Place:Trujillo, La Libertad, Peru

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source: Family History Library Catalog

source: Family History Library Catalog

This page is for the Trujillo province, district and city.

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Trujillo is a city in coastal northwestern Peru and the capital of the Department of La Libertad. It is the third most populous city and center of the third most populous metropolitan area of Peru. It is located on the banks of the Moche River, near its mouth at the Pacific Ocean, in the Moche Valley. This was a site of the great prehistoric Moche and Chimu cultures before the Inca conquest and subsequent expansion.

The Independence of Trujillo from Spain was proclaimed in the Historic Centre of Trujillo on December 29, 1820, and the city was honored in 1822 by the Congress of the Republic of Peru with the title "Meritorious City and Faithful to the Fatherland", for its role in the fight for Peruvian independence. Trujillo is the birthplace of Peru's judiciary, and it was twice designated as the capital of the country. It was the scene of the Revolution of Trujillo in 1932. Trujillo is considered the "cradle of liberty and cradle of the judiciary in Peru".^[1]

Trujillo is also known as the "City of Everlasting Spring", is considered the "Capital of the Marinera", a traditional dance in Peru, "Cradle of the Peruvian Paso horse", as well as the "Capital of Culture of Peru".^[2] It has sponsored numerous national and international cultural events, and has a lively arts community. Current festivals include the "National Marinera Festival", the Trujillo Spring Festival and the International Book Festival, which is one of the most important cultural events in the country.

Trujillo is close to two major archeological sites of pre-Columbian monuments: Chan Chan, the largest adobe city in the ancient world, designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986; and the temples of the Sun and Moon (the largest adobe pyramid in Peru).

The city center contains many examples of colonial and religious architecture, often incorporating distinctive wrought ironwork. It includes residential areas, a central business district, and industrial supply distribution to the various districts. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Trujillo has its seat here. Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion and 10 colonial churches are located within the old city wall, now encircled by Avenida España; additional churches in the towns of Huamán, Huanchaco and Moche are located within of Trujillo's centre.

Since 2011, the city has been developing the pilot project Trujillo: Sustainable City, as part of the platform "Emerging and Sustainable Cities of the Inter-American Development Bank", in cooperation with the IDB. In 2012 Trujillo was selected by IBM to participate in a "Smarter Cities Challenge" project intended to improve public safety and transportation through technology.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

The history of Trujillo has its beginning in ancient times, as the area at the mouth of the Moche River was long a center of successive pre-European cultures. They extended their domains along the northern coast of Peru.

Pre-Columbian era

The archaeological history of this region goes back to the early pre-ceramic period. For example, Huaca Prieta was occupied as early as 4700 BC.

Several ancient cultures developed in this area: the Cupisnique, the Moche and Chimu. Numerous archaeological sites and monumental remains attest to the high degree of complexity of these civilizations.

Among the Cupisnique culture sites are Caballo Muerto and Huaca Prieta.

The Moche culture sites include huacas: the Temples of the Sun and Moon south of the city, the Huaca del Dragón (or Rainbow Huaca) and the Huaca Esmeralda to the north, and others.

The Chimu culture built its primary settlement at what is known as Chan Chan, which was the capital, having an estimated 100,000 people at its peak. It is the largest pre-Columbian city built of adobe and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its remains are northwest of the current city center. The present Spanish–Peruvian city of Trujillo was founded in an ancestral territory populated by ancient indigenous civilizations. The Spanish founded new cities expressing their culture in what they called the "Viceroyalty of Peru".

Moche civilization

The Moche civilization flourished in northern Peru with its Huacas del Sol y de la Luna from about AD 100 to 800, during the Regional Development Epoch. The people likely had formed into a group of autonomous polities that shared a common elite culture, as seen in the rich iconography and monumental architecture that survive today. They are particularly noted for their elaborately-painted ceramics, gold work, monumental constructions (huacas) and irrigation systems.^[3]

Moche history is broadly divided into three periods – the emergence of the Moche culture in the Early Moche (AD 100–300), its expansion and florescence during the Middle Moche (300–600), and the urban nucleation and subsequent collapse in the Late Moche (500–750). Moche society was agriculture-based, and the cultural leaders invested in the construction of a network of irrigation canals for the diversion of river water to supply the crops. Their culture was sophisticated; and their artifacts fully express their lives, including scenes of hunting, fishing, fighting, sacrifice, elaborate ceremonies, and sexual acts.

