Iquitos

= Iquitos =

Iquitos City is the largest metropolis in the Peruvian Amazon. Even being in the northeast, a non-populous area it manages to be the 6th largest city in Peru. It also sports a large estimated population of 437,000 people, making up 95.5% of its metropolitan area. The city became so huge and dense because of the rubber trade. It was home to the headquarters of the Peruvian Amazon Company, a huge rubber exporter who brought in 1,000s of workers. The PAC played such a big role the city's economy was highly based off of the PAC. This is contrasted by the grueling, near slave like labor that indigenous workers went through. Because of this PAC’s stocks were hit badly, also losing backing in the UK.

The Europeans who moved to Iquitos during the rubber boom shaped the city, building churches, opera houses, and cemeteries. The city also found success in the exporting timber, oil, minerals, and crops. Because of it’s relative size and vicinity to the Amazon River, Iquitos has a thriving tourism industry. This can be thanked to the Europeans who influenced the city during the rubber boom. This is very noticeable as the city contains much more European architecture than other large Peruvian cities. Today the city does have major pollution problems. Scooters and motorcycles are very popular in the area, the abundance of these cause major sound and air pollution. Even with laws against it, garbage is tossed around aimlessly on the streets with no care. Environmental organizations in Iquitos have spread education on why it hurts the city, but that has been to little avail. This is evident by how garbage is found in piles on the streets of the most densely populated areas.

By: Aiden Soprych