Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

on the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

and home to its main airport,

Jorge Chávez International Airport Jorge Chávez International Airport (Aeropuerto Internacional Jorge Chávez) is Peru's main international and domestic airport. It is located in Callao, northwest from Lima Center, the nation's capital city and from the district of Miraf ...

. Callao municipality consists of the whole Callao Region, which is also coterminous with the Province of Callao. Founded in 1537 by the

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance peoples, Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of National and regional identity in Spain, national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex Hist ...

, the city has a long

naval A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

history as one of the main ports in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

and the Pacific, as it was one of vital Spanish towns during the colonial era. Central Callao is about west of the

Historic Centre of Lima Located principally in the city centre or Cercado de Lima and Rímac areas, the Historic Centre of Lima is among the most important tourist destinations in Peru. Foundation The city of Lima, the capital of Peru, was founded by Francisco Piz ...

History

El Callao was founded by Spanish colonists in 1537, just two years after

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

(1535). It soon became the main port for Spanish commerce in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. The origin of its name is unknown; both Amerindian (particularly Yunga, or Coastal Peruvian) and Spanish sources are credited, but it is certain that it was known by that name since 1550. Other sources point to the similarity with the Portuguese word ''calhau'' ebble having a similar sound. At the height of the

Viceroyalty A viceroyalty was an entity headed by a viceroy. It dates back to the Spanish conquest of the Americas in the sixteenth century. France *Viceroyalty of New France Portuguese Empire In the scope of the Portuguese Empire, the term "Viceroyalty o ...

, virtually all goods produced in Peru,

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

, and Argentina were carried over the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

by mule to Callao, to be shipped to

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

, carried overland, and then transported on to Spain via

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. The port of Callao was also a node in the

Manila Galleon fil, Galyon ng Maynila , english_name = Manila Galleon , duration = From 1565 to 1815 (250 years) , venue = Between Manila and Acapulco , location = New Spain (Spanish Empire ...

route connecting Latin-America and Asia through Acapulco, Mexico and Manila,

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. After the

Battle of Ayacucho The Battle of Ayacucho ( es, Batalla de Ayacucho, ) was a decisive military encounter during the Peruvian War of Independence. This battle secured the independence of Peru and ensured independence for the rest of South America. In Peru it is co ...

, 9 December 1824, that sealed the independence of Peru and South America, Spain made futile attempts to retain its former colonies, such as at the

Second siege of Callao The second siege of Callao was the longest lasting siege that occurred on the Pacific coast during the Spanish American wars of independence. The siege was carried out by the combined Gran Colombian and Peruvian independence forces against the ro ...

. On 20 August 1836, during the Peru-Bolivian Confederacy, President Andrés de Santa Cruz mandated the creation of the Callao Littoral Province (''Provincia Litoral del Callao''), which had political autonomy in its internal affairs. During the government of President

Ramón Castilla Ramón Castilla y Marquesado (; 31 August 1797 – 30 May 1867) was a Peruvian ''caudillo'' who served as President of Peru three times as well as the Interim President of Peru (Revolution Self-proclaimed President) in 1863. His earliest pr ...

, Callao was given the name of Constitutional Province (''Provincia Constitucional''), on 22 April 1857; before that, Callao had the name of Littoral Province. All of the other Peruvian provinces had been given their names by law, while Callao was given it by constitutional mandate. Callao was never part of the

Lima Department Lima department was a department of Peru. It was formed by the territories of present-day Lima Region, Callao Region and Ica Region, and Casma Province, Huarmey Province and Santa Province The Santa Province is one of twenty provinces of the Ancas ...

nor of any other departments. The province's first mayor was Col. Manuel Cipriano Dulanto. In 1921, the Bureau of Public Works granted a concession to

M.I.T. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...

engineer John Tinker Glidden for paving, administering, and inaugurating a public cart road between Callao and Lima, further coalescing a Lima metropolitan area. By 1949, Callao was known as one of the biggest centers of

coca Coca is any of the four cultivated plants in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. Coca is known worldwide for its psychoactive alkaloid, cocaine. The plant is grown as a cash crop in the Argentine Northwest, Bolivia, Al ...

-based products and

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...

in the world.

