Abstract

On January 6 and 7, 1842, Peruvian and Bolivian troops fought in the town of Tarapacá as a consequence of a permanent border conflict originated within the complex process of formation of the republic in both countries. This fact was instilled in the memory of Peruvians and Tarapacá inhabitants through the prose of Ricardo Palma, and the present article addresses this event by seeking to go beyond the mythical, heroic and literary rhetoric that has been so far dominant in order to understand the local socio-political dynamics regarding the formation of the nation and the national territory in the southernmost province of Peru at that time, and that were expressed in this event.