Callao, city and chief seaport of Peru, western Peru, capital of Callao Constitutional Province, on Callao Bay on the Pacific coast, in the Lima-Callao metropolitan area. The harbor, sheltered by the island of San Lorenzo, is one of the safest and most spacious in South America. The port is equipped with wharves fit for the simultaneous berthage of more than ten ships, steam cranes, modern warehouses and cold-storage plants, and extensive dry-dock facilities. Chief exports are minerals, cotton, foodstuffs, wool, and hides. The imports include textiles, grain, machinery, paper, coal, and foodstuffs. Callao has manufacturing industries, including lumber making, sugar refining, brewing, and iron making. The National Technical University (1966) is also located in Callao.
Callao was founded by the Spanish in 1537, and thereafter it developed as one of the most active ports on the western coast of South America. Frequently raided by British buccaneers, the town was destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami (tidal wave) in 1746, with the loss of 6000 lives. It was later rebuilt, and remained a possession of Spain until the 1820s, when Peruvian independence from Spain was proclaimed. Population (1998 estimate) 424,294.
