Iquique - Humberstone Saltpeter

Humberstone is located 50 kilometers from Iquique in the middle of the Atacama Desert, where the world's largest reserves of saltpeter are found. In the so-called saltpeter war between Chile, Bolivia, and Peru (1879-1883), Chile took control of this region and thus obtained a monopoly on saltpeter extraction. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were about 90 sites, including Humberstone. Up to 3,700 people lived on this site. Humberstone was established in 1872 and definitively closed in 1960. Instead of receiving a salary, the workers were given tokens that they could use to purchase goods in the pulperias (stores), which were more expensive than the stores in the city. The workers' battle for better working conditions, the abolition of tokens, etc., intensified before Christmas 1907. On that day, the army killed 2,000 workers who had refused to leave a school in Iquique. In Humberstone, there is a room dedicated to this event. The site is worth visiting when you are in this region.

50 km from Iquique, Humberstone is located in the Atacama Desert, where the world's largest saltpeter deposits are located. In the saltpeter war between Chile, Peru, and Bolivia (1879-1883), Chile annexed this territory and became the world's largest saltpeter producer. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were about 90 locations where saltpeter was mined, including Humberstone, which was founded in 1872. Up to 3,700 people lived and worked here. Instead of receiving payment, the workers received chips that they could use to buy goods and food in the stores. The stores were owned by the owners and were more expensive than the stores in the city. This led to conflicts over the poor and hazardous working conditions, culminating in the army shooting 2,000 workers in a school in Iquique on December 21, 1907. There is a special room in Humberstone dedicated to this massacre. The city was abandoned in 1960 and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is worth a trip or detour.