Chimu Empire

The Chimu built and occupied a territory known as Chimor, with its capital at the city of Chan Chan, a large adobe city in the Valley of Moche (around which present-day Trujillo city developed). The culture arose about 900 and flourished into the 14th century. The Inca ruler Tupac Inca Yupanqui led a campaign which conquered the Chimu in around 1470.

This was just 50 years before the arrival of the Spanish in the region. Consequently, Spanish chroniclers recorded accounts of Chimu culture from persons who had lived before the Inca conquest. Similarly, archaeological evidence suggest Chimor emerged from the remnants of Moche culture; early Chimu pottery had some resemblance to that of the Moche. Their ceramics are all-black, and their work in precious metals is very detailed and intricate. In the Late Chimu period, about 12,000 artisans lived and worked in Chan Chan alone. They engaged in fishing, agriculture, craft work, and trade. Artisans were forbidden to change their profession, and were grouped together in the citadel according to their area of specialization. Archeologists have noted a dramatic rise in the volume of Chimu craft production, which they attribute to artisans having been brought to Chan Chan from another area taken in conquest.^[4] As there is evidence of both metalwork (generally a male specialty) and weaving (a female art) in the same domestic dwelling, it is likely that both men and women were artisans.^[4] The men engaged in fishing, heavy agriculture (aided by irrigation and earthworks), and metallurgy. The women made ceramics and textiles (from spun and dyed cotton, llama, alpaca, and vicuña wool). People used reed fishing canoes, hunted, and traded using bronze coins.

In May 2018 archaeologists uncovered the world’s largest child-sacrifice site at Trujillo. National Geographic reported that more than 140 children and 200 baby llamas appeared to have been ritually sacrificed, more than 500 years ago.

Colonial era

Spanish foundation

Trujillo was one of the first cities in the Americas founded by the Spanish conquistadors. They arrived in an area that had been inhabited and developed for thousands of years by the indigenous peoples. According to historian Napoleón Cieza Burga, the conquistador Diego de Almagro founded the first settlement in November 1534,^[5] calling it Trujillo of New Castile after Trujillo, the home city of Francisco Pizarro. It was founded among four Chimu settlements: Huanchaco, Huamán, Moche and Mampuesto, to create an alliance against the Incas. On November 23, 1537, King Charles I of Spain gave the town the rank of 'city' and the coat of arms that remains a symbol for the city; it was the first city in Peru to receive a coat of arms from the king. By 1544 Trujillo had around 300 homes and 1,000 inhabitants, and an economy booming from the cultivation of sugar cane, wheat, and other food crops and the raising of livestock.

The Spanish colonists welcomed a diverse array of religious orders from the time of its founding, and there was a boom in church construction in the city during the 16th and 17th centuries. In 1577 Pope Gregory XIII created the Diocese of Trujillo, and in 1616 construction work commenced on the cathedral.

On February 14, 1619, Trujillo was struck by an earthquake, resulting in the near-total destruction of the city and the deaths of around 400 of its inhabitants. Rebuilding was slow. The people developed a devotion to Saint Valentine, on whose day the earthquake hit. The Jesuits opened a seminary and school for the education and training of priests; they also served as missionaries to the indigenous peoples, as they introduced Christianity.

17th century

The Wall of Trujillo

Due to the proximity of the city to the sea (about away) and the danger of attack by pirates and privateers, the Wall of Trujillo was built for defense during the reign of Viceroy Melchor de Navarra and Rocafull and the city mayors Bartolome Martinez and Fernando Ramirez Jarabeitia Orellana. This wall was built by an Italian architect, Giuseppe Formento, who began construction on February 19, 1687. Formento based his design on that by Leonardo da Vinci for the Italian city of Florence. The wall was designed in an elliptical shape to save costs in its construction, and was completed in 1689. The wall reached a perimeter of and used more than 100,000 bricks. The defensive structure was composed of 15 bastions, 15 shades and 5 covered gates.

