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The alpaca has been domesticated for over 5000 years. The current thinking is that they were domesticated from the vicuna, a camelid that makes it home in the South American Andes and has one of the world most prized, and highest priced, fibers. The alpaca was important in every aspect of the daily lives of the ancient civilizations southeast Peru, eastern Bolivia and northern Argentina and Chile. The domestication of the alpaca reached its highest point during the Inca Empire. Llamas and alpacas were managed by a special caste, the llama herders. During this time, only royalty and nobility were allowed to wear garments made from their fiber. Selective breeding was likely used by the alpaca's caretakers in an effort to maintain their fine fiber characteristics.
All this changed when the Spanish arrived in 1531. With a thirst for gold and the blessing of the Spanish King James V to conquer Peru, the Spaniards overlooked one of the Icans most prized commodity, the alpaca. Soon, the native animals, such as the llama and the alpaca, were replaced by settlers' livestock. Native Quechans escaped, with their llamas and alpacas, into the high puno, where European livestock were unable to survive. The Inca husbandry and breeding systems were lost, but the animals were saved from extinction.
The Spanish conquistadors failed to see the value of alpaca fiber, preferring the merino sheep of their native Spain. Alpaca fiber was exported from South America to Spain, which transferred it to Germany and France, and eventually to England. Attempts were made to process the fiber, but failed, and it was condemned as an unworkable material.
The Industrial Revolution was at its peak when, in `1836, Sir Titus Salt discovered several unwanted bales of alpaca in a warehouse in Liverpool. He became intrigued with the difficult fiber. Titus had been trained as a wool stapler - a buyer and seller of wool. Not only was he well versed in sorting the wool, he spent time learining all aspects of the processing of wool - sorting, washing, combing, slivering, spinning and weaving.
Being so well versed in the processing of wool gave Titus an edge in his attempts to work with alpaca fiber. What Titus saw before him was a long glossy staple that he knew would be perfect for the production of the light fancy fabrics, which were then in great demand. By adding cotton or silk as the vertical thread of the fabric (the warp) and alpaca as the vertical thread (the weft), Sir Titus was able to create a durable, light and reasonably priced cloth. Technological advances such as the advent of the sewing machine and paper dress patterns made these fabrics accessible to the middle class. Sir Titus's alpaca fabric took the world by storm, and made his fortune.
More information on Sir Titus Salt and his revolutionary use of alpaca fiber can be found athttp://mulberryalpacas.com/titus2.php
Special thanks to Adrian Stewart for his kind permission to reference the articles on his Mulberry Alpacas site.
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