The Tarata Department was a territorial division of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

that existed between 1911 and 1921. Its territory comprised some controversial territory east of Sama River.

History

In 1885, after the Chilean victory in the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific ( es, link=no, Guerra del Pacífico), also known as the Saltpeter War ( es, link=no, Guerra del salitre) and by multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought ...

, Chile integrated Tarata into the

Tacna Department Tacna (; Aymara & Quechua: Taqna) is the southernmost department and region in Peru. The Chilean Army occupied the present-day Tacna Department during the War of the Pacific from 1885 to 1929 when it was reincorporated into Peruvian soil. Geogr ...

of the newly formed

Tacna Province Tacna is the largest of four provinces in the Department of Tacna in southern Peru located on the border with Chile and Bolivia. Its capital is Tacna. Geography The Tacna Province is bounded to the north by the Jorge Basadre Province and the Ta ...

. The Department was officially created under president

Ramón Barros Ramón or Ramon may refer to: People Given name *Ramon (footballer, born 1998), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1990), Brazilian footballer *Ramón (singer), Spanish singer who represented Spain in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest ...

' administration on December 2, 1911, under law № 2,575, published in the Chilean '' Diario Oficial'' newspaper. The Department's territory was composed of the 8th and 9th ''subdelegaciones'' of Tacna Department. The comune of Tarata was chosen as its capital, and some parts of its administration, such as its judicial administration, were shared with nearby

Arica Department The Arica Department was a territorial division of Chile that existed between 1884 and 1929. It was ceded by the Treaty of Ancón in 1883 and placed under military administration, and then created on the 31st of October 1884, as one of the three de ...

. The creation of the Department caused controversy in Peru, due to both countries disagreeing on their border in the Sama river. While the Chilean government argued the town was to the east of the river, the border agreed upon by both countries, Peru disputed this claim on the grounds that the territory was not affected by the

Treaty of Ancón The Treaty of Ancón was a peace treaty signed by Chile and Peru on 20 October 1883, in Ancón District, Ancón, near Lima. It was intended to settle the two nations' remaining territorial differences at the conclusion of their involvement in the ...

and sent

representative Representative may refer to: Politics *Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people *House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities *Legislator, someon ...

Carlos Maria Elías to protest the situation, also establishing a policy of non-recognition. Around this time, raids by Peruvian smugglers as well as soldiers took place in the region, and there were also claims of military escalation, including claims of Peruvian troops mobilizing near the Chilean border, which were denied by the Peruvian government. U.S. President

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...

mediated the dispute in Peru's favor in 1925, more so than other heads of state. Around the same time, a commission, headed by U.S. General

John J. Pershing General of the Armies John Joseph Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948), nicknamed "Black Jack", was a senior United States Army officer. He served most famously as the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the Wes ...

arrived to assist with the planned Tacna-Arica plebiscite, which eventually would never take place. The Department was abolished under

Arturo Alessandri Arturo Fortunato Alessandri Palma (; December 20, 1868 – August 24, 1950) was a Chilean political figure and reformer who served thrice as president of Chile, first from 1920 to 1924, then from March to October 1925, and finally from 1932 to 1 ...

's administration by law № 3,802 on September 22, 1921. On September 1st, 1925, at exactly 10 a.m., Chile handed over the former Department to Peru in a ceremony that took place in the main square, with representatives from both countries present: with representing Chile, Manuel de Freyre y Santander representing Peru, and General Pershing representing the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Administration

The Municipality of Tacna oversaw the administration of the department of Tacna, including Tarata, with its headquarters located in

Tacna Tacna was known for its mining industry; it had significant deposits of sodium nitrate and other resources. Its economic prosperity attracted a wave of immigrants from Italy. Today, their Italian Peruvian descendants live in the city and many of t ...

, where the Departmental Government, and the Provincial Intendancy were located. With the Decree of Creation of Municipalities of December 22, 1891, the following municipalities were created with their headquarters and whose territories are the sub-delegations detailed below:

References

{{Departments of Chile 1884 establishments in Chile States and territories disestablished in 1925 States and territories established in 1884 1925 disestablishments in Chile Former departments of Chile

History

Administration

See also

References