The Huamán Gate was oriented westward to the road to the village of the same name. The Mansiche Gate was located to the north, giving way to the highway. The Miraflores Gate opened to the east. The Sierra Gate was named after the road leading to this region. Lastly, the Moche Gate gave access to people coming from the south. In 1942 the city developed a master plan; following the path of the ancient wall, it built Avenida España to encircle the area now called the Historical Center of Trujillo.

In the latter half of the 17th century, severe droughts and pestilence caused a major economic crisis for the city, which depended on agriculture. Trujillo regained prominence in the 18th century, in part due to the destruction of the city of Saña by flooding in 1720. Trujillo also suffered from flooding in 1701, 1720, 1728 and 1814; and earthquakes in 1725 and 1759.

By 1760 an estimated 9,200 people were living in the vicinity of the city. The foundation of the Municipality of Trujillo in 1779 coincided with a peak of prosperity for the city. Numerous undeveloped lots remained within the city walls but Trujillo was regarded as one of the most important cities in Northern Peru during the colonial era.

Independence

Inspired by liberal ideas from members of its educational institutions, Trujillo became a principal centre of Peruvian republican sentiments. Led by the city mayor and intendant José Bernardo de Tagle, the Intendancy of Trujillo declared its independence from Spain on December 29, 1820.

Between 1821 and 1825 the Trujillo region was the only stable and productive land within the nascent republic. In 1823 Trujillo took on the role of the first capital city of the Republic of Peru. On July 19, 1823 the Peruvian Congress located here repeated its invitation to Simón Bolívar, a leader in Bolivia, to join the war of independence. In 1824 the city received the liberation army of Bolívar, and was again designated as the seat of government. It is the only city to have twice been designated as the capital.

The years following the revolution saw the growth in the economic influence of the city, compensating for a loss of political power to Lima when it was designated as the capital, which instead suffered from the resulting political turmoil. The Moche and Chicama valleys emerged as new economic enclaves for the sugar cane industry. Land was increasingly concentrated in large estates and a new "agricultural aristocracy" developed that was linked to and influenced national political power. The policy of free trade and openness to foreign investment attracted an influx of Europeans, principally from Britain and Germany. By then, Trujillo had a population of 15,000 and began to grow beyond the city walls. New architectural styles were adopted, influenced by French and English Romanticism.

During the War of the Pacific against Chile between 1879 and 1883, Trujillo contributed troops towards national defence. Although never a site of battle, Trujillo suffered from occupation by Chilean troops and their plundering of the surrounding countryside.

First Independent City of Peru

It is considered the "First Independent City of Peru" for three reasons: it proclaimed independence from Spain on December 24, 1820 at the historical "Casa de la Emancipación" (House of Emancipation). Its leaders signed the declaration of independence at the Seminario de San Carlos y San Marcelo and proclaimed independence to an open council meeting in the Plaza de Armas, on December 29, 1820. Finally, on January 6, 1821 its leaders ratified the agreement and the proclamation of the independence of this city, as stated in the document called Libro rojo (the Red Book) of the Trujillo council.

Their actions gained independence for almost all of northern Peru, because the government of Trujillo city ruled what is now the regions of Tumbes, Piura, Lambayeque, La Libertad, Cajamarca, San Martín and Amazonas. Marquis of Torre Tagle said, "My people. From this time for the unanimous will of the people, Trujillo is free. I put our fate and that of people under the protection of Heaven! Long live the homeland! Long live independence!"^[6]

Republican era

The Provisional Regulations given by General San Martín in 1821 created the Department of Trujillo, based on colonial administration. This status was acknowledged in the first Constitution of Peru in 1823. Because of its size and economic wealth, the Department of Trujillo between 1821 and 1825 was the only stable and productive area that could organize and lead the nascent republic. The department encompassed nearly half the country. For the efforts of its people in the war of emancipation, San Martín gave it the title of "Meritorious City Loyal to the Homeland". The municipality of the city, then called a cabildo, was given the rank of "honorable".

In 1823, after the creation of the Republic of Peru, the protectorate of José de San Martín was developed. Before royal troops took the city of Lima, the first President of Peru, Don José de la Riva Agüero, together with Sánchez Carrión, named Trujillo as provisional capital of the country, which survived for a short period.

