History of Ayaviri

During the Vice royalty of New Spain

Ayaviri was conquered by the Spanish after having done so with Cuzco. It was unavoidable that Diego de Almagro, in order to make his expedition southwards in 1535, would pass through Ayaviri. The territory was "entrusted" to Francisco Villacastín, the first encomendero of Ayaviri, in 1543. But shortly after, around 1545, Pedro Cieza de León records that there was already a new encomendero by the name of Juan de Pancorbo.

As was common in these repartimientos or distributions, these territories also served to divide doctrines or curatos of ecclesial jurisdiction. In the case of the doctrine of Ayaviri, established 1565, it was dependent upon the Lampa Province, and this upon the Bishopric of Cuzco.

The region in general was noted by contemporaries at the time to be especially abundant in livestock, a characteristic that even today is boasted of the province (It is known as the capital ganadera del Perú, "livestock capital of Peru.") and that the town of Ayaviri itself has influenced this both in the past and presently. Friar Reginaldo de Lizárraga describes Ayaviri as "extremely windy and cold, a town that is big and rich in livestock of the earth, as are the rest in this province of Ayaviri.". These and other natural resources were developed under the structures of the encomienda and the estancia, which were the foundation of the economy of Ayaviri.

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