Guayaquil
[key], city, capital of Guayas prov., W Ecuador, on the Guayas River near
its mouth on the Gulf of Guayaquil, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean. The chief
port and largest city of Ecuador and one of the best ports along Latin
America's Pacific coast, Guayaquil has industries manufacturing textiles,
leather goods, cement, alcohol, soap, and iron products. Through its modern
harbor are shipped cacao, coffee, and bananas, the principal exports of
Ecuador. Between 1970 and 1990 the city's population nearly doubled.
Guayaquil was founded by the Spanish conquistador Sebastián de
Benalcázar
in 1535. It was often subjected to attacks by buccaneers in the 17th cent.
and in the 18th and 19th cent. was destroyed repeatedly by fires. The
occupation of the city in 1821 by patriot forces under Antonio José
de Sucre was the
first major step in Ecuador's final liberation from Spain. The fateful
meeting between Simón Bolívar and José de
San Martín
that was to influence the course of independence in South America took place
in Guayaquil in 1822. Because of its hot and humid climate the city was
frequently scourged by yellow fever until the sanitation work of the U.S.
surgeon-general William C. Gorgas. Guayaquil has several colonial
landmarks, including the church of Santo Domingo (16th cent.). It is the
seat of three universities and a polytechnic institute.
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