Puná Island

Puná Island is an Island off the coast of southern Ecuador at approximately 80 degrees west longitude and 3 degrees south latitude. It is located at the head of the Gulf of Guayaquil, south of the mouth of the Guayas River and the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city and chief port. It is bordered by Jambelí Channel on the east and Morro Channel on the west, both of which connect the open Gulf of Guayaquil to the narrow mouth of the Guayas River. The total area of Puná Island is 330 sq. mi. (855 km²). The island is a parish of Guayaquil Canton in Guayas Province.

History

The Battle of Puná, fought on the island in April 1531, was an engagement of Francisco Pizarro's during the Spanish conquest of Peru. It was fought by the Spanish conquistadores against the native Tumbez people who had managed to resist even the vast Inca Empire.

The missionary first bishop of Cuzco, Vincent de Valverde, was put to death and eaten there by the islanders on 31 October 1541.

Puná Island is where rugby union in Ecuador was first played, in the 1930s, by English merchants.

Sources

• Puná Island, Encyclopedia Britannica
• Vincent de Valverde, Catholic Encyclopaedia