La Libertad (; in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
: ''The Liberty'') is a
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
in northwestern
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
. Formerly it was known as the Department of La Libertad ('). It is bordered by the
Lambayeque,
Cajamarca
Cajamarca (), also known by the Quechua name, ''Kashamarka'', is the capital and largest city of the Cajamarca Region as well as an important cultural and commercial center in the northern Andes. It is located in the northern highlands of Peru ...
and
Amazonas regions on the north, the
San Martín Region on the east, the
Ancash
Ancash ( qu, Anqash; es, Áncash ) is a department and region in northern Peru. It is bordered by the departments of La Libertad on the north, Huánuco and Pasco on the east, Lima on the south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Its capital i ...
and
Huánuco
Huánuco (; qu, Wanuku) is a city in central Peru. It had a population of 196,627 as of 2017 and in 2015 it had a population of 175,068. It is the capital of the Huánuco Region and the Huánuco District. It is the seat of the diocese of Huán ...
regions on the south and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Its capital is
Trujillo, which is the nation's third biggest city. The region's main port is
Salaverry
Salaverry is a port town located southeast of Trujillo city in the La Libertad Region, Peru. It is the capital of Salaverry District and it is located at around . The port, rebuilt in the 1960s by an English company, is able to accommodate lar ...
, one of Peru's largest ports. The name of the region is Spanish for "freedom" or "liberty"; it was named in honor of the Intendencia of Trujillo's proclaiming independence from Spain in 1820 and fighting for that. It is the ninth smallest department in Peru, but it is also its second most populous department after
Piura
Piura is a city in northwestern Peru located in the Sechura Desert on the Piura River. It is the capital of the Piura Region and the Piura Province. Its population was 484,475 as of 2017.
It was here that Spanish Conqueror Francisco Pizarro fou ...
and its second most densely populated department after
Lambayeque.
Name
During the
viceroyalty of Peru
The Viceroyalty of Peru ( es, Virreinato del Perú, links=no) was a Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in South America, governed from ...
, the La Libertad region, together with the present-day regions of
Lambayeque,
Piura
Piura is a city in northwestern Peru located in the Sechura Desert on the Piura River. It is the capital of the Piura Region and the Piura Province. Its population was 484,475 as of 2017.
It was here that Spanish Conqueror Francisco Pizarro fou ...
and
Tumbes regions in Peru, and
Guayaquil
, motto = Por Guayaquil Independiente en, For Independent Guayaquil
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Ecuador#South America
, pushpin_re ...
and
El Oro Province
El Oro (; ''oro'' = gold) is the southernmost of Ecuador's coastal provinces. It was named for its historically important gold production. Today it is one of the world's major exporters of bananas. The capital is Machala.
History
The area was ...
in Ecuador, were all within the jurisdiction of the ''Intendencía de Trujillo.'' These were included in the domain of the city of
Trujillo; together they comprised the ''Departamento de Trujillo'' of the viceroyalty.
After the Intendencía joined the
emancipation
Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure economic and social rights, political rights or equality, often for a specifically disenfranchis ...
cause and was the first to gain independence from Spain, in 1825 the Congress of the Peruvian republic changed the name to ''Departmento de la Libertad.'' Since the late 20th century, Peru has decentralized its government. All former Departments in Peru are now called Regions; their governors are elected, and they have more independent authority in decisionmaking.
Geography
La Libertad is the only Peruvian region that includes all three natural regions of the nation: coast,
Sierra (highlands), and ''selva'' (rainforest).
Trujillo, the capital, has a strategic location, near where the Andes come closest to the coast. Seen from Trujillo, the Andes appears as a row of low-elevation hills. The Andean Plateau increases altitude sharply to the east, in the provinces of
Otuzco
The Otuzco is a city located in the highlands of La Libertad, Peru. It is the capital of the Otuzco Province, and it is well known because there is the sanctuary of the Virgen de la Puerta. It is located at around .
