Historical Outline of Arequipa
A testimony of the first inhabitants of the region has been left by the first inhabitants of the region in the form of rock art, dating back to 8000 years. A people of excellent Weavers stand out among the different groups that did live in Arequipa: The Collaguas which posseded big alpacas herds.
The name Arequipa is related to an ancient legend. It says that in an opportunity the Inca Mayta Capac was passing by these regions with his soldiers and they decided to stay , but when the order for leaving was given some of his soldiers asked him for the permission to stay and the Inca answered in Quechua " ari quepay ", meaning : " yes, stay".
In August 15 in 1540, in the name of Francisco Pizarro, Garci Manuel de Carbajal and about 100 Spaniards did found the Arequipa city , built at the skirts of the Misti Volcano, with the pass of the time the city became the center of the Spaniard and the Spanish descendants presence.
During the Republic, Arequipa was the cradle of revolutionary political offers and the scenary for confrontations between many political revolutionaries of the XIX century such us : Francisco Javier de Luna Pizarro,president of the congress in many different ocassions, and Nicolás de Piérola, revolucionario and president of Peru.They are just two examples of the outstanding figures that were born in this department.
In the XIX century, Arequipa became an important exportation center for the ewe and alpaca wool to England, in this way it achieved to consolidate its economical strength within the country. In the present days,Arequipa no doubts keeps its economic leadership and has become into the center of the commerce and industry in the Southern part of the country.