The name of the city and province is derived fromcallao, a nautical Spanish term for a pebble, replaced today byguijarro. It had been previously believed that the word was of Native origin, possiblyQuechua orAymara in origin. Proponents of this theory included a number of prominent historians of the 19th and 20th centuries, includingManuel de Mendiburu,Carlos Romero [es], andRicardo Palma, among others.[5]
Interest in the etymology of both the city and its demonym increased due to a campaign launched byEl Callao [es], a newspaper then headed by M. Darío Arrús. It was during this campaign that Ricardo Palma opined that the word had its origin in the Native wordscalla (coast) orchalhua (to fish), which was supported by the termscala (a local word also used to describe fishing as an activity) andchala (port), the latter of which would give origin to the termChallahaque, which would then be bastardised intochalaco. He concluded, however, that the term was European in origin due to its description on theDiccionario Histórico-Geográfico de la América Meridional, a 1771 book by the jesuit Juan Domingo Coleti. Described as "Callao (Callaum-calavia)", the latter term (calavia) was the term for ballast used by Italian fishermen at the time.[5]
In addition to the above,Pedro Paz Soldán [es]'sDiccionario de Peruanismos cites a similar origin. The definition provided by Augustinian priest Bernabé Torres in 1667, which made a specific mention of the rocky coastline, was ultimately considered decisive for the determination of the word's origin.[5]
Prior to its definitive name, other terms for the port included:Puerto de Santa María,Puerto de La Mar (used in Lima),Puerto de la Ciudad de los Reyes,Callao de Lima, andPuerto y Callao de la mar. It appeared for the first time with the name ofCallao de la Mar in 1558, and the name ofPuerto del Callao had been defined by 1586. In 1630, it was named byBernabé Cobo as the "Port and City of Callao" (Spanish:Pueblo y Puerto del Callao).[5]
Residents of Callao are known aschalacos after theQuechua wordChala, meaning coast.
The oldest traces of human occupation of Callao date back more than 10,000 years and are the stone workshops onChivateros Hill. Throughout the pre-Inca period, various peoples settled in the area, primarily dedicated to fishing.[6] In the mid-15th century, the territory of Callao was annexed to theInca Empire, with the Inca Palace of Oquendo being one of its strategic centres.
Callao had been settled by Spaniards in 1535, when in January of that year the ships that the conquistadorPedro de Alvarado sold toFrancisco Pizarro andDiego de Almagro landed in the port. Later that same month, the city ofLima (then calledLos Reyes) was established. On March 6, 1537, the Spaniard Diego Ruiz obtained a license to inaugurate atambo (an administrative structure with supplies) in the port of Lima.[7] In 1555, the construction of the first Spanish neighbourhood began.
In 1556, ViceroyAndrés Hurtado de Mendoza appointed Francisco López as the port's first mayor. TheLima city council recognized him by presenting him with the staff of justice, a symbol of his municipal authority. However, the first municipal authority of the port was Cristóbal Garzón, who served as "Port Constable," having been appointed by the "Chief Constable of Lima," Juan Astudillo Montenegro. He also oversaw the adjacent lands of Daniel Gustavo Fonseca Arroyo, a landowner in Callao's countryside.
Due to its status as the main port of theViceroyalty of Peru, it was a constant target of pirate and privateer attacks. In 1579, English pirateFrancis Drake violently attacked the port, and in 1624, the DutchmanJacques l'Hermite did the same. In response, the Spanish government ordered the construction of defensive walls around the city, which were erected between 1634 and 1647. These defensive installations reached their culmination in October 1747 with the start of construction on theReal Felipe Fortress, the first phase of which was completed in 1773.
Callao in 1744.
On the 1635 map by cartographer Guiljelmus Blaeuw (1571-1638), it is listed as theVilla del Callao (V. del Callao), just as Lima appears as "Los Reyes" orVilla de Lima ("V. Lima"). Due to its proximity to the Peruvian capital, it was colloquially known by the Spanish as thePort of Lima or asCallao de Lima, a situation that was abandoned as the territory of Callao grew naturally and, like many European cities, developed to achieve city status in 1671.
Following this upgrade, it soon became the main port for Spanish commerce in thePacific. At the height of the viceroyalty, virtually all goods produced in the Lower Peru,Upper Peru, and theRiver Plate were carried over theAndes bymule to Callao, to be shipped toPanama, carried overland, and then transported on to Spain viaCuba. The port of Callao was also a node in theManila galleon route connecting America and Asia throughAcapulco andManila.[8]
A number of natural disasters claimed many lives and caused widespread destruction in the port. Among the most devastating was theearthquake of October 28, 1746, which was accompanied by a tsunami that destroyed the city and decimated its population. Of the five thousand people who lived in Callao, only 200 survived. In response to this disaster and seeking to prevent its recurrence, ViceroyJosé Manso de Velasco, the 1st Count of Superunda, founded the city ofBellavista on a plain three kilometers inland. However, this did not cause the residents of Callao to abandon their original location on the seashore.
Callao took great importance during thePeruvian War of Independence since it not only controlled the traffic of goods, but also the use of the military fleet. In that sense, it changed hands several times, and in 1821, the first capture of the Real Felipe Fortress by the troops under the command of GeneralJosé de San Martín took place. Following theBattle of Ayacucho on December 9, 1824, that sealed the independence of Peru and South America, Spain made unsuccessful attempts to retain its former territories. One of these attempts led to a13-month siege by nationalist forces backed bySimón Bolívar, concluding in 1826 with the surrender of the fortress to GeneralBartolomé Salom by GeneralJosé Ramón Rodil.
