Port of Callao

Callao, Lima, Peru

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The exact founding date of the city of Callao is unknown. However, this port city appears on the first maps of Peru. On the 1635 map of the cartographer Guiljelmus Blaeuw (1571-1638) it is recorded as “V. Del Callao ”(Villa del Callao) as well as Lima is listed as“ V. Lima ”or“ Los Reyes ”. Due to its proximity to the Peruvian capital, during the Viceroyalty of Peru it was colloquially known as the Port of Lima. According to the indigenous chronicler Felipe Guamán Poma de Ayala, from that time on Callao was the main port, not only of Peru, but of the entire western coast of Latin America.



In 1537 the Spanish Diego Ruiz inaugurated a tambo in the port of Callao. In 1555 the construction of the first Spanish neighborhood began, the following year Viceroy Andrés Hurtado de Mendoza appointed Don Francisco López as the first mayor of the port. The Lima council recognizes him by handing him the stick of justice, a sign of its municipal authority.



However, the first building authority of the port was Cristóbal Garzón, who was "Port Sheriff" having been appointed by the "Mayor of Lima" Juan Astudillo Montenegro.



Due to its quality as the main port of the colonies, it was a permanent target of attacks by pirates and corsairs, as evidence of them is known that in 1579, the English privateer Francis Drake violently attacked the port, and in 1624 the Dutch privateer does the same. Jacobo Clerck nicknamed L'Hermite. Faced with this situation, the government of the metropolis ordered that defense walls of the city be built, which were erected between the years 1634 and 1647. These defensive installations had their culminating point when in October 1747, the construction of the Fortaleza del Real Felipe, whose first stage was completed in 1773.





Villa del Callao. Zoom in on the map ´´Perv: Mar del Zvr´´ by Guiljelmus Blaeuw (1635).

Map of Callao. (1655).

Historical Map (1888). It was only in 1671 that the port of Callao de Lima was elevated to the category of city.



Natural disasters claimed several lives and caused much damage to the port, the biggest natural disasters were, among others, the earthquake of October 28, 1746, which was accompanied by a terrible tidal wave and destroyed the city, decimating its inhabitants. Of five thousand people who lived in Callao, only 200 survived. As a reaction to this disaster and seeking to prevent it from happening again, Viceroy José Antonio Manso de Velasco founded the city of Bellavista, on a plain far from the sea and at a distance three kilometers from the city of Callao. However, that did not cause the chalacos to stop living in the original location on the seafront.



During the war of independence, Callao was a place of great importance, because it not only controlled the traffic of merchandise but also the use of the military fleet, in that sense it changed hands several times, being in the year 1821 that the First capture of the Castillo del Real Felipe by the liberating army under the command of General José de San Martín.



During the republic, the first Constituent Congress had to move from Lima and settle in the Real Felipe Fortress, due to the fact that the royalist troops took the capital city. On October 1 of that same year, 1823, Simón Bolívar arrived in Callao to complete the independence of Peru. After changing hands once more, in 1826 the last Spanish army commanded by General Rodil withdrew from the Real Felipe Fortress.



In a session on March 8, 1834, the National Convention chaired by Javier de Luna Pizarro decorated Callao as "The Faithful and Generous City of Callao, Asylum of Laws and Freedom", as a reward for defending the government of the general Luis José de Orbegoso against the coup claims of General Pedro Bermúdez.



Between 1850 and 1851, the Lima-Callao railway began to operate, the first in South America.



El Callao was a pioneer in the field of urban health and safety, inaugurating in its jurisdiction, on December 5, 1860, the first firefighting company in Peru: the Unión Chalaca Nº 1.



On May 2, 1866, the so-called Combat of May Two was held between the Spanish Navy under the command of Admiral Casto Méndez Núñez and the Peruvian land batteries under the command of the Minister of War José Gálvez (who would die in the meeting and whose name would remain since then linked to the Chalaca tradition) in the framework of the Spanish-South American War.



