Huanta Province is the northernmost of the eleven provinces in the Ayacucho region in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

. The capital of the Huanta province is the city of

Huanta Huanta is a town in Central Peru, capital of the province Huanta in the region Ayacucho. History In the era of the Spanish American wars of independence, Huanta remained loyal to the Spanish m ...

History

In the colonial era, Huanta province was larger than it is currently, with traditional ties to the central sierra of Peru, and largely indigenous. The province's capital, also called

, was the site of an ecclesiastical ''doctrina'' and the center of a civil administrative district, ''corregimiento''. In a royal census of 1795, Huanta province had 27,337 inhabitants, of which 10,080 (36%) were mixed-race

mestizos (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed European and Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturally European even though thei ...

. Huanta was the site of a major rebellion (1825–28) against the newly-formed Peruvian state. The Huanta Rebellion, led by Antonio Abad Huachaca, is characterized as a monarchist rebellion. It brought together different ethnic and occupational groups in complex interactions. The peasants of Huanta, called Iquichanos, were monarchist rebels and were transformed into liberal

guerrillas Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tacti ...

. They allied with Spanish officers and merchants, mestizo land owners, and priests to attack the Peruvian republic in the name of the Spanish king

Ferdinand VII , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_plac ...

. It was led by Antonio Abad Huachaca, an illiterate ''arriero'' or muleteer, an occupation that brought him into contact with areas outside his home base, since mules were the primary means of hauling freight and trade goods in the colonial era. The Huanta rebellion was defeated militarily, but the local leaders did not suffer the severe repression that characterized earlier rebellions, most notably the

Rebellion of Túpac Amaru II The Rebellion of Túpac Amaru II (4 November 1780 – 15 March 1783) was an uprising by ''cacique''-led Aymara, Quechua and ''mestizo'' rebels aimed at overthrowing Spanish colonial rule in Peru. The causes of the rebellion included oppositi ...

. In the late twentieth century, the province the Maoist insurgency of

Shining Path The Shining Path ( es, Sendero Luminoso), officially the Communist Party of Peru (, abbr. PCP), is a communist guerrilla group in Peru following Marxism–Leninism–Maoism and Gonzalo Thought. Academics often refer to the group as the Commun ...

was active in the region. In the town of Uchuraccay eight journalists investigating the insurgency were murdered in 1983, apparently by ''comunero'' peasants. A presidential commission overseen by

Mario Vargas Llosa Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (born 28 March 1936), more commonly known as Mario Vargas Llosa (, ), is a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and former politician, who also holds Spanish citizenship. Vargas Ll ...

sought to uncover the truth about the incident and produced a report.

Geography

There is a wide variety of Peruvian ecological zones in Huanta province, with narrow valleys and high mountains. Ecological zones include the ''

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

'' (2300-3500m), the '' suni'' (3200-3900m), and the '' selva alta'' ("high jungle"), and the punas. The

Mantaro River The Mantaro River ( es, Río Mantaro, qu, Hatunmayu) is a long river running through the central region of Peru. Its Quechua name means "great river". The word "Mantaro" may be a word originally from the Asháninka language, who live downstream a ...

(by west) and the

Apurímac River The Apurímac River ( que, Apurimaq mayu; es, Río Apurímac, ; from Quechua ''apu'' 'divinity' and ''rimaq'' 'oracle, talker') rises from glacial meltwater of the ridge of the Mismi, a mountain in the Arequipa Province in the south-western ...

(by northeast) delineate the boundaries of the province. One of the highest peaks of the province is Rasuwillka at approximately . Other mountains are listed below:

Political division

The province measures and is divided into twelve districts. #

(Huanta) # Ayahuanco ( Viracochan) # Huamanguilla ( Huamanguilla) # Iguain ( Macachacra) # Luricocha ( Luricocha) # Santillana ( San José de Secce) # Sivia ( Sivia) # Llochegua ( Llochegua) # Canayre ( Canayre) # Uchuraccay ( Huaynacancha) # Pucacolpa ( Huallhua) # Chaca ( Chaca)

Ethnic groups

The people in the province are mainly

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

citizens of

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

descent.

is the language which the majority of the population (67.17%) learned to speak in childhood, 32.45% of the residents started speaking using the

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 Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

language and 0.10% using

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 ...

( 2007 Peru Census).inei.gob.pe
INEI, Peru, Censos Nacionales 2007

Authorities

Mayors

* 2019-2022: Renol Silbio Pichardo Ramos. * 2015-2018: Percy Abel Bermudo Valladares, Alianza Regional Ayacucho.

Archaeology

Some of the most important archaeological sites of the province are Inka Raqay (or Allqu Willka), Kunturmarka, Marayniyuq, Mulinuyuq, Pusuquy Pata (or Ch'illiku Pampa) and Tinyaq.

Festivities

* Lord of Maynay *

Our Lady of the Rosary Our Lady of the Rosary, also known as Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, is a Marian title. The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, formerly known as Feast of Our Lady of Victory and Feast of the Holy Rosary is celebrated on 7 October in the General Rom ...

Holy Week Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, w ...

References

External links

*
Official web site of the Huanta Province
{{Coord, 12, 56, 23, S, 74, 14, 51, W, type:adm2nd_source:itwiki, display=title Provinces of the Ayacucho Region History of Peru Rebellions in South America