Guayaquil

Guayaquil, the chief port of Ecuador, South America, stands on a peninsula at the head of the Bay of Guayaquil. The town, first founded in 1537, was not removed to its present site till a century and a half later. It is built chiefly of bamboo and is hot and unhealthy. Cocoa is the chief article of export, and straw hats and hammocks are made. There are also saw-mills and machine-works. A railway has now been extended many miles into the interior. The trade is almost entirely in foreign hands, about half being carried on by the British.