El Callao is a town full of tradition, religious fervor, lover of sports, which despite having been destroyed by earthquakes and tidal waves in the years 1586, 1678, 1687 and 1746, has risen from its ruins, to become today day, in the first port of Peru and the second most industrialized city in the country.



It is currently the most important naval base in the country and the most important naval shipyard (Servicios Industriales de la Marina -SIMA) are located in this port.







El Callao is a city located in the center-west of Peru. It is located on the shores of the Pacific Ocean to the west of Lima, with which it is conurbation (see: Metropolitan Lima).



Since colonial times, Callao has been the maritime port of the city of Lima, therefore, one of the most important in Peru. Today the main port of the country and the Jorge Chávez International Airport have their facilities, which is why it is the main gateway to Peru.



It is also the name of two different territorial districts, and yet they refer to the same locality: the Constitutional Province of Callao and the District of Callao.



For a long time, Callao was a town annexed to the City of the Kings without official toponymy, so it had no other name than ´´puerto de Lima´´ (Lima referred to the entire valley of the Rímac river, from where the name of the city).



In the old Hispanic maritime language, callao meant "pebble" and "beach with stones" (such as Chalaca beaches) by extension —this usage is still common in the Canary Islands. Towards the beginning of the 17th century, this small urban center already received this name, as evidenced by a 1616 document written by the chronicler Martín de Murúa:



Two leagues from the City of the Kings is its port, called Callao because of the many stones that are in it.

For a long time Callao did not have an established name, although for many years, the natives of Callao are called chalacos. The word chalaco designates all the people who live on the coast, since that word derives from the Quechua word chala (chala, as a natural region of Peru) or, in Spanish, coast. But, in order to standardize a name for the first port of Peru, the Peruvian Academy of Language and the Royal Spanish Academy have established the word Chalaco as a name for Callao.







Here you can see the Real Felipe Fortress, which was built in the 18th century to protect itself from the corsairs and pirates who raided this part of the continent. Already in the 19th century, this fortification and Callao played a prominent role in the battles for the independence of Peru. In La Punta outstanding mansions from the early twentieth century are preserved.



In front of Callao there are several islands, the main one being the historic Isla San Lorenzo, the largest island on the Peruvian coast; El Frontón Island, a former prison island; Cavinzas Island, island of guano birds; and the Palomino Islands, where thousands of sea lions live in their natural state, which have made them an important tourist attraction.



There is also the Jorge Chávez International Airport, which is the most important in Peru.



Chucuito Spa [edit] It is a popular spa in Callao. Its most beautiful beach is Playa de la Ribera, it has other beaches; one of them, ´´El Carpallo´´ and also has a group of buildings called ´´La Residencial Chucuito´´.



San Lorenzo Island [edit] It is an island of crystalline waters formed by hills and very beautiful beaches with desert characteristics.



The back of the island cannot be seen visually from La Punta, but when approaching by sea many sea lions can be seen.



Part of the island is controlled by the Peruvian Navy and is a military zone; other areas are declared as national archaeological and / or historical heritage; In them there are vestiges of pre-Inca cultures, pirate burials such as the Dutchman Jacques L'Hermite and vestiges of the naval blockade of Callao from April 10, 1880 to January 17, 1881, by the squad Chilean during the War of the Pacific.
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Outros locais a visitar

Within a radius of 20 km from:

Port of Callao

  

Mother Church or Cathedral of Callao

0,6 Km
Mother Church or Cathedral of Callao

  

Fortaleza Real Felipe

1,0 Km
Fortaleza Real Felipe

  

Oquendo Archaeological Ensemble

2,4 Km
Oquendo Archaeological Ensemble

  

Abtao Submarine Naval Site Museum

3,0 Km
Abtao Submarine Naval Site Museum

  

Paseo los Libertadores

4,5 Km
Paseo los Libertadores

  

Leyendas Park

5,9 Km
Leyendas Park

  

Rafael Larco Herrera Archaeological Museum

7,7 Km
Rafael Larco Herrera Archaeological Museum

  

Fronton Island

7,8 Km
Fronton Island

  

Huaca Mateo Salado

8,5 Km
Huaca Mateo Salado

  

La Taberna Queirolo

8,6 Km
La Taberna Queirolo

  

National Museum of Anthropology, Archeology and History.

