Villa Rica District
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Villa Rica | |
|---|---|
 The town of Villa Rica | |
 Interactive map of Villa Rica | |
| Country |  Peru |
| Region | Pasco |
| Province | Oxapampa |
| Founded | November 27, 1944 |
| Capital | Villa Rica |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Juan Carlos La Torre Moscoso |
| Area | |
• Total | 896.42 km2 (346.11 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,466 m (4,810 ft) |
| Population (2017 Census) | |
• Total | 18,763 |
| • Density | 20.931/km2 (54.211/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (PET) |
| UBIGEO | 190307 |
Villa Rica District is one of eight districts of Oxapampa Province in Pasco Department, Peru. The district has an area of 896 square kilometres (346 sq mi) and a population of 18,673 in 2017.[1] The capital of the district is the town of Villa Rica which had a population of 11,900 in 2017.[2] The district is the location of the Cerro de la Sal or Salt Mountain, an important gathering place for indigenous people of the region and a center of Franciscan missionary activity in the 17th and 18th centuries. The town was founded in 1928 by settlers of German and Austrian origin from the town of Pozuzo.[3]
The District of Villa Rica is on the eastern slopes of the Andes mountains in an area of abundant rainfall and mild temperatures. It is located in the ecological zone of the Peruvian Yungas, or Ceja de Selva ("eyebrow of the jungle"), the transition zone between the low jungles of the Amazon Basin and the Andes highlands. Elevations in the district range from about 800 metres (2,600 ft) to about 2,400 metres (7,900 ft). Where not cleared for agriculture, the vegetation is tropical and sub-tropical forests.[4] [5]
The Cerro de la Sal (Mountain of Salt) is located about 7 kilometres (4.3 miles) north of the town of Villa Rica at 10°40′59″S 75°16′01″W / 10.683°S 75.267°W.[6] In pre-Columbian and colonial Peru the indigenous people exploited the salt and transported it downriver by raft to a large number of peoples in the Amazon Basin. The Cerro de la Sal was in the territory of the Asháninka and was also a source of salt for the Amuesha and other peoples in the Amazon Basin.[7]
The Spanish realized the strategic importance of the Cerro de la Sal early in the 17th century.[8] Roman Catholic Franciscan missionaries were attracted to the Cerro de la Sal because of the seasonal congregation of large numbers of indigenous people there. A large number of Christian missions collectively called the Cerro de la Sal missions were established in the region. In 1742, a messianic movement headed by Juan Santos Atahualpa emptied the missions and the Spanish were expelled from Cerro de la Sal for more than 100 years.[9] In the late 19th and early 20th century settlers of European and Andean origin dispossessed the indigenous people.[10]
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