| Native Name: | Intendencia de Arequipa |
| Subdivision: | Intendancy |
| Nation: | the Spanish Empire |
| Title Leader: | Intendant |
| Leader1: | José Menéndez (first) |
| Year Leader1: | 1784–1786 |
| Leader2: | (last) |
| Year Leader2: | 1816–1824 |
| Capital: | Arequipa |
| Year Start: | 1784 |
| Year End: | 1824 |
| Event End: | Dissolved |
| Date End: | December |
| Era: | Viceroyalty of Peru |
| Image Map Caption: | The intendancy within Peru in 1810 |
| S1: | Department of Arequipa |
| Flag S1: | Flag of Peru (1821-1822).svg |
| Divisions: | Partidos |
| Divisionsnames: | See relevant section |
The Intendancy of Arequipa (Spanish; Castilian: Intendencia de Arequipa), also known informally as Arequipa Province (Spanish; Castilian: Provincia de Arequipa), was one of the territorial divisions of the Viceroyalty of Peru, ruled from the city of Arequipa and under the jurisdiction of the Bishopric of Arequipa. It existed from 1784 to 1824, receiving the news of the result of the Battle of Ayacucho in late December of the same year.
Created in 1784, the intendancy was under the jurisdiction of the Real Audiencia of Lima until the city's occupation by José de San Martín in the 1820s, when it was transferred to the .[1]
The intendancy was phased out starting on April 26, 1822, when the Department of Arequipa was created by José de San Martín as part of his new protectorate,[2] with as its leader. Despite this establishment, the patriot governments' armies of Peru, Colombia and Chile were subsequently defeated by the royalist troops of Valentín Ferraz y Barrau and in the of October 8, 1823.[3] After the royalist capitulation at the Battle of Ayacucho on December 9, 1824, the news reached the intendancy later that month, with Pío de Tristán being chosen as interim viceroy until the Peruvian troops reached the city.[4]
The intendancy was divided into seven partidos.[5]
| Partido | Head (city of government) |
|---|---|
| Arequipa | Ciudad de la Asunción de Nuestra Señora del Valle Hermoso de Arequipa |
| Cailloma | Caylloma |
| Condesuyos | Chuquibamba |
| Camaná | Villa de San Miguel de Ribera |
| Moquegua | Villa de Santa Catalina de Guadalcázar del Valle de Moquegua |
| Arica | Ciudad de San Marcos de Arica |
| Tarapacá | San Lorenzo de Tarapacá |
The Governors (intendants) who ruled the intendancy of Arequipa were:[6]