Founding
The Otuzcans, led ...
and
Santiago de Chuco
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
. These two provinces comprise the Pacific hydrographic watershed, which give rise to the
Moche and
Virú
Virú is a town in Northern Peru, capital of the province Virú in the region La Libertad. This town is located 48 km south Trujillo city and is primarily an agricultural center in the Viru Valley.
See also
*Virú Valley
The Viru Valley is l ...
rivers, to the south, and
Chicama River
Chicama is a town in Northern Peru, capital of the district of Chicama of Ascope Province in the region La Libertad. This town is located beside the Pan-American Highway some 33 km north of Trujillo city in the agricultural Chicama Valley.
See ...
to the north.
Pacasmayo Province
The Pacasmayo Province is one of twelve provinces of the La Libertad Region in Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, ...
, located more to the north, is along the coast. To the east,
Sánchez Carrión Province
The Sánchez Carrión Province is one of twelve provinces of the La Libertad Region in Peru. It is named in honour of José Faustino Sánchez Carrión. The capital of this province is the city of Huamachuco. About 30 miles away is Marcahuamachuco ...
waterways drain into the
Amazon River
The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile.
The headwaters of t ...
and thus belong to the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
watershed.
Demographics
Population
La Libertad region is the third-most populous in Peru; the census 2007 recorded 1,617,050 residents, representing 5.9% of the Peruvian population. It was surpassed only by the Department of
Lima
Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
and
Piura
Piura is a city in northwestern Peru located in the Sechura Desert on the Piura River. It is the capital of the Piura Region and the Piura Province. Its population was 484,475 as of 2017.
It was here that Spanish Conqueror Francisco Pizarro fou ...
. In 2012 its capital Trujillo is the
second-most populated metropolitan area in Peru and the largest city in northern Peru. The largest population is concentrated in provincial capitals and districts, which comprise the majority urban population in La Libertad region. The migrant population to the region comes from border departments and immigrants from other countries.
Principal cities
The principal cities in La Libertad region are shown in the next table.
Political division
The Region is separated into 12 provinces (''provincias''), political divisions that generally correspond to counties in the United States of America. A Peruvian Region has as its head political executive a governor (''governador''), an elected official. The head political executive of each province is a lieutenant governor (''teniente governador''), an official appointed by the governor. These 12 provinces comprise a total of 80 districts (''distritos''). The provinces, with their capitals are:
Economy
Principal companies
Some of the main companies in La Libertad Region are the following:
*
Cementos Pacasmayo, It manufactures cement and it is based in
Pacasmayo Province
The Pacasmayo Province is one of twelve provinces of the La Libertad Region in Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, ...
.
*
Sociedad Agrícola Virú, dedicated to agribusiness and based in
Virú Province
The Virú Province is one of twelve provinces of the La Libertad Region in Peru. Portal de la Municipalidad Provincial de Virú. Portal de Virú website''. Retrieved March 18, 2008. The capital of the province is Virú.
Political division
The prov ...
.
*
SEDALIB, water supply and sanitation company based in Trujillo city.
*
Caja Trujillo, banking company centered in Trujillo.
*
Cesar Vallejo University Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol
* ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt
* César Award, a French film award
Places
* Cesar, Portugal
* C ...
, based in
Víctor Larco city
Archaeology
The coastal strip set the stage for the rise of many pre-Columbian cultures, such as the pre-Ceramic
Huaca Prieta
Huaca Prieta is the site of a prehistoric settlement beside the Pacific Ocean in the Chicama Valley, just north of Trujillo, La Libertad Province, Peru. It is a part of the El Brujo Archaeological Complex, which also includes Moche (culture) si ...
civilization, which is more than 5,000 years old & the Cupisnique, which is more than 3,000 years old. From 200 A.C., the first one to expand beyond its cradle was the
Moche or Mochica culture. It was basically an agriculture and/or a warrior culture, which built countless temples and palaces such as the ''
Sol'' (Sun), ''Luna'' (Moon), ''El Brujo'' & ''Cao Viejo'', and other
huaca
In the Quechuan languages of South America, a huaca or wak'a is an object that represents something revered, typically a monument of some kind. The term ''huaca'' can refer to natural locations, such as immense rocks. Some huacas have been asso ...
