Leticia

Leticia is a city in the south east Colombia. It is the capital of Amazonas province. It is the most southern city in Colombia. The city is located 96 meters above sea level and has an average temperature of 27 degrees. Leticia has long been the city that made money from export of tropical fish and aquarium trade. It has about 37,000 inhabitants on the left bank of the Amazon River. The area is Leticia is also called "Tres Fronteras", because of the three countries (Colombia, Peru and Brazil) that come together.

History

The early rumors about the history of Leticia lead to a Spaniard and Portuguese wich first explored the Amazon River. History speaks of a Portuguese explorer who, after being lost on the river near the present site of Leticia died with his crew of starvation. The legend says that when the Peruvian government decided to colonize the area (Preventing the Colombian government to be first). The placed a cross with the words "San Antonio"  engraved and named the new town after the cross.
There is mystery about the origin of Leticia. A legend states that a Colombian soldier fell in love with an Amerindian woman named Leticia. And decided to name the city after her. It may also be that the town is named afther the Holy Leticia.
It is likely that these stories are largely fictional, with parts of truth in it. Leticia was originally named San Antonio by the Peruvians, but no evidence exists of the cross.

Small border incidents between Peru and Colombia occurred in 1911. In 1922 a controversial agreement reached between both governments, which grant the area Leticia to Colombia in exchange for recognizing the rights of Peru in the region south of the Putumayo River, which also was claimed by Ecuador. This agreement was not very popular among the Peruvian population, despite the ratification of the Convention in 1928.

A small war between Colombia and Peru on the city began in September 1932 when two hundred Peruvians, later assisted by military forces occupying the public buildings of Leticia. The hand-to-hand fighting followed between small Colombian and Peruvian forces in early 1933. The conflict lasted until May 1933 when a ceasefire by the League of Nations was set up. Leticia was finally awarded to Colombia in June 1934.

Population of Leticia

Although the war officially ended, the Colombian government is suspicious against the Peruvians. They decided therefore to put people from Bogota in Leticia to secure  the loyalty of the city to Colombia. Most people who are from Bogotá in the 40s to 1965 are living in Leticia. During that time, Leticia was expanded. Looking at the current time there is little in the industries of the city changed. These consist mainly of agriculture and tourism.