Montecristi is a town in the Manabí province of Ecuador and the capital of Montecristi Canton. Montecristi was formed during the first years of the Spanish conquest, possibly between 1536 and 1537, with settlers from Manta who left their village fleeing pirate attacks. Among the first settlers appears a man named "Criste", who would have built his house on top of the mountain, so it is believed that the place acquired the name of Montecriste, which later, for idiomatic ease, ended up being called Montecristi. As of the 2010 census Montecristi had 70.292 inhabitants.