s. The
Chimú culture
Chimor (also Kingdom of Chimor or Chimú Empire) was the political grouping of the Chimú culture. The culture arose about 900 AD, succeeding the Moche culture, and was later conquered by the Inca emperor Topa Inca Yupanqui around 1470, fifty y ...
emerged later and built its capital in
Chan Chan
Chan Chan was the largest city of the pre-Columbian era in South America. It is now an archaeology, archaeological site in La Libertad Region west of Trujillo, Peru.
Chan Chan is located in the mouth of the Moche Valley and was the capital of ...
, the largest pre-Columbian city in South America, & huacas like ''Esmeralda'' & ''Arco Iris'' (Rainbow). At its
zenith
The zenith (, ) is an imaginary point directly "above" a particular location, on the celestial sphere. "Above" means in the vertical direction (plumb line) opposite to the gravity direction at that location (nadir). The zenith is the "highest" ...
, Chan Chan was home to 60,000 inhabitants who stubbornly resisted the expansion of the
Inca Empire
The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...
. These ancient cultures used irrigation canals and water reservoirs, which systems were increasingly better engineered and extensive over the years. The technological acumen of these sophisticated agricultural systems was carried into the Inca Empire, which surrounded the remnants of the prior cultures. The Spanish colonizers destroyed most of the agricultural works to more effectively establish political control and provide ''de facto'' slave labor from the displaced native agriculturalists.
The archaeological remains of Chan Chan, 6 km (3.7 mi) northeast of downtown Trujillo, are rather well-preserved despite being built out of
adobe
Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for ''mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of e ...
(mud bricks), largely because 1) dearth of rainfall and consequent erosion, and 2) lack of significant re-use of its construction materials (adobes do not respond easily to removal and transport and are relatively cheap to make on-site in current methods of construction).
During the Late Moche phase (AD 600 to 850), one of the largest power centers of the region was the fortified site of
Cerro Chepén in the Jequetepeque Valley. It is located to the south of the site of
San José de Moro
San Jose de Moro is a Moche archaeological site in the Pacanga District, Chepén Province, La Libertad Region, of Northwestern Peru. The site served as a ceremonial funerary complex between the years 400 and 1000 AD.
Region
The site of San Jos ...
.
Cerro Chepén has a sophisticated system of fortifications, and a dominant position on top of the hill, with many monumental buildings. Recent excavations at the site revealed that there was much internal conflict there that affected local communities.
Archeological sites
Some of the
archeological site
An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and ...
s in La Libertad Region are:
*
Chan Chan
Chan Chan was the largest city of the pre-Columbian era in South America. It is now an archaeology, archaeological site in La Libertad Region west of Trujillo, Peru.
Chan Chan is located in the mouth of the Moche Valley and was the capital of ...
*
El Brujo
Located in the Chicama Valley, the El Brujo Archaeological Complex, just north of Trujillo, La Libertad Province, Peru, is an ancient archaeological site that was occupied from preceramic times. Considering the broad cultural sequencing, th ...
*
Huaca del Sol
The Huaca del Sol is an adobe brick pyramid built by the Moche civilization (100 AD to 800 AD) on the northern coast of what is now Peru. The pyramid is one of several ruins found near the volcanic peak of Cerro Blanco, in the coastal deser ...
*
Huaca de la Luna
Huaca de la Luna ("Temple or Shrine of the Moon") is a large adobe
Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for ''mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such a ...
*
Marcahuamachuco
Marcahuamachuco is an archeological site of Pre-Incan ruins in the La Libertad Region of Peru. Although less well-known than other sites, it is considered significant and has been referred to by archaeologists as " Machu Picchu of the North" a ...
*
Pakatnamu
*
Pirqa Pirqa
Pirca Pirca (possibly from Quechua language, Quechua ''pirqa'' wall) is an archaeological site in Peru. It is located in the La Libertad Region, Bolívar Province, Peru, Bolívar Province, Uchumarca District. Pirca Pirca was declared a National ...