8,7 Km
National Museum of Anthropology, Archeology and History.

  

San Lorenzo Island

10,4 Km
San Lorenzo Island

  

Peruvian Culture Museum

10,7 Km
Peruvian Culture Museum

  

Church of the Nazarenas

11,3 Km
Church of the Nazarenas

  

Parque de la Exposición

11,3 Km
Parque de la Exposición

  

San Martin Square

11,5 Km
San Martin Square

  

Huaca Huallamarca

11,6 Km
Huaca Huallamarca

  

Circuito Mágico del Agua - Parque de la Reserva - Lima Perú

11,7 Km
Circuito Mágico del Agua - Parque de la Reserva - Lima Perú

  

Church and Convent of Our Lady of Mercy

11,8 Km
Church and Convent of Our Lady of Mercy

  

Museo Banco Wiese

11,8 Km
Museo Banco Wiese

  

Casona de San Marcos

11,9 Km
Casona de San Marcos

  

Casa Oquendo o Palacio Osambela

11,9 Km
Casa Oquendo o Palacio Osambela

  

Lima City (Peru)

11,9 Km
Lima City  (Peru)

  

Santo Domingo Church and Convent

11,9 Km
Santo Domingo Church and Convent

  

Casa Aliaga

12,0 Km
Casa Aliaga

  

Lima main square

12,0 Km
Lima main square

  

Quinta de Presa

12,0 Km
Quinta de Presa

  

Lima - City Tour

12,0 Km
Lima - City Tour

  

Central Reserve Bank Museum

12,0 Km
Central Reserve Bank Museum

  

Basilica Cathedral of Lima

12,1 Km
Basilica Cathedral of Lima

  

Government Palace of Peru

12,1 Km
Government Palace of Peru

  

Palacio de Torre Tagle

12,1 Km
Palacio de Torre Tagle

  

House of Oidor

12,1 Km
House of Oidor

  

Rimac Stone Bridge

12,2 Km
Rimac Stone Bridge

  

Desamparados Station

12,2 Km
Desamparados Station

  

Amano Museum

12,3 Km
Amano Museum

  

Basilica and Convent of St. Francis of Lima

12,4 Km
Basilica and Convent of St. Francis of Lima

  

Olive grove of San Isidro

12,4 Km
Olive grove of San Isidro

  

Museum of the Court of the Holy Inquisition and Congress

12,5 Km
Museum of the Court of the Holy Inquisition and Congress

  

Parque de la Muralla 

12,5 Km
Parque de la Muralla 

  

Water Walk

12,7 Km
Water Walk

  

National School of Fine Arts

12,7 Km
National School of Fine Arts

  

Alameda de los Descalzos

12,7 Km
Alameda de los Descalzos

  

Plaza Italia

12,8 Km
Plaza Italia

  

Barefoot Convent Museum

12,9 Km
Barefoot Convent Museum

  

Toros Square of I think

12,9 Km
Toros Square of I think

  

Huaca Pucllana

12,9 Km
Huaca Pucllana

  

Ruiz Dávila Hospice

13,0 Km
Ruiz Dávila Hospice

  

House 13 Coins

13,0 Km
House 13 Coins

  

Canevaro House

13,5 Km
Canevaro House

  

National museum

15,3 Km
National museum

  

Barranco, el Distrito Bohemio

15,8 Km
Barranco, el Distrito Bohemio

  

Bridge of Sighs

16,2 Km
Bridge of Sighs

  

El Salto del Fraile (Lima)

16,3 Km
El Salto del Fraile (Lima)

  

Ermita del Padre Villalta - Barranco

16,4 Km
Ermita del Padre Villalta - Barranco

  

Jerusalem walk

18,2 Km
Jerusalem walk

  

Gold Museum of Peru and Arms of the World

18,8 Km
Gold Museum of Peru and Arms of the World

  

Friendship Park

19,0 Km
Friendship Park

  

Morro Solar

19,6 Km
Morro Solar


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