Maynas is one of the eight

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

in the

Loreto Region Loreto () is Peru's northernmost department and region. Covering almost one-third of Peru's territory, Loreto is by far the nation's largest department; it is also one of the most sparsely populated regions due to its remote location in the Ama ...

in northeastern

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 ...

. Its capital,

Iquitos Iquitos (; ) is the capital city of Peru's Maynas Province and Loreto Region. It is the largest metropolis in the Peruvian Amazon, east of the Andes, as well as the ninth-most populous city of Peru. Iquitos is the largest city in the world th ...

, is also Loreto's regional capital and the largest city in the Peruvian

Amazon Rainforest The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...

History

A decree signed on 26 April 1822 signed by the Marquis of Torre Tagle, transformed what once was the General Command of Maynas into the Quijos Department, allowing it to also choose deputies. In 1925, Maynas was integrated into the Department of La Oroya. In 1822,

Joaquín Mosquera Joaquín Mariano de Mosquera-Figueroa y Arboleda-Salazar (14 December 1787 – 4 April 1878) was a Colombian statesman and a Founding Father of Colombia who served as the 3rd and 5th President of Gran Colombia. Mosquera also served as Vice Pres ...

travelled on behalf of

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

to request the restitution of the province. On July 25, 1824, the Congress of Gran Colombia issued a law of territorial division intending to include the Canton of Quijos in the Pichincha Province of the Department of Quito, according to the limits it had at the time of creation as the

Viceroyalty of New Granada The Viceroyalty of New Granada ( es, Virreinato de Nueva Granada, links=no ) also called Viceroyalty of the New Kingdom of Granada or Viceroyalty of Santafé was the name given on 27 May 1717, to the jurisdiction of the Spanish Empire in norther ...

. It also intended to incorporate the Provinces of Jaén, Matamoros and Maynas into the Department of Azuay. The Peruvian refusal to give up the territories escalated tensions between the two countries, culminating in the

Gran Colombia–Peru War The Gran Colombia–Peru War (Spanish: ''Guerra Grancolombo-Peruana'') of 1828 and 1829 was the first international conflict fought by the Republic of Peru, which had gained its independence from Spain in 1821, and Gran Colombia, that existed b ...

. Due to a law made effective on November 21, 1832, Maynas was integrated into the territory of the new Peruvian

department of Amazonas Amazonas () is a department of Southern Colombia in the south of the country. It is the largest department in area while also having the 3rd smallest population. Its capital is Leticia and its name comes from the Amazon River, which drains the ...

, from which it separated in 1853, when a political government was created in the

Loreto region Loreto () is Peru's northernmost department and region. Covering almost one-third of Peru's territory, Loreto is by far the nation's largest department; it is also one of the most sparsely populated regions due to its remote location in the Ama ...

Geography

Boundaries

The Maynas Province is bordered by

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

on the northwest,

on the north, northeast and east, the Mariscal Ramón Castilla and Requena provinces on the south, and the

Loreto Province The Loreto Province is one of the eight provinces in the Loreto Region of Peru. The capital of the province is the historic town of Nauta. This biologically and culturally diverse region includes the Pacaya–Samiria National Reservation, and is ...

on the southwest.

Demographics

Population

According to the 1993 Census, the Maynas Province has a population of 393,496 inhabitants, 50.6% of which (199,209) are male and 49.4% (194,287) are female. As of 2005, the

Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática The Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática (INEI) ("National Institute of Statistics and Informatics") is a semi-autonomous Peruvian government agency which coordinates, compiles, and evaluates statistical information for the country ...

estimates the province's population to be 536,423.

Languages

The majority of the province's residents (96%) speak

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, Cana ...

at home; other languages spoken are

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 ...

(2%),

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 ...

(150 speakers, 0.0%), other

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 ...

languages (0.8%) and foreign languages (0.2%).

Immigration

Persons originating from other regions of the country make up 8.4% of the population and 0.3% of residents were born abroad. The largest immigrant groups are from the San Martín Region (2.9% of the total population), the

Lima Province Lima Province is located in the central coast of Peru and is the only province in the country not belonging to any of the twenty-five regions. Its capital is Lima, which is also the nation's capital. Despite its small area, this province is the ...

Lima Region The Department of Lima () is a department and region located in the central coast of Peru, the ''seat of the Regional Government'' is Huacho. Lima Province, which contains the city of Lima, the country's capital, is located west of the Departmen ...

(1.8%), and

Ucayali Region Ucayali () is an inland department and region of Peru. Located in the Amazon rainforest, its name is derived from the Ucayali River. Its capital is the city of Pucallpa. It is the second largest department in Peru, after Loreto. Geography ...

(1.3%).

Age

The population is spread out, with *54.1% under the age of 20, *8.9% from 20 to 24, *24.6% from 25 to 44, *9.5% from 45 to 64, and *3% who are 65 years of age or older.

Education

Secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...

has been attended by 28.8% of the population and 2.5% also have graduated from non-

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

higher education, while 2.6% have complete university studies. 46.7% only have attended

primary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first ...

and 8.5% have not had any education. The

illiteracy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

rate in the province is 13.1%.

Political division

The province is divided into eleven

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

s ( es, distritos, singular: ), each of which is headed by a mayor (''alcalde''). The districts, with their capitals in parenthesis, are:

Districts

(

) (seat) # Alto Nanay ( Santa María de Nanay) # Belén ( Belén) # Fernando Lores ( Tamshiyacu) #

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

(

) # Las Amazonas (

Francisco de Orellana Francisco de Orellana Bejarano Pizarro y Torres de Altamirano (; 1511 – November 1546) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador. In one of the most improbably successful voyages in known history, Orellana managed to sail the length of the Amaz ...

) # Mazán ( Mazán) # Napo (

Santa Clotilde Santa Clotilde (Portuguese for Saint Clotilde) is a village in the eastern part of São Tomé Island in São Tomé and Príncipe. Its population is 112 (2012 census).Punchana ( Punchana) # San Juan Bautista ( San Juan Bautista) # Torres Causana ( Pantoja)

Local authorities

Mayors

* 2019-2022: Francisco Sanjurjo Dávila. * 2015-2018: Fernando Meléndez Celis (Movimiento Integración Loretana). * 2013-2014: Adela Esmeralda Jiménez Mera (Movimiento Integración Loretana). * 2011-2012: Charles Mayer Zevallos Eyzaguirre (Movimiento Integración Loretana).

Places of interest

Allpahuayo-Mishana National Reserve Allpahuayo-Mishana National Reserve ( es, Reserva Nacional Allpahuayo-Mishana) is a protected area in Peru located southwest of Iquitos in the region of Loreto. It was established in 2004 to protect the diverse forest types in the area, especia ...

* Sunkaruqucha

References

External links

*
Municipalidad Provincial de Maynas
- Maynas provincial municipality {{Coord, 3.755148, S, 73.249111, W, type:adm2nd_source:itwiki, display=title Provinces of the Loreto Region