Tumbes is a city in northwestern

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, on the banks of the

Tumbes River The Tumbes River ( es, Río Tumbes or Río Túmbez in Peru; Río Puyango in Ecuador), is a river in South America. The river's sources are located between Ecuadorian El Oro and Loja provinces. It is the border between El Oro and Loja, and afterw ...

. It is the capital of the

Tumbes Region Tumbes () is a coastal department and region in northwestern Peru bordering Ecuador. Due to the region's location near the Equator it has a warm climate, with beaches that are considered among the finest in Peru. Despite its small area, the re ...

, as well as of

Tumbes Province Tumbes is a province in Peru, located in the region of the same name. It borders the Pacific Ocean on the north, the Zarumilla Province on the east, the Piura Region and Ecuador on the south and the Contralmirante Villar Province on the west. It ...

and

Tumbes District Tumbes is a Districts of Peru, district in the middle Tumbes Province in Peru. It is bordered by Corrales District on the west, Pacific Ocean on the north, Zarumilla Province on the east, and San Juan de la Virgen District on the south. External ...

. Located near the border with

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

, Tumbes has 111,595 inhabitants as of 2015. It is served by the

Cap. FAP Pedro Canga Rodriguez Airport A cap is a form of headgear. Cap may refer to: Aerial warfare * CAP, Combat air patrol is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft. Arts and entertainment * Cap, a character in the comic strip ''Cap Stubbs and Tippie'' * ''The Cap'', a 1 ...

. It is located on the Gulf of Guayaquil along with Zorritos.

History

Tumbes has its origins back in pre-Inca times when it was inhabited by a cultural group of natives called Tumpis. At its peak, its population is estimated to have reached 178,000. After 1400, Inca

Pachacuti Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui ( qu, Pachakutiq Inka Yupanki) was the ninth Sapa Inca (1418–1471/1472) of the Kingdom of Cusco which he transformed into the Inca Empire ( qu, Tawantinsuyu). Most archaeologists now believe that the famous Inca si ...

ruled over Tumbes and the territory became an important political stronghold during the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...

. Later Inca emperor Huayna Capac expanded Tumbes by ordering the construction of roads, houses and palaces.

Spanish invasion

Tumbes was first visited by Spanish

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...

Francisco Pizarro during the start of the

Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire The Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, also known as the Conquest of Peru, was one of the most important campaigns in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. After years of preliminary exploration and military skirmishes, 168 Spanish sol ...

in 1528.Prescott, W.H., 2011, The History of the Conquest of Peru, Digireads.com Publishing, Molina noted that Tumbes was a well organized town. Pizarro made a second expedition in 1532 during which he encountered resistance from the

curaca A ''kuraka'' (Quechua for the principal governor of a province or a communal authority in the Tawantinsuyu), or curaca (hispanicized spelling), was an official of the Inca Empire who held the role of magistrate, about four levels down from the Sa ...

(chieftain) ''Chilimaza'' in what became known as the ''Battle of the Manglares''. Pizarro was eventually successful and is said to have planted a cross in the invaded territory as a sign of Hispanic victory.

Felipillo Felipillo (or Felipe) was a native Amerindian interpreter who accompanied Spanish conquistadors Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro on their various expeditions to Peru during their conquest of the Inca Empire. His real name is not known. Biogr ...

and Yacané, the first South American Indigenous interpreters who later aided Pizarro and his followers during the conquest of Peru, were born in Tumbes.

Colony and independence

During its colonial period, Tumbes was sparsely populated and formed a part of the Audiencia of Quito through an unmodified Cedula of 1563 and Cedula of 1740. When Tumbes declared its independence from Spain, it opted to join Peru believing in the right of free determination of peoples. First, the Republic of the Gran Colombia challenged that right and then Ecuador claiming de jure rights through unmodified colonial Royal Decrees ( Real Cédulas ), but to no avail. The Protocol of Rio de Janeiro signed in 1942 with Ecuador legally confirmed Peru's previously de facto rights over Tumbes after a victorious war. However, lasting peace between both countries was not achieved until 1998, after a final conflict in 1995. Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori and Ecuadorian Presidente Jamil Mahuad signed a final document in which Ecuador accepted Perú's right over Tumbes and other territories claimed by Ecuador until then.

Geography

Climate

Tumbes has a

hot arid climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(Köppen ''BWh''), although it receives an average annual rainfall of , due to its high

potential evapotranspiration Evapotranspiration (ET) is the combined processes by which water moves from the earth’s surface into the atmosphere. It covers both water evaporation (movement of water to the air directly from soil, canopies, and water bodies) and transpira ...

. Rainfall is very variable due to the

El Niño Southern Oscillation EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...

, with strong El Niños frequently seeing more than twice the mean rain.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tumbes (City) Populated places in the Tumbes Region Regional capital cities in Peru