Chincha Islands
Islas Chincha (Spanish) | |
|---|---|
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| Geography | |
| Location | Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 489: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
| Major islands | Chincha Norte, Chincha Centro, Chincha Sur |
| Administration | |
| Region | Ica Region |
| Additional information | |
| Time zone | |
The Chincha Islands (Spanish: Islas Chincha) are a group of three small islands 21 kilometres (13 mi; 11 nmi) off the southwest coast of Peru, to which they belong, near the town of Pisco. Since pre-Incan times they were of interest for their extensive guano deposits, but the supplies were mostly exhausted by 1874.
Geography
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The largest of the islands, Isla Chincha Norte (English:North Chincha Island), is 1.3 kilometres (0.8 mi) long and up to 1.0 kilometre (0.6 mi) wide, and rises to a height of 34 metres (112 ft). Isla Chincha Centro (English:Center Chincha Island) is almost the same size as its neighbour to the north, while Isla Chincha Sur (English:South Chincha Island) is half the size of its neighbours. The islands are mostly granite, and bordered with cliffs on all sides, upon which great numbers of seabirds nest.[1]
History
[edit | edit source]The Chincha Islands were once the residence of the Chincha people, but only a few remains are to be found today. Peru began the export of guano in 1840. Guano mining was done largely with Chinese coolie labor in horrific conditions: in 1860, it was calculated that of the 4,000 coolies brought to the Chinchas since the trade began, not one had survived.[2]
Spain, which did not recognize Peru's independence until 1879 and desired the guano profits, occupied the islands in April 1864, setting off the Chincha Islands War (1864–1866).
In literature
[edit | edit source]The Chincha Islands were featured in an 1854 book by the American author George Washington Peck titled Melbourne, and the Chincha Islands: With Sketches of Lima, and a Voyage Round the World. The book chronicled Peck's time spent in Melbourne, Australia, as well as the Chincha Islands.[3]
Chapter L of Mark Twain's novel Roughing It also mentions the Chincha Islands. In the novel, Captain Ned Blakely, a San Francisco sea captain, sails to the Chincha Islands in command of a guano ship.[4][5]
See also
[edit | edit source]References
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External links
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- Islas Chincha (1865 map)
- Islas Chincha (in Spanish)
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