Guayaquil

Guayaquil (pronounced: [ɡwaʝaˈkil]), officially Santiago de Guayaquil (English: St. James of Guayaquil) (pronounced: [sanˈtjaɣo ðe ɣwaʝaˈkil]), is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador, with around 2.69 million people in the metropolitan area, as well as the nation's main port. The city is the capital of the Ecuadorian province of Guayas and the seat of the namesake canton.

Guayaquil is located on the western bank of the Guayas River, which flows into the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Guayaquil.

History

Guayaquil is recognized as being founded, by the government, on July 25, 1538 with the name Muy Noble y Muy Leal Ciudad de Santiago de Guayaquil (Most Noble and Most Loyal City of St. James of Guayaquil) by Spanish Conquistador Francisco de Orellana. Even before it was founded by the Spanish, it already existed as a native village.

In 1687, Guayaquil was attacked and looted by English and French pirates under the command of George d'Hout (English) and Picard and Groniet (Frenchmen). Of the more than 260 pirates, 35 died and 46 were wounded; 75 defenders of the city died and more than 100 were wounded. The pirates took local women as concubines.

Guayaquil Canton

The Guayaquil Canton, official the Municipality of Guayaquil, is a canton in the center of the Guayas Province in western Ecuador. The canton was named after its seat, the city of Guayaquil, the most populous city in Ecuador.

Political divisions

The canton is divided into 16 urban parishes and 5 rural parishes. The urban parishes make up the city of Guayaquil.

Urban parishes

Rural parishes

Demographics

Ethnic groups as of the Ecuadorian census of 2010:

References