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64-544: The Liberal Revolution of 1895 took place in Ecuador , and was a period of radical social and political upheaval. The Revolution started on June 5, 1895 and ultimately resulted in the overthrow of the conservative government, which had ruled Ecuador for several decades, by the Radical Liberals , led by Eloy Alfaro . After the revolution, the new government legalized divorce, allowed religious freedom, and weakened

128-500: A constitution for the State of Ecuador, so named for its geographic proximity to the equator, and placed General Flores in charge of political and military affairs. He remained the dominant political figure during Ecuador's first 15 years of independence. Before the year 1830 drew to a close, both Marshal Sucre and Simón Bolívar would be dead, the former murdered (on orders from a jealous General Flores, according to some historians) and

192-524: A diversity of cultures have influenced the people and the land that today make up the contemporary Republic of Ecuador . Indigenous tribes inhabited the area for millennia before being invaded and absorbed into the Inca Empire in the early fifteenth century. The Incas themselves were conquered shortly afterwards by the Spanish led by Francisco Pizarro in the early 16th century. The region fell under

256-591: A few horses on his conquering mission to Ecuador. At the foot of Mount Chimborazo, near the modern city of Riobamba (Ecuador), he met and defeated the forces of the great Inca warrior Rumiñahui with the aid of Cañari tribesmen who served as guides and allies to the conquering Spaniards. Rumiñahui fell back to Quito, and, while in pursuit of the Inca army, Benalcázar encountered another, quite sizable, conquering party led by Guatemalan Governor Pedro de Alvarado . Bored with administering Central America, Alvarado had set sail for

320-759: A local patriotic junta under the leadership of the poet José Joaquín de Olmedo . By this time, the forces of independence had grown continental in scope and were organized into two principal armies, one under the Venezuelan Simón Bolívar in the north and the other under the Argentine José de San Martín in the south. Unlike the hapless Quito junta of a decade earlier, the Guayaquil patriots were able to appeal to foreign allies, Argentina and Gran Colombia, each of whom soon responded by sending sizable contingents to Ecuador. Antonio José de Sucre ,

384-622: A more developed society, with permanent developments, an increase in agriculture and the use of ceramics. New cultures included the Machalilla culture , Valdivia culture , and the Chorrera culture in the coast; Cotocollao and the Chimba in the sierra; and Pastaza and Chiguaza in the eastern region. The Valdivia culture is the first culture where significant remains have been discovered. Their civilization dates back as early as 3500 B.C. Living in

448-593: A new location on the Napo river away from the Bandeirantes. In the immense territory of Mainas, also referred to as Maynas, the Jesuitas of Quito, made contact with a number of indigenous tribes which spoke 40 different languages, and founded a total of 173 Jesuit missions with a total population of 150,000 inhabitants. Because of the constant plague of epidemics (smallpox and measles) and warfare with other tribes and

512-507: A profound effect despite its relatively short duration. Emperor Huayna Capac became fond of Quito, making it a secondary capital of Tawantinsuyu and living out his elder years there before his death in about 1527. He willed that his heart be buried in Quito, his favorite city, and the rest of his body be buried with his ancestors in Cuzco. Huayna Capac's sudden death and the death days later of

576-636: A significant oil field at Ancón . The settlement of Chinchipe is the closest settlement to the tip of the peninsula; it is served by Ecuador Highway 70 , which extends to the tip of the peninsula. Whale watchings are popular among the region to observe mainly humpback whales that come to warm, calm waters around the peninsula during their migration seasons, and some species of dolphins such as pantropical spotted dolphins and spinner dolphins can be found as well. 2°11′45″S 80°59′02″W  /  2.1958°S 80.9838°W  / -2.1958; -80.9838 This Ecuador location article

640-615: A total population of 20,000 inhabitants. The struggle for independence in the Quito Audiencia was part of a movement throughout Spanish America led by Criollos . The Criollos' resentment of the privileges enjoyed by the Peninsulares was the fuel of revolution against colonial rule. The spark was Napoleon 's invasion of Spain, after which he deposed King Ferdinand VII and, in July 1808, placed his brother Joseph Bonaparte on

704-636: Is called Nuevo Descubrimiento del gran rio de las Amazonas, and it was used by academics as a fundamental reference pertaining to the Amazon region. Between 1637 and 1652, there were 14 missions established along the Marañon river and its southern tributaries – the Huallaga and the Ucayali rivers. Jesuit Fathers de la Cueva and Raimundo de Santacruz opened up 2 new routes of communication with Quito, through

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768-684: The Audiencia of Quito , that was a part of the Viceroyalty of Peru until the Audiencia of Quito was transferred to the newly created Viceroyalty of New Granada in 1717. In 1602, Father Rafael Ferrer began to explore the Aguarico, Napo, and Marañon rivers (Sucumbios region in what is today Ecuador and Peru), and set up, between 1604 and 1605, missions among the Cofan people . Father Rafael Ferrer

