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 ...
: ''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 an ...
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 = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
. 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 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 Hu� ...
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, 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 and its second most densely populated department after
Lambayeque.
Name
During the
viceroyalty of Peru, the La Libertad region, together with the present-day regions of
Lambayeque,
Piura 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 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 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. 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
* Chao
*Virú District ...
rivers, to the south, and
Chicama River to the north.
Pacasmayo Province
The Pacasmayo Province is one of twelve provinces of the La Libertad Region in Peru; also Pacasmayo is the name of one of its districts. The capital of this province is the city of San Pedro de Lloc.
Political division
The province is divided into ...
, located more to the north, is along the coast. To the east,
Sánchez Carrión Province waterways drain into the
Amazon River 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, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...
and
Piura. 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; also Pacasmayo is the name of one of its districts. The capital of this province is the city of San Pedro de Lloc.
Political division
The province is divided into ...
.
*
Sociedad Agrícola Virú, dedicated to agribusiness and based in
Virú Province.
*
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
* Ce ...
, 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 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
Sol or SOL may refer to:
Astronomy
* The Sun
Currency
* SOL Project, a currency project in France
* French sol, or sou
* Argentine sol
* Bolivian sol, the currency of Bolivia from 1827 to 1864
* Peruvian sol, introduced in 1991
* Peruvian sol ...
'' (Sun), ''Luna'' (Moon), ''El Brujo'' & ''Cao Viejo'', and other
huacas. 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 ...
emerged later and built its capital in
Chan Chan, the largest pre-Columbian city in South America, & huacas like ''Esmeralda'' & ''Arco Iris'' (Rainbow). At its
zenith, 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 adm ...
. 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 (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.
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 an ...
s in La Libertad Region are:
*
Chan Chan
*
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 dese ...
*
Huaca de la Luna
Huaca de la Luna (" Temple or Shrine of the Moon") is a large adobe brick structure built mainly by the Moche people of northern Peru. Along with the Huaca del Sol, the Huaca de la Luna is part of ''Huacas de Moche'', which is the rema ...
*
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" and ...
*
Pakatnamu
*
Pirqa Pirqa
*
San José de Moro
*
Huaca Santa Clara
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 assoc ...
*
Wiraquchapampa
*Archeological Complex
Caballo Muerto
Places of interest
*
Calipuy National Sanctuary
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 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 it is held in the town of Poroto.
*
Virgin of La Puerta 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, 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 ...
*
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 ar ...
*
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" and ...
*
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