The first inhabitants of Callao were native people dedicated to fishing and agriculture. The most ancient lythic artifacts on the peruvian coast have been found at the mouth of Callao's Rimac and Chillon rivers, some dating from 11,000 years ago.

Founded in 1537, the city of Callao was in colonial times the leading point for the gold and silver taken by the Spanish Conquerors from the Inca Empire. During the colony, Lima was defended from incursions by pirates by the fortress-port of Callao. Some famous pirates that made incursions in peruvian waters were: Sir Francis Drake, Tom Cavendish, Hawking, all of them englishmen. Among the dutch pirates: Jorg Spitberg and Jacob Clerk.

On October 28, 1746 an earthquake and a tidal wave demolished the city which had a population of 5,000. Only 200 people survived. Viceroy José Manso de Velasco started the reconstruction of Callao and also ordered the creation of a fortress, named Real Felipe in honor of King Felipe V. It is the biggest and strongest fortress created by Spain in the Americas.

After Peru got its independence from Spain, Callao played a very important role in the development, economy and defense of Peru. On August 20, 1836, Marshall Andres de Santa Cruz elevated the city of Callao to the rank of "Provincia Litoral". This is the date that Callao celebrates as its political anniversary.

In 1851 the first railroad in South America was opened between Callao and Lima. In 1857, the National convention decides to honor Callao with the title of "Provincia Constitucional". In 1860 the first organized firemen in Peru is created in Callao.

Great expeditions also started in Callao. In 1567 an expedition departed from Callao and discovered the Solomon Islands. Another one in 1590 discovered the Marianas and Marquesas islands. In 1604 an expedition from Callao discovered the Galápagos Islands. On October 28, 1856, the frigate Amazonas with Captain José Borterín, left Callao on a trip around the world. They returned to Callao on May 24, 1858.

The most famous expedition from Callao on the XX century was the one by norvegian explorer Thor Heyerdall. Heyerdall wanted to demonstrate that polynesians were descendants of ancient peruvians. A group of fishermen from northern Peru built a raft with no navigational instruments. Heyerdall and a group of other five norvegians departed from Callao on April 28, 1947. The raft was carried by the peruvian current to Tahiti in 101 days. Even though Heyerdall couldn't demonstrate that polynesians descended from ancient peruvians, he demonstrated that those travels were possible in ancient times.

Another Callao expedition on the XX century was the one by texan sailor William Willis in 1954. Willis, 61 at that time, just wanted to prove that there is no age limit for adventures, and in the company of a cat and a parrot sailed from Callao to Samoa in 115 days.

Callao history is still being told and it is a history related to the sea.