Tumbes is a city in northwestern Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

, on the banks of the Tumbes River

Tumbes River

The Tumbes River , 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 afterwards the border between Loja and the Tumbes Region in Peru...

. It is the capital of the Tumbes Region

Tumbes Region

Tumbes is a coastal region in northwestern Peru and southwestern 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...

, as well as of Tumbes Province

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...

 and Tumbes District

Tumbes District

Tumbes is a 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 links: *...

. Located near the border with Ecuador

Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

, Tumbes has 94,702 inhabitants. It is served by the Cap. FAP Pedro Canga Rodriguez Airport

Cap. FAP Pedro Canga Rodríguez Airport

Capitán FAP Pedro Canga Rodríguez Airport is an airport serving Tumbes, Peru. It is run by CORPAC S.A. , a government-run organization that oversees the management of Peruvian airports, and is the main airport of the Tumbes Region...

.

History

Tumbes has its origins back in pre-Inca

Cultural periods of Peru

This is a chart of cultural periods of Peru and the Andean Region developed by Edward Lanning and used by some archaeologists studying the area...

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

Inca Empire

The Inca Empire, or Inka Empire , was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cusco in modern-day Peru. The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century...

. Later Inca emperor Huayna Capac

Huayna Capac

Huayna Capac was the eleventh Sapa Inca of the Inca Empire and sixth of the Hanan dynasty. He was the successor to Tupac Inca Yupanqui.-Name:In Quechua, his name is spelled Wayna Qhapaq, and in Southern Quechua, it is Vaina Ghapakh...

 expanded Tumbes by ordering the construction of roads, houses and palaces.

Spanish invasion

Tumbes was first visited by Spanish conquistador

Conquistador

Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...

 Francisco Pizarro

Francisco Pizarro

Francisco Pizarro González, Marquess was a Spanish conquistador, conqueror of the Incan Empire, and founder of Lima, the modern-day capital of the Republic of Peru.-Early life:...

 during the start of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire

Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire

The Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire was one of the most important campaigns in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. This historic process of military conquest was made by Spanish conquistadores and their native allies....

 in 1528. Pizarro made a second expedition in 1532 during which he encountered resistance from the curaca

Curaca

A curaca was an official of the Inca Empire, who held the role of magistrate, about 4 levels down from the Sapa Inca, the head of the Empire. The curacas were the heads of the ayllus . They served as tax collector, and held religious authority, in that they mediated between the supernatural sphere...

 (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

Felipillo was a native Peruvian who accompanied Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro on their various expeditions to Peru. Born on the Island of Puná, Felipillo learned Quechua in Tumbes from natives who spoke it as a second language...

 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 Janerio 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 1992, after a final conflict. 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.

Climate

The city has a warm semi-arid climate, with an average annual precipitation of 258.2 mm (10.17 in).