Loreto () is a department of Peru. Covering almost one-third of Peru's territory, it is Peru's largest and northernmost department, occupying a large part of the country's portion of the Amazon rainforest. Slightly smaller than Japan or Germany, it is also one of the most sparsely populated regions due to its remote location in the region. Its capital is Iquitos.
Its territory was once part of the General Command of Maynas, a subdivision of the Spanish Empire created in 1802. The overlapping claims over the region following the Spanish American wars of independence was the genesis for two different territorial disputes between Peru and its neighbours. The dispute with Colombia lasted until 1934, while the dispute with Ecuador only ended in 1999. Both disputes led to armed conflict in a number of occasions.
The territory of Maynas was first incorporated into Peru as part of the Department of La Libertad until 1825. On November 21, 1832, the Department of Amazonas was created, which included the province. This subdivision was granted autonomy through by a law issued by Ramón Castilla on March 10, 1853, and was ultimately elevated to a department on September 7, 1866.
History
The first settlers in the region expanded through the various eastern slopes of the Andes. Many of these ethnic groups settled in the Purús, Turúa and Yaraví river basins, receiving names different from those of their lineage.
It is hard to determine the number of indigenous peoples in the region when the first European explorers and missionaries arrived. Numbers given by chroniclers indicate that within the first century of contact, 100,000 natives were baptized. Presumably, when the Spanish arrived, the total population was almost 300,000. Later on, however, the natives were afflicted with diseases such as smallpox, malaria, and yellow fever, due to contact with the Spaniards.
Spanish period
It is argued that upon the arrival of the Spanish in America, various exogenous diseases—such as malaria—spread throughout the Amazon rainforest and the rest of the continent, decimating the indigenous population or at least significantly reducing it. During this period, Francisco de Orellana arrived in the area, departing from the city of Guayaquil on February 4, 1541. After reaching Quito, he reorganized his expedition and advanced into the jungle, navigating the Napo River to its mouth, where he discovered the Amazon River in 1542.
The Spanish Crown failed to impose its dominion in the region as it did in the Andes. The territory was part of the Viceroyalty of Peru from its inception, then became part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada for a period under ten years, before returning to the Viceroyalty of Peru. During its time in Gran Colombia, it was unable to establish de facto control from Quito; even Jesuit, Dominican and Franciscan missionaries departed to evangelize the various ethnic groups from the city of Moyobamba, which belonged to the Royal Audiencia of Lima. During these years, they contributed by opening travel routes and cutting down distances between Indian and Spanish settlements. This ecclesiastical presence was also the only significant Spanish presence in the Amazonian lowlands at that time and even until the founding of the republic. When the missions fell, a long period of relative national neglect followed, encompassing most of the 19th century. What would become Iquitos was founded in the 1750s.
In 1784, the corregimiento system was replaced by that of the intendancies. The area became part of that of Trujillo, divided into seven partidos. In 1802, the General Command of Maynas and Quixos was created through a real cédula, separating it from the Audiencia of Quito and reincorporating it into Peru. The capital of the territory at the time was Moyobamba, and its territory encompassed the area currently part of Loreto, Amazonas, La Libertad and San Martín.
Following the establishment of a Peruvian state in 1821, what would later become the department of Loreto was central to two territorial disputes: one involving Colombia, which ended in 1934, and another one involving Ecuador, which ended in 1999. Maynas seceded from Spain following a 21-month military campaign that concluded in 1823.
Republican period
The Department of Quijos and Maynas ()