*
San José de Moro
San Jose de Moro is a Moche archaeological site in the Pacanga District, Chepén Province, La Libertad Region, of Northwestern Peru. The site served as a ceremonial funerary complex between the years 400 and 1000 AD.
Region
The site of San Jos ...
*
Huaca Santa Clara
*
Wiraquchapampa
Viracochapampa, Huiracochapampa, or Wiracochapampa (possibly from Quechua ''wiraqucha'': mister, sir, gentleman, god; or '' Wiracocha'': one of the greatest Andean divinities; and ''pampa'': plain)Teofilo Laime Ajacopa, Diccionario Bilingüe Iska ...
*Archeological Complex
Caballo Muerto
Caballo Muerto is an archaeological complex located on the northern coast of Peru, in the Moche Valley, in the Laredo District of La Libertad Region. It represents a series of mound sites that span both the Initial Period (2100–1200 CAL B.C.) ...
Places of interest
*
Calipuy National Sanctuary
Calipuy National Sanctuary is a Peruvian protected area created on January 8, 1981. The sanctuary, adjacent to the larger Calipuy National Reserve, is located in the Santiago de Chuco Province of the La Libertad region in northwestern Peru.
...
Ecological regions
Water supply and sanitation
The public company for water supply and sanitation in La Libertad Region is
SEDALIB which is formed by shareholders of municipalities of the Region.
Culture
Festivals and events
*
Spring Festival
*
Marinera Festival
*
International Calzaferia El Porvenir
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
it is a fair of footwear and in 2012 took place the 10th edition; it is held in ''El Porvenir'' city.
*
Regional Fair of the Pineapple
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
it is held in the town of Poroto.
*
Virgin of La Puerta
Virgin of La Puerta is a Marian devotion of the Catholic Church in Peru whose image has its principal place of worship in a sanctuary built on the site where once stood the gateway to Otuzco, in a high andean area located about 75 km northeas ...
Patronal Feast, the celebration originated in 1664 when it placed the image of the Virgin at the entrance of Otuzco as precaution of the risk of a pirate raid. The main day is celebrated on December 15 every year and in 2012 the feast of Our Lady of the Gate was declared a National Cultural Heritage by the Peruvian government.
*
Contradanza
''Contradanza'' (also called ''contradanza criolla'', ''danza'', ''danza criolla'', or ''habanera'') is the Spanish and Spanish-American version of the contradanse, which was an internationally popular style of music and dance in the 18th centu ...
, expression cultivated in Huamachuco city, in the villages Urpay, Shiracmaca and Culicanda. This dance in 2012 has been declared a National Cultural Heritage by the Peruvian government
See also
*
Chimú culture
Chimor (also Kingdom of Chimor or Chimú Empire) was the political grouping of the Chimú culture. The culture arose about 900 AD, succeeding the Moche culture, and was later conquered by the Inca emperor Topa Inca Yupanqui around 1470, fifty y ...
*
Moche
*
Cupisnique
The Cupisnique culture was a pre-Columbian indigenous culture that flourished from c. 1500 to 500 BC along what now is Peru's northern Pacific coast. The culture had a distinctive style of adobe clay architecture. Artifacts of the culture share art ...
*
Marcahuamachuco
Marcahuamachuco is an archeological site of Pre-Incan ruins in the La Libertad Region of Peru. Although less well-known than other sites, it is considered significant and has been referred to by archaeologists as " Machu Picchu of the North" a ...
*
1970 Ancash earthquake
The 1970 Ancash earthquake (also known as the Great Peruvian earthquake) occurred on 31 May off the coast of Peru in the Pacific Ocean at . Combined with a resultant landslide, it is the most catastrophic natural disaster in the history of Peru ...
References
{{Coord, 8, 0, S, 78, 30, W, source:svwiki_region:PE_type:adm1st, display=title
Regions of Peru
Cupisnique culture