Cobija (previously known as Puerto La Mar) was the first significant

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 ...

port of independent

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 ...

. In 2002, it had 41 inhabitants and its economy was totally based on fishing. Puertocobija

Cobija was included in maps of the

Captaincy General of Chile The General Captaincy of Chile (''Capitanía General de Chile'' ), Governorate of Chile, or Kingdom of Chile, was a territory of the Spanish Empire from 1541 to 1818 that was, initially, part of the Viceroyalty of Peru. It comprised most of mod ...

in the 18th century, depending from the city of

Copiapó Copiapó () is a List of cities in Chile, city and communes of Chile, commune in northern Chile, located about 65 kilometers east of the coastal List of towns in Chile, town of Caldera, Chile, Caldera. Founded on December 8, 1744, it is the capi ...

. In 1825, it was the main port of Bolivia due to the

Potosí Potosí, known as Villa Imperial de Potosí in the colonial period, is the capital city and a municipality of the Potosí Department, Department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the list of highest cities in the world, highest cities in the wo ...

silver mine. The territory was disputed between Chile and Bolivia until the signing of the Boundary Treaty of 1866. The city was destroyed by an earthquake on 13 August 1868, and a tsunami on 9 May 1877, but it was revived with the discovery of ore in Caracoles. At the end of 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 ...

in 1884, the city and the entire coastal province of Bolivia was annexed by

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 ...

. In a treaty signed in 1904 Bolivia recognised the loss of Cobija. Eventually, Cobija was replaced by the port at

Antofagasta Antofagasta () is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 402,669. Once claimed by Bolivia follo ...

and in 1907 it was abandoned and its parish was moved to the town of Gatico which is itself now nearly a ruin.Davis, J. S., Barta, B., & Hubbard, C. (2003). Lonely Planet guide to ''Chile & Easter Island''

References

{{Coord, 22, 33, 0, S, 70, 16, 0, W, type:city_region:CL_source:dewiki, display=title Populated places in Antofagasta Province

See also

References