Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

on the

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

in the

Lima metropolitan area The Lima Metropolitan Area (, also known as ''Lima Metropolitana'') is an area formed by the conurbation of the Peruvian provinces of Lima (the nation's capital) and Callao.Lima Metropolitana is formed by the Province of Lima and the Constituti ...

. 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 Hamburg, Manc ...

and home to its main airport,

Jorge Chávez International Airport Jorge Chávez International Airport is the main international airport serving Lima, the capital of Peru. It is located in Callao, northwest of the Historic Centre of Lima, the nation's capital city, and from the Miraflores District, Lima, dis ...

. 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-speaking ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern nation-state of Spain. Genetically and ethnolinguistically, Spaniards belong to the broader Southern a ...

, the city has a long

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

history as one of the main ports in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

and the Pacific, as it was one of vital Spanish towns during the

colonial era Colonial period (a period in a country's history where it was subject to management by a colonial power) may refer to: Continents *European colonization of the Americas * Colonisation of Africa * Western imperialism in Asia Countries * Col ...

. Central Callao is about west of the

Historic Center of Lima The Historic Centre of Lima () is the Historic district, historic city centre of the city of Lima, the capital of Peru. Located in the city's districts of Lima District, Lima and Rímac District, Rímac, both in the Rímac Valley, it consists of ...

History

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

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

(1535). 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. 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 the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

. At the height of the

Viceroyalty A viceroyalty was an entity headed by a viceroy. It dates back to the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the sixteenth century. British Empire India * British Raj, India was governed by the Governor-General of India, Governor-General and Vi ...

, virtually all goods produced in Peru,

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

, and Argentina were carried over the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

mule The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey, and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two ...

to Callao, to be shipped to

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

, carried overland, and then transported on to Spain via

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. The port of Callao was also a node in the

Manila galleon The Manila galleon (; ) refers to the Spain, Spanish trading Sailing ship, ships that linked the Philippines in the Spanish East Indies to Mexico (New Spain), across the Pacific Ocean. The ships made one or two round-trip voyages per year betwe ...

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

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. As a result, Callao also became a permanent target for pirate and corsair attacks, such as the one carried out by

Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( 1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English Exploration, explorer and privateer best known for making the Francis Drake's circumnavigation, second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580 (bein ...

in 1579 and the blockade established by Jacques l'Hermite in 1624. After the

Battle of Ayacucho The Battle of 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 belligerent South American states. In Peru it is conside ...

, 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 or Fall 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 ...

. On 20 August 1836, during the

Peru–Bolivian Confederation The Peru–Bolivian Confederation () was a short-lived state that existed in South America between 1836 and 1839. The country was a loose confederation made up of three states: North Peru and South Peru—states that arose from the division of th ...

, President

Andrés de Santa Cruz Andrés de Santa Cruz y Calahumana (; 30 November 1792 – 25 September 1865) was a Bolivian general and politician who served as interim president of Peru in 1827, the interim president of Peru from 1836 to 1838 and the sixth president of ...

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, Callao was designated constitutional province (''Provincia Constitucional''), on 22 April 1857; before that, Callao was called 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 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. engineer John Tinker Glidden for paving, administering, and inaugurating a public cart road between Callao and Lima, further coalescing a

. 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. Coca leaves contain cocaine which acts as a mild stimulant when chewed or ...

-based products and

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

traffic Traffic is the movement of vehicles and pedestrians along land routes. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic laws and informal rules that may have developed over time to facilitate the orderly an ...

in the world.

Notable events

* On 28 October 1746, a

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) 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 underwater explosions (including detonations, ...

caused by the 1746 Lima–Callao earthquake destroyed the entire port of Callao. * On 22 January 1826, besieged by nationalist forces backed by

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24July 178317December 1830) was a Venezuelan statesman and military officer who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bol ...

, General José Ramón Rodil surrendered Callao to General Bartolomé Salom. * On 2 May 1866, during the Battle of Callao, the Spanish fleet tried to reconquer independent Peru. * '' Kon-Tiki'' left Callao, Peru, on the afternoon of 28 April 1947. * On 19 June 1986, the Peruvian prison massacres took place.

City highlights

Callao is built on and around a

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

, 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 Reinoso (; 3 December 1934 − 11 September 2021), also known by his ''nom de guerre'' Chairman Gonzalo (), was a Peruvian Maoist guerrilla leader. He founded the organization Communist Party of Peru – Shining ...

, the leader of the Shining Path Communist Party of Peru, and holds

Vladimiro Montesinos Vladimiro Lenin Ilich Montesinos Torres (; born May 20, 1945) is a Peruvian former intelligence officer and lawyer, most notorious for his role as the head of Peru's National Intelligence Service (SIN) during the presidency of Alberto Fujimor ...

, 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. It was established on 2 September 1966. This scholarly institute retains its original tec ...

. 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; professional soccer clubs are Sport Boys and Atlético Chalaco. Residents of Callao are known as ''chalacos'' after the Quechua word

Chala The Chala or "Coast" is one of the eight Life_zones_of_Peru#Javier Pulgar Vidal's version, natural regions in Peru. It is formed by all the western lands that arise from sea level up to the height of 500 meters. The coastal desert of Peru is larg ...

meaning coast.

Islands

Callao has several islands: San Lorenzo (currently a military base), El Frontón (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 birds live in a virtually untouched

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

. 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.

Law and 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. 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 ...

, (; singular: ''distrito''), each of which is headed by a mayor (''alcalde''). The rest of Callao Region is composed of the islands of San Lorenzo, El Frontón, Cavinzas and

Palomino Palomino is a equine coat color, genetic color in horses, consisting of a gold coat and white mane (horse), mane and tail; the degree of whiteness can vary from bright white to yellow. The palomino color derived from the breeding of Spanish hor ...

, which all together have an area of .

Crime

Callao is one of the most dangerous areas in Peru and experiences the most crime. The main port city in Peru is known as one of the largest exit points of

and is rife with organized crime that results in violence. In December 2015, the government declared Callao in a

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...

that extended until April 2016, with more than 30 people being killed at the time. In 2016, the murder rate in Callao was double the national average; from 10.2 per 100,000 in 2011 to 15.2 in 2015, compared to Lima which saw 4.8 per 100,000 in 2011 and 5.0 per 100,000 in 2015. Despite government and cultural initiatives, crime has continued to increase in Callao, with some public events in the area ending in gunfire.

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, northwest 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 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.

Rail

The port is served by the Ferrocarril Central Andino.

Notable people

* Alexander Callens (born 1992), Peruvian footballer * Luciana Fuster (born 1999), Peruvian model, television personality, and Miss Grand International 2023 * Mario Montalbetti (born 1953), Peruvian syntactician and linguistics professor * Claudio Pizarro (born 1978), highest-scoring

Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...

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 and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

* Nolberto Solano (born 1974), Peruvian footballer and manager *

Yma Sumac Zoila Augusta Emperatriz Chávarri del Castillo (born Zoila Emperatriz Chávarri Castillo; September 13, 1922 – November 1, 2008), known as Yma Sumac (or Imma Sumack), was a Peruvian singer. She won a Guinness World Records, Guinness World Re ...

(1922-2008), Peruvian musician * Jhoao Ward (born 1989), Peruvian footballer

References

External links

Municipality of Callao

Regional government of Callao

Jorge Chavez International Airport

National University of Callao
{{Authority control 1537 establishments in South America 1537 establishments in the Spanish Empire

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists ...

Populated places established in 1537 Port cities in Peru Provinces of the Callao Regional capital cities in Peru