[1] In the year before he left, Sandoval granted an audience to local Native chieftains in a small cove, which today carries the name Playa de La Audiencia.

Over the next 300 years, the Pacific Coast's history is filled with accounts of pirates from Portugal, England, France and even Spain assaulting, looting and burning ships for their rich cargos.

[1] In 1825 the Port of Manzanillo opened, in recently independent Mexico, and so named because of the abundant groves of native Manzanilla (Hippomane mancinella) trees that were used extensively in the early days of shipbuilding.

[1] In 1908, President Porfirio Diaz designated Manzanillo as an official port of entry to Mexico.

The Revillagigedo Islands, off the west coast of Mexico in the Pacific Ocean, are part of the municipality, but they are directly administered by the federal government.

The city is well known internationally for deep-sea fishing and the green flash phenomenon during sunsets, as well as the warm waters of the ocean.

Excellent swimming, snorkeling, and scuba diving is found in Santiago Bay, a few miles north of the city where a cargo ship sank in a hurricane in 1959.

[2] SS Golden Gate sank in 1862 in nearby Playa de Oro, which is named after the huge cargo of gold she was carrying.

The wet season, which runs from June to October, has warmer temperatures, averaging 28.3 °C (83 °F) in July, and humidity during this time is higher.

In 2012, the port of Manzanillo initiated an ecological project consisting of dredged canals and creating islands in the Lagoon of the Valle de las Garzas, a protected wildlife area.

The center of the storm hit just north of Manzanillo, saving the town from the 200 mph winds.

[citation needed] Manzanillo is the busiest port in Mexico, as measured by total tonnage and volume of containerized cargo.

[12] Port business experienced a significant surge during the USA's West Coast Lockout in Long Beach, California, in 2002.

It handles exports like fish, corn, copra, lemons, bananas, canned foods, wine, lumber, and minerals.

[citation needed] Manzanillo is well connected by Highway 200 to Colima City, to the Northwest and to Puerto Vallarta.