History

Former home to the Tomatas, Churumatas, Juries and Chichas peoples, the Spanish city of Tarija was founded on 4 July 1574 by Luis de Fuentes y Vargas. The settlement was considered of strategic importance in order to protect the Crown Colony of Charcas (Sucre), and its riches, from the hostile Guaraní natives of El Chaco. In addition, it served as a more direct route to Tucumán.

Tarija boasts a long history of autonomous rule. Never thoroughly subju- gated by the Spanish, the inhabitants declared their independence from Spain as early as 1807, in the process becoming the first region in all of Latin America to do so. A decade later, on 15 April 1817, at the Battle of La Tablada on the outskirts of the city, a local militia under José Eustaquio Méndez defeated a superior Spanish force and made good its declaration of independence. Although coveted by Argentina, Tarija and its environs opted to join the newly declared Republic of Bolivia in 1825, ending the area's short period of independence.

Although no longer independent, Tarija's remote location forced it to remain self sufficient over the ensuing years, its economy based on wine and fruit production as well as cattle ranching. As a result of the War of the Pacific (1878-1880), the city gained importance as a trade centre en-route to Argentine ports. This fuelled Tarija´s growth and some of the grand mansions in the city date to that era.

Tarija was always a forgotten corner of the Republic until its natural resources became evident. Although petroleum extraction started in 1924, it is in the late 1990s, that attention turns to this region with the exploitation of the country's largest natural gas fields. This has led to an influx of people from other regions and a change in Tarija's former tranquil lifestyle.