Notable events

*On 28 October 1746, a

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...

caused by the

1746 Lima–Callao earthquake The 1746 Lima–Callao earthquake occurred at on 28 October with a moment magnitude of 8.6–8.8 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). The epicenter was located about north-northwest of the capital Lima, which was almost complete ...

destroyed the entire port of Callao. *On 22 January 1826,

besieged Besieged may refer to: * the state of being under siege * ''Besieged'' (film), a 1998 film by Bernardo Bertolucci {{disambiguation ...

by nationalist forces backed by

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24 July 1783 – 17 December 1830) was a Venezuelan military and political leader who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and B ...

, General José Ramón Rodil surrendered Callao to General . *On 2 May 1866, during the

Battle of Callao The Battle of Callao (, as it is known in South America) occurred on May 2, 1866, between a Spanish Empire, Spanish fleet under the command of Admiral Casto Méndez Núñez and the fortified battery emplacements of the Peruvian port city of Cal ...

, the Spanish fleet tried to reconquer independent Peru. *''

Kon-Tiki The ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition was a 1947 journey by raft across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands, led by Norwegian explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl. The raft was named ''Kon-Tiki'' after the Inca god Viracocha, for ...

'' left Callao, Peru, on the afternoon of 28 April 1947. *On 19 June 1986, the

Peruvian prison massacres The Peruvian prison massacres occurred on June 18–19, 1986, after a series of riots in the San Pedro, Santa Mónica, and El Frontón prisons in Lima and Callao. The military repression of these riots resulted in the loss of at least 224 ...

took place.

City highlights

Callao is built on and around a peninsula, the district of La Punta, a wealthy residential neighborhood. A historical fortress, the '' Castillo de Real Felipe'' (site of " Rodil's Last Stand"), stands on the promontory overlooking the harbor. A large naval base is sited in Callao. Its prison held

Abimael Guzmán Manuel Rubén Abimael Guzmán Reynoso (; 3 December 1934 − 11 September 2021), also known by his '' nom de guerre'' Chairman Gonzalo ( es, Presidente Gonzalo), was a Peruvian Maoist revolutionary and guerrilla leader, considered a terrorist ...

, the leader of the

Shining Path The Shining Path ( es, Sendero Luminoso), officially the Communist Party of Peru (, abbr. PCP), is a communist Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla group in Peru following Marxism–Leninism–Maoism and Gonzalo Thought. Academics often refer to the gro ...

Communist Party of Peru, and holds

Vladimiro Montesinos Vladimiro Lenin Ilich Montesinos Torres (born 20 May 1945) is a former long-standing head of Peru's intelligence service, National Intelligence Service (SIN), under President Alberto Fujimori. In the year 2000, the infamous "Vladi-videos" came ...

, the ex-director of internal security during the Fujimori regime.

is located in Callao. On a bluff overlooking the harbor sits Colegio Militar Leoncio Prado, the military high school. The city also has a university, the

National University of Callao The National University of Callao is a post-secondary institution in the Bellavista District of the Constitutional Province of Callao in the country of Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacio ...

. The main Naval Hospital, Centro Medico Naval is located on Avenida Venezuela in Bellavista. It contains the U.S. Navy command

Naval Medical Research Unit Six Naval Medical Research Unit Six (NAMRU-6) is a biomedical research laboratory of the US Navy located in Lima, Peru. It is the only US military command located in South America. Its mission is to identify infectious disease threats of military an ...

. Residents of Callao are known as ''chalacos''. Callao's professional football teams are

Sport Boys Sport Boys Association, commonly referred to as Sport Boys or simply Boys, is a Peruvian football club based in the port city of Callao. It was founded on 28 July 1927. Its classic and historic rival is the Atlético Chalaco against whom dispute ...

and

Atlético Chalaco The club is the first soccer representative of the first port of Peru, Callao, which laid the foundations for future Chalacos clubs, going from being a school club to being a professional club, gaining recognition, prestige and trust among fan ...

Islands

Callao has several islands:

San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Lawrence of Rome, Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Monte San Lorenzo, a mountain on t ...

(currently a military base),

El Frontón El Frontón is a deserted island and former penal colony off the coast of Callao, Peru. Geography Dry, deserted and without vegetation, it is located 7 km from the coast, to the west of La Punta District and to the southeast of San Lorenzo Isla ...

