Iquique
—  City and Commune  —
Iquique
Flag Coat of arms
Map of Iquique in Tarapacá Region
Iquique Location in Chile
Coordinates: 20°13′S 70°9′W / 20.217°S 70.15°W / -20.217; -70.15Coordinates: 20°13′S 70°9′W / 20.217°S 70.15°W / -20.217; -70.15
Country	Chile
Region	Tarapacá
Province	Iquique
Founded	16th Century
Government
- Type	Municipal council
- Alcalde	Myrta Dubost
Area
- City and Commune	2,835.3 km2 (1,094.7 sq mi)
Population (2002 Census)
- City and Commune	216,419
- Density	76.3/km2 (197.7/sq mi)
- Urban	214,586
- Rural	1,833
Sex
- Men	108,897
- Women	107,522
Time zone	CLT (UTC-4)
- Summer (DST)	CLST (UTC-3)

Iquique (Spanish pronunciation: [iˈkike]) is a port city and commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Atacama Desert and the Pampa del Tamarugal. It had a population of 216,419 as of the 2002 census. It is also the main commune of the Greater Iquique.

Iquique has one of the largest duty-free commercial port centers (or Zona Franca) of South America and has been traditionally called Zofri. There are around 2.4 square kilometres (0.93 sq mi) of warehouses, banking branches, and restaurants.

Copper mining, mainly in Quebrada Blanca, Cerro Colorado, and Doña Inés de Collahuasí, is also an important industry in Iquique.

History

Although the city was founded in the sixteenth century, there is evidence of habitation in the area by the Chango people as early as 7,000 BC. During colonial times, Iquique was part of the Viceroyalty of Peru as much of South America was at the time, and remained part of Peruvian territory until the end of the 19th century. Iquique's early development was due in large part to the discovery of mineral riches, particularly the presence of large deposits of sodium nitrate in the Atacama Desert (then part of Peruvian territory).

In July 1835, Charles Darwin, during his voyage on the Beagle, traveled to Iquique and described it as a town "very much in want of everyday necessities, such as water and firewood". These necessities had to be brought in from considerable distances. Darwin also visited the saltpeter works.

In 1868 and again in 1877, the city was devastated by earthquakes. On 13 June 2005, there was yet another earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.9 on the Richter Scale.

Naval Battle of Iquique during the War of the Pacific (1879-1884).

Territorial disputes between Bolivia and Chile triggered the War of the Pacific in 1879. The Battle of Iquique was fought in the harbor of Iquique on 21 May 1879, now commemorated as Navy Day, an annual public holiday in Chile. The outcome of the war gave Chile this portion of the Peruvian territory.

Over the years there was substantial emigration from other parts of Chile to this area which was called the Norte Grande. In subsequent years the further exportation of Chilean saltpeter (mainly to European countries) significantly helped in the development of the city, attracting foreigners and rapidly expanding housing projects.

In December 1907, the city was marred by the Santa María de Iquique Massacre when the Chilean Army, under the command of Gen. Roberto Silva-Renard, opened fire on thousands of saltpeter miners, and their wives and children, who assembled inside the Santa María School. The workers had marched into town to protest their working conditions and wages. Somewhere between 500 and 2,000 people were killed. The folk group Quilapayún recorded an album in remembrance of the event (Cantata Santa María de Iquique) in 1970. In December 2007 a series of cultural and ceremonial activities were planned, culminating in the week between 14 to 21 December, to commemorate the centenary year of the massacre.

Prior to becoming Chilean territory, Iquique was home to some of the greatest Peruvian heroes, namely Alfonso Ugarte (who was elected Mayor in 1876), Ramon Zavala, a rich saltpeter entrepreneur; Guillermo Billinghurst, later President of Peru (who after being overthrown in 1914 came to Iquique - then already under Chilean rule - to live out his last years), and Ramon Castilla, three times president of Peru, who was born in San Lorenzo de Tarapacá and died in the Desert of Tiviliche, Tarapacá, who lived in Iquique during his mandate as Governor of Tarapacá in 1825.

Administration

As a commune, Iquique is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Myrta Dubost.

Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Iquique is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Mrs. Marta Isasi (Ind.) and Mr. Hugo Gutiérrez (PC) as part of the 2nd electoral district, which includes the entire Tarapacá Region.The commune is represented in the Senate by Fulvio Rossi Ciocca (PS) and Jaime Orpis Bouchon (UDI) as part of the 1st senatorial constituency (Arica and Parinacota Region and Tarapacá Region).

Demographics

According to the 2002 census of National Statistics Institute (INE), the commune of Iquique had an area of 2,835.3 km² (1,095 sq mi) and 216,419 inhabitants (108,897 men and 107,522 women). Of these, 214,586 (99.2%) lived in urban areas and 1,833 (0.9%) in rural areas. The township has an area of 2,262.4 km² (874 sq mi) and a population of 166,204 inhabitants. The population grew by 42.7% (64,742 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses. Iquique is home to 56% of the total population of the Tarapacá region. In 2008, the city had 226,204 habitants.

Iquique commune is divided into the following districts:

Iquique geographical position in the Region of Tarapaca.

There is a significant percentage of ethnic group colony residents. The most numerous communities are Croatian, Italian, Greek, Chinese, Arabic nationalities, Peruvians and Bolivians, British peoples (i.e. Scots) and the French.

In the 1910s and 1920s, about a thousand East Indian (from India and Pakistani) salitre mine workers hired by British mine companies appeared in Iquique and today, their descendants mixed into the local population. Lately, a wave of North American and Australian immigrants came to retire and enjoy the city's beach climate. Immigrants currently correspond to 9.2% of the total population.

Gallery

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  Baquedano Boulevard

• 

  Downtown Iquique

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  Municipal Theater of Iquique

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  Iquique Municipal Theatre at night

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  Plaza Prat

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  Zofri Mall

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  Mall Zofri at Night

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  A replica of Esmeralda Ship

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