Paita

Paita is a city in northwestern Peru. It is the capital of the Paita Province which is in the Piura Region. It is a leading seaport in that region. It is located 1,089 km northwest of the country's capital Lima and 57 km northwest of the regional capital of Piura. Starting in 2014, it has entertained ideas for the separation Paita from Piura Region, proclaiming itself "Miguel Grau region".LocationThe seaport city Paita is located at on a small peninsula south of the mouth of the Río Chira on an area of 1,785 km². Paita faces on the Bay of Paita, and is sheltered from southerly winds by a headland called Punta Paita and by a large hill called Silla de Paita. 90 km to the south east is the capital of the Piura Region, Piura, and 160 km to the south is located Chiclayo, commercial centre of the Lambayeque region.PopulationThe population of the seaport Paita was 3,800 in 1906, 20 000 in 1993, 122 127 in 2007 and 168 900 in 2015HistoryPrehistoric EraPaleontologist Edgar Herning collected remains in 1978 considering this a highly evolved cultural group, reporting that 9000 years ago there were primitive villages of the coast of Paita like Colan, Tayta and Amotape.Colonial PeriodFrom 1578 to 1588, Paita was the Spanish capital of the northwestern Peruvian coast, before the permanent attacks of English pirates and corsairs made it necessary to relocate the capital at Piura.