(a former high security prison), the Cavinzas Islands, and the Palomino Islands, where numerous

sea lion Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

s and

sea bird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...

s live in a virtually untouched

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

. There are proposed plans to build a huge naval, terrestrial, and air port on San Lorenzo Island. This project is called the

San Lorenzo Megaport Project The San Lorenzo Megaport Project is a proposed plan to build a huge air, naval, and terrestrial port on the island of San Lorenzo in Callao, Peru using land reclamation techniques. It plans to be the largest port and only megaport in Latin America ...

Government

Local government affairs are divided into two levels. Regional matters are handled by the Regional Government of Callao (''Gobierno Regional del Callao''), which is located in front of the

. Affairs such as city cleaning, promoting of sports and basic services are handled by the Provincial Municipality of Callao, which is headquartered in the

Callao District Callao is one of the seven districts of the Constitutional Province of Callao in the Callao Region, Peru. The Chillón River marks the district's northern border with Ventanilla. On the east, the Callao district is bordered by the Carmen de la ...

. Also, each of the six districts has its own Municipality which handles matters in their respective jurisdictional areas.

Administrative divisions

Callao is divided into seven

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

, ( es, distritos; singular: ''distrito''), each of which is headed by a mayor (''alcalde''). The rest of Callao Region is composed of the islands of

, Cavinzas and

Palomino Palomino is a genetic color in horses, consisting of a gold coat and white mane and tail; the degree of whiteness can vary from bright white to yellow. Genetically, the palomino color is created by a single allele of a dilution gene called t ...

, which all together have an area of .

Transportation

Airport

(IATA: LIM, ICAO: SPJC), known as Aeropuerto Internacional Jorge Chávez in Spanish, is Peru's main international and domestic airport. It is located in

Callao district Callao is one of the seven districts of the Constitutional Province of Callao in the Callao Region, Peru. The Chillón River marks the district's northern border with Ventanilla. On the east, the Callao district is bordered by the Carmen de la ...

, norwest, from the

. Callao is the port city now fully integrated with

, the nation's capital. In 2008, the airport handled 8,288,506 passengers and 98,733 aircraft movements. For many years it was the hub for now defunct

Aeroperú Empresa de Transporte Aéreo del Perú S.A., branded as Aeroperú, was a Peruvian airline, serving as flag carrier of Peru from 1973 to 1999. The company was headquartered in Lima, with the city's Jorge Chávez International Airport serving as i ...

and Compañía de Aviación Faucett, one of the oldest airlines in Latin America. Now it serves as a hub for many aviation companies such as Avianca Perú, Viva Air Perú, and

LATAM Perú LATAM Airlines Perú (formerly LAN Perú S.A.) is an airline based in Lima, Peru. It is a subsidiary of LATAM Airlines Group, which owns 49% of the airline and flag carrier of Peru. It operates scheduled domestic and international services. Its ...

Railway

The port is served by the

Ferrocarril Central Andino Ferrocarril Central Andino (FCCA) is the consortium which operates the Ferrovías Central railway in Peru linking the Pacific port of Callao and the capital Lima with Huancayo and Cerro de Pasco. As one of the Trans-Andean Railways it is the sec ...

Notable people

Alexander Callens Alexander Martín Callens Asín (born 4 May 1992) is a Peruvian professional footballer who plays as a central defender for La Liga side Girona and the Peru national team. Club career Sport Boys Born in Callao, Callens played youth football w ...

(born 1992), Peruvian footballer * Mario Montalbetti (born 1953), Peruvian syntactician and linguistics professor *

Claudio Pizarro Claudio Miguel Pizarro Bosio (; born 3 October 1978) is a Peruvian retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He is currently serving as Club Ambassador for Bayern Munich. He was captain of Peru's national football team, being ...

(born 1978), highest-scoring

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...

in the history of the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

* Jhoao Ward (born 1989), Peruvian footballer

References

External links

Municipality of Callao (in Spanish)

Regional government of Callao

Jorge Chavez International Airport

National University of Callao (in Spanish)
{{Authority control Provinces of the Callao Region Port cities in Peru 1537 establishments in the Spanish Empire 1537 establishments in South America Populated places established in 1537 Regional capital cities in Peru