全通翻譯/翻譯社

From Salt of the Earth to Shopping Extravaganza: Iquique Reinvents Itself

Founded in the late 16th century, Iquique remained something of an outpost on the fringe of the world's driest region — the Atacama Desert. Visiting the region in 1835, when it was part of Peru, Charles Darwin noted that the town, as it was then, was “very much in want of everyday necessities” due to its remoteness.

Darwin also stopped by the Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works, 48 kilometers east of the city. It was on these vital sodium nitrate deposits that Iquique was nurtured into a genuine city as immigrants flocked in to take advantage of the burgeoning trade in the valuable mineral. However, these formative years were marked by a series of tragedies and disasters. Two deadly earthquakes in 1868 and 1877 were followed by the Battle of Iquique. This naval engagement in the city's harbor on May 21, 1879 ended with the city being ceded to Chile, and the date is now celebrated as a national holiday.

Twelve years later, the city was a focal point in the Chilean Civil War, when an alternative government was formed there. However, perhaps the most notorious incident was the Santa Maria de Iquique Massacre of 1907 when government forces mowed down up to 2,000 miners and their families who were protesting over working conditions.

從採礦區到購物天堂：伊基克再進化

創建於十六世紀末的伊基克位於阿塔卡馬沙漠這個全球最乾旱地區的邊緣，向來都是一座邊遠城市。查爾斯‧達爾文在一八三五年造訪當時仍屬於祕魯的這個地區，提到這座城鎮因地處偏遠，所以「日常必需品極為匱乏」。

達爾文也走訪位在城鎮以東48公里處的亨伯斯通與聖塔蘿拉硝石採石場。伊基克就是靠著這些重要的硝酸鈉礦床得以成長為一座貨真價實的城市，只見外來移民紛紛湧入，要在日益興盛的珍貴礦物貿易中分得一杯羹。然而，這段發展期卻發生了一連串悲劇與災難。一八六八與一八七七年的兩場致命地震後，接著爆發伊基克戰役。一八七九年五月廿一日這場發生在該市港口的海戰，造成伊基克市被割讓給智利，而現在這一天也成了國定假日。

十二年後，伊基克成了智利內戰的焦點，當時替代政府在此成立。不過，最惡名昭彰的事件恐怕是一九○七年的聖母瑪利亞學校大屠殺，當時的政府軍殘殺近兩千名針對工作條件提出抗議的礦工及其家屬。

資料來源：biz 互動英語