Guayaquil << `gwah` yah KEEL >> is the chief seaport and largest city in the South American country of Ecuador. The municipality of Guayaquil has a population of 2,650,288. A municipality may include rural areas as well as the urban center. Guayaquil lies on the Guayas River, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from the Pacific Ocean. Oceangoing ships reach the city’s deepwater port by way of the Gulf of Guayaquil and the Estero Salado ship channel, which is 36 miles (58 kilometers) long.
Guayaquil was founded by Spaniards in 1538. Pirates looted the city several times in the 1600’s. During the colonial period, Guayaquil served as a shipbuilding and ship repair center. In 1820, Guayaquil declared its independence as a city-state. The city was occupied by the armies of the revolutionary general Simón Bolívar in 1822. Guayaquil became part of Gran Colombia, a short-lived republic that included what are now Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela. A historic meeting of Bolívar and the Argentine revolutionary general José de San Martín occurred in Guayaquil on July 26, 1822.
From the early 1800’s to the early 1900’s, cacao was Guayaquil’s leading export. In the mid-1900’s, the region around Guayaquil became the world’s most important banana production zone. Today, the city is Ecuador’s busiest commercial center.
