its territory and expands from south
to north getting its major amplitude in the zone of Bagua
and then getting narrow after passing the Eastern Cordillera
in its way to the Low Jungle, crossing the pongos, which
means door in Quechua. The Utcubamba Valley goes
longitudinally up to the Marañón River and constitutes the
main center of production and humansettlement.
History
The
archaeological centers lost in the rainforest emerge as a
testimony of presence of humans in the area since remote
times. Most of the Pre-Hispanic cultures that became
prosperous in the area are still a mystery due to the lack
of research. The Kuélap's Fortress is the most
representative monument of this age. It is a huge
construction of military architecture that shows the high
level of civilization achieved by the people of this region.
The Chachapoyas culture developed during the Inca age and
represented a strong opposition to the Tawantinsuyu by
repealing the first Inca attempts to incorporate region to
their empire.
Alonso
de Alvarado founded Kuélap Fortress, the region’s capital
in Chachapoyas, in 1538. During the same year, its first
church was built and later, the Santa Ana, San Lázaro and
Señor de Burgos churches were built. In April 1821, the
city's inhabitants expelled the Spaniards and ignored their
authority, following the steps taken by the San Martín
liberating army.
The
area of the Amazonas Region was strongly linked to the
independence thoughts and actions. The cleric Toribio
Rodríguez de Mendoza was its most outstanding
representative, encouraging the patriots of this era and
signing the National Act of Independence. The Cordillera del
Condor, located in this region, was the scenery of the war
between Peru and Ecuador in 1981.
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