We Found This City... Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ecuador

Modern day Quito was founded in around 980 AD but its origins date back to around 2000 BCE when the Caras people founded the Quito kingdom. Quito is now the capital city of Ecuador. In 1987, UNESCO declared it one of the world's first World Cultural Heritage Sites based on its long history of habitation.

Answer: Peru

Cusco was the capital of the Incan empire between 13th and 16th centuries but its history dates back much further to around 1100. Ancient templates and fortifications have been discovered which show a long history of human habitation. Although Lima is Peru's official capital city, Peru's constitution states that Cusco is the historical capital of the country.

Answer: Venezuela

Cumana was one of the first cities founded by the Spanish on the mainland of the Americas. The Franciscan friars founded the city in around 1515 and named it Nueva Toledo. Although the city has been continuously inhabited by humans since the 16th century, much of the architecture from that period has been destroyed by earthquakes.

Answer: Colombia

Santa Marta's official name is "Distrito Turístico, Cultural e Histórico de Santa Marta" ("Touristic, Cultural and Historic District of Santa Marta"). It was founded in 1525 by Rodrigo de Bastidas, a Spanish explorer, and has been inhabited continuously ever since. it is now best known as being the place in which the Venezuelan leader and liberator Simon Bolivar died.

Answer: Brazil

Sao Vicente is named after Saint Vincent, the patron saint of Lisbon and was the first permanent Portuguese settlement on the mainland of the Americas. Founded in 1532, it was originally used as a base for the slave trade. It is sometimes known as "Cellula Mater" ("Mother Cell") to Brazilians given its history.

Answer: Peru

Founded by the Spanish in 1535, it is located close to the sites of a number of settlements which were originally settled by indigenous peoples and later incorporated into the Incan Empire. After the Spanish conquered the Incan Empire, Lima was founded within an area known as "New Castile" and named "City of the Kings".

It became the capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru and later, after the Peruvian War of Independence, the Republic of Peru.

Answer: Peru

Founded in 1532 by Spanish explorers, Piura was originally named after the Quechuan word "pirhua", which means "abundance" or "plenty". Its location close to the Pacific coast meant that it was used as a slave trade port and there are still African influences in its culture. It is now a centre of mestizo culture.

Answer: Colombia

Cali was founded by Sebastián de Belalcázar, in 1532. A conquistador associated with Francisco Pizzaro, Belalcázar left Pizarro's expedition to find Quito, and later El Dorado, and eventually ended up in what is now Colombia where he founded a number of cities. Cali is currently known as the "sports capital of Colombia" and has a well established presence in the South American region for hosting large sports events including the Pan American Games in 1971.

Answer: Chile

Santiago was founded in the Santiago Basin in 1541 by Spanish conquistador Pedro de Valdivia. It was originally named "Santiago del Nuevo Extremo" and later renamed "Santa Lucia" and then "Santiago de Chile". The Santiago Basins is a fertile area surrounded by mountains which has been inhabited by nomadic tribes and indigenous people on and off since around 10,000 BC.

In 1810, it became the capital of the new independent nation of Chile.

Answer: Argentina

"Santiago del Estero del Nuevo Maestrazgo" was founded in 1553 by Spanish conquistador Francisco de Aguirre. It is the oldest city in Argentina and sits in an agricultural but arid region which was once a dry forest that has been subject to devastating deforestation by settlers over the last few centuries.

The city is situated close to an area where a number of iron meteorites have been found (having fallen, it is thought, around 5,000 years ago) and in the late 16th century, governors of the city spent significant time and resources commissioning expeditions to search for these.