In a session on March 8, 1834, theNational Convention presided over byFrancisco Xavier de Luna Pizarro decorated the port as "The Faithful and Generous City of Callao, Asylum of the Laws and Liberty," as a reward for defending the government of GeneralLuis José de Orbegoso against the coup attempts of GeneralPedro Pablo Bermúdez. The province last belonged to thedepartment of Lima in 1836, after which it would be allowed an autonomy that has since remained.
TheLittoral Province of Callao (Spanish:Provincia Litoral del Callao)[f] was created on August 20, 1836. Its creation was ordered byAndrés de Santa Cruz, then Protector ofNorth Peru, a newly-created state that would become a constituent country of thePeru–Bolivian Confederation later that year. As alittoral province, it operated under a special autonomous regime separate from the country's departments, but equal in status to them.
ThePeruvian Civil War of 1856–1858 saw the troops of provisional presidentRamón Castilla face of against those ofManuel Ignacio de Vivanco due to ideological differences regarding the constitution at the time. On the night of April 21, 1857, anattack [es] by Vivanco's troops on the port of Callao continued into the morning of the next day, where they were defeated by local pro-government militias. This action led to Castilla again changing the province's status.
TheConstitutional Province of Callao (Spanish:Provincia Constitucional del Callao) was the new name under given to the province by Castilla. Like its predecessor, it meant that the province was independent of any department, but equal in status to them. The difference was in name only: all of the other provinces had been given their names by law, while this had been granted through a constitutional mandate. The new province's first mayor was Colonel Manuel Cipriano Dulanto.
Between 1850 and 1851, the Lima-Callao railway, the second in South America, began operating. This railway departed from the port and ran along the entire length ofColonial Avenue toSan Juan de Dios Station. There was also another, smaller railway, called "El Urbanito," which only transported people within the port itself. Callao was a pioneer in urban health and safety, and on December 5, 1860, the first fire company in Peru, the Unión Chalaca No. 1, was inaugurated in its jurisdiction.
During theWar of the Pacific, Callao was one of the populated places near Lima that wereoccupied by Chilean troops in early 1881. On January 17 of the same year, the Peruvian fleet was scuttled on site, and the port city surrendered the following day.
In 1921, the Bureau of Public Works granted a concession toM.I.T. engineer John Tinker Glidden for paving, administering, and inaugurating a public cart road between Callao and Lima, further coalescing ametropolitan area between both cities.
On the afternoon of April 28, 1947, theKon-Tiki, a raft crewed by a team led by Norwegian adventurerThor Heyerdahl left Callao. By 1949, the city was known as one of the biggest centers ofcoca-based products andcocainetraffic in the world.[9]
Local government affairs are divided into two levels. Regional matters are handled by theRegional Government of Callao, whose headquarters are located in front of theJorge Chávez International Airport.[11] Affairs such as city cleaning, promoting of sports and basic services are handled by the Provincial Municipality of Callao, which is headquartered in theCallao District. Also, each of the six districts has its own municipal government, which handles matters in their respective jurisdictional areas.
The rest of Callao Region is composed of the islands ofSan Lorenzo,El Frontón, Cavinzas andPalomino, which all together have an area of 17.63 km2 (6.81 sq mi).
Unlike other cities in the country, Callao does not commemorate a founding date. It commemorates its independence from the city of Lima and its elevation as an autonomous territory every August 20th.
Callao is one of the most dangerous areas in Peru and experiences the most crime.[13] The main port city in Peru is known as one of the largest exit points ofcocaine and is rife with organized crime that results in violence.[13][14] In December 2015, the government declared Callao in astate of emergency that extended until April 2016, with more than 30 people being killed at the time.[15][16] In 2016, themurder 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.[13] Despite government and cultural initiatives, crime has continued to increase in Callao, with some public events in the area ending in gunfire.[17]
Jorge Chávez International Airport (IATA: LIM, ICAO: SPJC), known as Aeropuerto Internacional Jorge Chávez in Spanish, is Peru's main international and domestic airport. It is located inCallao district, 12 km (7.5 mi) northwest from theHistoric Center of Lima. Callao is the port city nowfully integrated withLima, the nation's capital. In 2008, the airport handled 8,288,506 passengers and 98,733 aircraft movements. The airport was expanded in 2025 with the construction of a new terminal, increasing its capacity to 40 million passengers per year. The old terminal was closed and will be converted into a logistics center.
The port of Callao is served by the4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gaugeFerrocarril Central Andino. The rail system connects to theDesamparados station in the center ofLima and ends inHuancayo. The rail station in Callao does not currently serve commercial service and instead is used for cargo.
^abTheConstitutional Province of Callao (Spanish:Provincia Constitucional del Callao) is coterminous with the city. Granted autonomy in 1836, it was given its current name in 1857. Equal in status to a department, it has been administered by aregional government since 2003.
^Spanish:La fiel y generosa ciudad del Callao, asilo de las leyes y de la libertad.
^The city has no official foundation date, and its origins date back to early January 1535, prior to the foundation ofLima on the 18th. On March 6, 1537, a successful request by Diego Ruiz to theReal Audiencia of Lima was recorded,[2] and the port was elevated to city level in 1671.
^Also called theMilitary and Political Government of Callao (Spanish:Gobierno Político y Militar del Callao)
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