- Concepción, Santa Cruz
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This article is about the Bolivian town. For other towns/cities named Concepción, see Concepción (disambiguation).
Concepción Mission church "Iglesias de las Misiones"
Location in Bolivia
ConcepciónCoordinates: 16°07′55″S 62°01′34″W / 16.13194°S 62.02611°W Country 
BoliviaDepartment 
Santa Cruz DepartmentProvince Ñuflo de Chávez Population (2008) – Total 8,221 (est) Concepción is a town in the lowlands of Eastern Bolivia. It is known as part of the Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos, declared in 1990 a World Heritage Site[1], as a former Jesuit Reduction.
Contents
Location
Concepción is the capital of Ñuflo de Chávez Province in the Santa Cruz Department and is located at an elevation of 500 m above sea level, circa 250 kilometers northeast of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the department's capital.
History
Concepción was founded in 1699 by Jesuits and served as a mission place for the Christianization of the Guaraní people. In 1722 the village moved to its present place, and in 1745 it was inhabited by circa 2,000 people of the Punasicas, Boococas, Tubasicas, Paicones, Puyzocas, Quimonecas, Quitemos, Napecas, Paunacas and Tapacuracas tribes.
Between 1753 and 1756 the cathedral of Concepción was built (see photo), which still is the center of the blooming town. In 1766, Concepción was inhabited by 713 families and 3,276 persons. When in 1767 Charles III expelled the Jesuits and the village was administered by secular authorities, many of its inhabitants fled to the woods.
During the decade that followed the population decreased drastically, caused by epidemics, famine, the mismanagement of the new clergy and - at the end of the 19th century - by deporting the indigenous population to the rubber plantations.[2]
Infrastructure
Concepción has a gravel airfield of 1,900 m length (Airport-Code CEP).[3]
Population
The town's population has increased strongly in the past decades:
- 1969: 1,100[4] inhabitants
- 1992: 3,228[5] inhabitants (census)
- 2001: 5,586[6] inhabitants (census)
- 2008: 8,221[5] inhabitants (est.)
Climate
The climate in the Concepción area is typical of the Bolivian lowlands east of the Andes, and weather data from Concepción is used to illustrate the weather and climate of the region. The table at [7] shows the average weather conditions at Concepción. (Note that BBC mis-spell Concepción with a t: Conceptión).
Also the Lonely Planet's Bolivia guide, 6th Edition / April 2007, uses weather data from Concepción in a climate chart (page 368).
Famous inhabitants
- Hugo Banzer Suárez (1926–2002), Bolivian president 1971-1978 and 1997–2002
References
- ^ World Heritage Site: Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos
- ^ Olga Merino; Linda A. Newson. Jesuit Missions in Spanish America: The Aftermath of the Expulsion. http://sites.maxwell.syr.edu/clag/yearbook1995/newson.pdf. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
- ^ "Concepción Airport (CEP) Details". http://www.world-airport-codes.com/bolivia/concepcion-1626.html.
- ^ Population Statistics populstat
- ^ a b World Gazetteer
- ^ Observatorio de la Democrática Bolicia
- ^ BBC Weather Table
External links
- Detailed map of province
- History of Concepción
- Concepción at Boliviabella
- Description of Jesuit mission (World Heritage Site) with pictures and information
Coordinates: 16°07′55″S 62°01′34″W / 16.13194°S 62.02611°W
Categories:- Populated places in the Santa Cruz Department
- Populated places established in 1699
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