In 1824 the city received the liberation army of Simón Bolívar. Taking over the government of the country, he established a temporary government of the country in Trujillo, on March 8, 1824.

In 1821 the Court of Appeals was created to replace the Royal Court. Its jurisdiction extended over the present departments of Cajamarca, Piura, Lambayeque, Amazonas (then known as the Chachapoyas), and Huamachuco (then known as Sánchez Carrión). On March 26, 1824 Simón Bolívar established Trujillo's first Superior Court of Justice as the Northern Superior Court. It had been the first high court established in the Republic of Peru with the powers of the Supreme Court.

19th century

By the end of the 19th century the five entrances had disappeared from the city, so it was that during this time the Wall of Trujillo was torn down and allowed the growth of the city. This urban expansion allowed the establishment of the neighborhoods of Chicago, La Unión and Pedro Muñiz. During the administration of Don Víctor Larco Herrera as mayor, the city began upgrading works such as the construction of City Hall, the arrangement and embellishment of the Plaza de Armas and the atrium of the Cathedral. It also built the road to the resort of Buenos Aires, which expanded the city urban planning perspective. Another project was the renovation of the Municipal Theater.

20th century

In July 1932, Trujillo was once again at the centre of one of the most important episodes in the history of the Republic of Peru, the Trujillo Revolution of 1932, which cost the lives of many citizens. Although this year came to be known as the "year of barbarism", it would also mark the political identity of the city during the second half of the 20th century.

The latter half of the 20th century saw the expansion of the city due to a combination of rural-to-urban migration and the consolidation of surrounding districts into the Trujillo metropolitan area.

From 1980 Trujillo took on the aspect and behavior of a particularly dynamic metropolitan area, by which time the growth of the city and adjoining districts had produced a single metropolitan area, so in the 1980s the nascent Trujillo metropolitan area consisted of the integrated urban districts of Trujillo, El Porvenir and Florencia de Mora, with Víctor Larco Herrera and La Esperanza remaining discontinuous districts. In 1981 the city had 403,337 inhabitants. Also in the 1980s the Trujillo Industrial Park project was begun, located on the north side of the city, in the present La Esperanza district.

With the advent of the 1990s, the city of Trujillo was unified with the districts of La Esperanza and Victor Larco Herrera and the spread of the city resulted in the districts of Moche, Trujillo, Salaverry, and Laredo becoming part of the metropolitan area. In the first half of the 1990s, after the emergence of the El Milagro area in Huanchaco, it was joined to La Esperanza district, and increasing interdependence with the districts of Moche and Laredo, which was cemented Trujillo as a new metropolis of Peru, then with a population of 589,314 inhabitants.

21st century

Modernization of the city

With the experience of the last two decades of the 20th century, when the city experienced an excessive disordered growth while increasing the costs for providing basic services to the population, the Provincial Municipality of Trujillo created the Trujillo Metropolitan Development Plan 2010, known as "Plandemetru", which was approved by city ordinance on November 30, 1995. Through this was planned the growth and development of the city up to 2010; later the lines of development of the metropolis were governed by the "Strategic Plan for Integral Development and Sustainable Trujillo till 2015" containing general guidelines for the development of the city by 2015.

Sustainable and smart city

In November 2010, Trujillo was the first city in Latin America and the Caribbean to be chosen by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to develop the pilot "Sustainable City" project as part of the platform "Emerging and Sustainable Cities of the Inter-American Development Bank".^[7] This project includes a plan of action on climate change, which will be held on emissions limits in Trujillo, and will review the list of investment projects with respect to climate sustainability. According to IDB representative Fidel Jaramillo, Trujillo was chosen as the first driver of progress in Latin America to develop a new initiative. Trujillo's plan is to conceive from other perspectives such as fiscal and financial sustainability, which is basic, but also from environmental sustainability and quality of life. The IDB is developing relevant projects in coordination with the Provincial Municipality of Trujillo. In 2012 Trujillo began to develop, with the support of American technology corporation IBM, the "Smart City" project, which will try to focus technologically on the two problems of public safety and transportation.^[8][9]

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