Free Province of Guayaquil

The Free Province of Guayaquil (Spanish: Provincia Libre de Guayaquil) was a South American state that emerged between 1820 and 1822 with the independence of the province of Guayaquil from the Spanish monarchy. The free province had a provisional government and constitution until its annexation by Gran Colombia in 1822. Its successor was the Department of Guayaquil forming part of Gran Colombia.
The Spanish province of Guayaquil had been separated from the Viceroyalty of Peru and in those days it only depended legally on the court of the Real Audiencia de Quito. About a decade later, the Departments of Guayaquil, Azuay, and Ecuador separated from Gran Colombia forming the current Ecuador.

The Free Province of Guayaquil included the same territories as the Government of Guayaquil in the Spanish colony, including land from Esmeraldas in the north to Tumbes to the south, and between the Pacific Ocean to the west and the foothills of the Andes mountain range to the east. It encompassed a large part of the Ecuadorian coast, the current Ecuadorian provinces of Guayas, Santa Elena, Manabí, most of the provinces of Los Ríos, El Oro, Cañar, part of the south of Esmeraldas, and Tumbes in modern Peru.