Arica is a commune and a port city with a population of 185,269 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica and Parinacota Region, located only 18 km south of the border with Peru. The city is the capital of both the Arica Province and the Arica and Parinacota Region. Known as the "city of the eternal spring", it was originally a part of Peru but it was lost after the Treaty of Ancon as part of the results of the War of the Pacific. Archaeological research has indicated the site of Arica was inhabited by different native groups for at least ten thousand years. The city was founded... by Spanish captain Lucas Martinez de Begazo in 1541, and in 1570 was entitled as "La Muy Ilustre y Real Ciudad San Marcos de Arica" . This city was, from 1545, the port for exporting the silver of Potosí, Bolivia. The Potosi silver mine was the largest such mine in world history, making Arica a crucial port for the Spanish Empire.
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| Country: | Chile |
| Population: | 192,300 |
| Also known as: | Arica, Chile |