Because Spanish conquistadors failed to appreciate the value of Alpaca fibre preferring the wool of the merino sheep from their native Spain, Alpaca fibre was a well kept secret for a time.
However, beginning in the mid 1800's Alpaca was rediscovered by Sir Sirus Salt of Bradford, England.
The newly industrialized English textile industry was at its zenith when Sir Titus Salt began studying the unique properties of Alpaca fleece. He discovered that alpaca fibre was stronger than sheep wool and that its strength did not diminish with fineness of staple. The Alpaca textiles he fashioned from the raw fleece were soft and lustrous and quickly made their mark across Europe. Compared to the numbers in their native South America, the number of Alpaca in other countries are somewhat nominal. Some references indicate over 80 percent of the global population is found in Peru. Other smaller groups are on Bolivia and Chile. Very small groups (5% of the total) are found on North America, Australia, Europe, New Zealand, Japan and China.
Logansport Journal, December 4, 1890
Logansport, Indiana
FOUND IN THE ANDES.
Three Animals of Great Value to the Peruvians.
Llama, the Alpaca and the Vicuna — Serving as Beasts of Burden — Articles of Clothing Made from Their Coats.
In the high, cold table-lands of South America, where nature has taken grand shapes, on the bare, bleak Punas, almost as desolate as Sahara or the lofty plains of Tartary, there are, says the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, animals the congener of those peculiar to the last named regions. Instead of the camel in his numerous varieties, there are the llama and his affiliations, similar but distinct, and fulfilling corresponding functions. Among the lofty Andes, too, there is, on a scale of size relative to that which exists between the Andes and the Alps, the great bird, the condor, the Amerindian counterpart of the Swiss lammergeyer . . .
The alpaca is a source of real wealth to Peru, and its export has been forbidden, notwithstanding that all attempts to acclimatize it in other countries and climes have proved signal failures . . . The legs of the alpaca are covered down, or nearly down, to its feet by wool, or fleece, while the legs of all its relations, like those of the deer, are clean, covered with short hair, giving them a lighter and fleeter appearance . . .
The vicuna may be tamed, but has never been domesticated--a result often sought as his fleece is remarkably fine and silky, in these respects surpassing that of the alpaca . . . Many of the vicunas are killed annually for their fleece, of which hats and ponchos of great softness and beauty are manufactured and sold at high prices to the traveler and haciendero. The royal robes of the Inca were made of the fleece of the vicuna, but the ancients were wiser than their successors. They instituted grand hunts of the vicuna, caught and sheared them, and let them go to reproduce their precious coat.
CALLAO
Francisco Pizarro founded the Port of Callao in 1537, and it was soon Spain's main Pacific port in the New World. At the peak of Spain's power in Peru, the Port of Callao was the shipment point for goods from Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina to go to Panama and then to Spain through Cuba. Much of the cargo transported out of the Port of Callao was gold and silver that the Spanish conquistadores took from the Inca Empire. The Port of Callao was attacked often by pirates and Spain's European rivals. Sir Francis Drake pillaged the city in 1578.
In 1746, a tidal wave destroyed the Port of Callao after a serious earthquake. Rebuilt about a kilometer from the original site, the new Port of Callao was fortified by the Real Felipe fortress that ended up defending the Peruvians from Spain during the wars of independence. In 1823, Simon Bolivar arrived at the Port of Callao. Three years later, Spain surrendered at the Real Felipe fortress in the Port of Callao. During the period of the Peru-Bolivian Confederacy, the Callao Province was created with relative political autonomy.
In 1857, the Port of Callao was entitled a "Constitutional Province." The name had no real value, except it was the only province in Peru to be given that status under constitutional mandate. The Port of Callao was bombed by the Spanish fleet in the 1866 Battle of Callao when the Spanish attempted to re-conquer Peru. In 1881, Chilean forces occupied the Port of Callao during the War of the Pacific. It was returned to Peru under the terms of the 1883 Treaty of Ancon.
IQUITOS
Iquitos is the largest city in the world not connected to the outside world by roads. The Belen district of Iquitos is called "The Floating City." During the rainy season, its streets are flooded and it becomes the "Venice of South America," when people travel by boat.
Iquitos, located on the Amazon River in northeastern Peru, was originally one of the numerous Indian settlements organized by the Jesuit missionaries in the 16th century, and was known as San Pablo de Napeanos. Its population dispersed, but a community was re-established around 1760. Since the majority of the population were Iquitos Indians it became known as the village of Iquitos.
In 1864, three years after President Ramón Castilla had established the Departamento de Loreto (State of Loreto) port facilities were built and this is generally considered as the founding date of Iquitos. Iquitos is the furthest inland deep-water port in the world and receives ships coming up 2300 miles from the mouth of the Amazon on the Atlantic Ocean.
At the end of the nineteenth century Iquitos, along with Manaus, Brazil, prospered greatly from the exportation of rubber.
LIMA
Lima was already a first class developed city when Pizarro founded it in 1535.
Several
native kingdoms ruled by the Incan Empire existed before the arrival of
the Spaniards. The most important archaeological remnant corresponds to
the Pachacámac Temple, one of the major shrines and oracles of
the Incans’ Empire. When the city was founded, Lima was appointed
the capital of the Spanish colonies. Thus, it became the residence of
many wealthy families during the colonial period.
Centralia Enterprise and Tribune, July 7, 1894
Centralia, Wisconsin
WILL ARREST ALL REBELS
The Peruvian Government Adopts
Strict Measures With Insurgents
Buenos Ayres, June 28,--A dispatch from Lima, Peru, says that the Peruvian government has ordered a general arrest of the supporters of the revolution. It is added that Great Britain has officially recognized President (Justiniano) Borgono's government.
Andean Folk Knits: Great Designs from Peru, Chile, Argentina, Ecuador & Bolivia
Marcia Lewandowski
Beautiful ethnic patterns from the Andes incluides a selection of 25 projects includes vibrant bags and other accessories based on the rich traditions of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru. Knit fingerless mittens and a purse from Peru's Ollantaytambo region.