832-621: The Guayaquil Conference between Simon Bolivar and San Martin . Ecuador became independent initially as part of the Republic of Gran Colombia , before finally breaking away in 1830. Ecuador would endure a period of civil war until the mid nineteenth century after which it would be dominated by caudillos , alternatively conservative and liberal. In the twentieth and twenty first centuries Ecuador would continue to struggle in achieving both economic and political stability. During

896-553: The Jesuits in 1767 by King Charles III of Spain . Missions in the Oriente were abandoned, and many of the best schools and the most efficient haciendas and obrajes lost the key that made them outstanding institutions in colonial Ecuador. Father Rafael Ferrer was the first Jesuita de Quito (Jesuit of Quito) to explore and found missions in the upper Amazon regions of South America from 1602 to 1610, which at that period belonged to

960-581: The Quitu , occupants of the site of the modern capital; and the Cara in the Sierra north of Quito. The conquest of Ecuador began in 1463 under the leadership of the ninth Inca, the great warrior Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui. In that year, his son Tupa took over command of the army and began his march northward through the Sierra. By 1500 Tupa's son, Huayna Capac , overcame the resistance of these populations and that of

1024-472: The Santa Elena Peninsula on the coast of Ecuador between 9,000 and 6,000 BC. The earliest people were hunters-gatherers and fishermen. Around 6,000 BC cultures in the region were among the first to begin farming. The Ingas lived in the Sierra near present-day Quito between 9000 and 8000 BC along an ancient trade route. People of the region moved from hunter-gathering and simple farming into

1088-654: The Viceroyalty of Peru although it was granted certain autonomy through the Quito Audencia established in 1563. In 1720, it was joined to the Viceroyalty of New Granada . A rebellion in 1812 against the Quito Audencia was crushed early in the Spanish American wars of independence , but the struggle was revived in 1820 by a new rebellion originating in Guayaquil . The city was also the site of

1152-521: The Amazon river and the Quito Jesuit (Jesuita Quiteño) Father Cristobal de Acuña was a part of this expedition. The expedition disembarked from the Napo river February 16, 1639, and arrived in what is today Pará Brazil, on the banks of the Amazon river on December 12, 1639. In 1641, Father Cristobal de Acuña published in Madrid a memoire of his expedition to the Amazon river. The title of the memoire

1216-585: The Bandeirantes, the total number of Jesuit Missions were reduced to 40 by 1744. At the time when the Jesuits were expelled from Spanish America in 1767, the Jesuits of Quito registered 36 missions run by 25 Jesuits of Quito in the Audiencia of Quito – 6 Jesuits of Quito in the Napo Missions and Aguarico Missions, and 19 Jesuits of Quito in the Pastaza Missions and Iquitos Missions of Maynas with

1280-540: The Cara, and thus incorporated most of modern-day Ecuador into Tawantinsuyu , or the Inca empire. The influence of these conquerors based in Cuzco (modern-day Peru) was limited to about a half century, or less in some parts of Ecuador. During that period, some aspects of life remained unchanged. Traditional religious beliefs, for example, persisted throughout the period of Inca rule. In other areas, however, such as agriculture, land tenure, and social organization, Inca rule had

1344-469: The Inca armies stationed in the north. Huayna Capac had named another one of his sons, Ninan Cuyochi , as his heir. But Ninan Cuyochi died shortly after his father from smallpox. Huáscar ordered Atahualpa to attend their father's burial in Cuzco and pay homage to him as the new Inca ruler. Atahualpa, with a large number of his father's veteran soldiers, decided to ignore Huáscar, and a civil war ensued. A number of bloody battles took place until finally Huáscar

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1408-619: The Incan Emperor. During the next year Pizarro held Atahualpa for ransom. The Incas filled the Ransom Room with gold and silver awaiting a release that would never happen. On August 29, 1533, Atahualpa was garroted. The Spanish then set out to conquer the rest of Tawantinsuyu , capturing Cuzco in November 1533. Benalcázar, Pizarro's lieutenant and fellow Extremaduran, had already departed from San Miguel with 140-foot soldiers and

1472-464: The Incan heir apparent from a strange disease, described by one source as smallpox , precipitated a bitter power struggle between Huáscar , whose mother was Coya (Empress) Mama Rahua Occillo, and Atahualpa , whose mother was according to most sources of the panaka of Pachacuti, and who was his father's favorite. Huascar was chosen as emperor by the Inca nobles, but Atahualpa was very popular with

1536-780: The Incas developed an extensive administration and began the colonization of the region. The Pre-Columbian era can be divided up into four eras: the Pre-ceramic Period, the Formative Period, the Period of Regional Development and the Period of Integration and the Arrival of the Incas. The Pre-ceramic period begins with the end of the first ice-age and continued until 4200 BCE. The Las Vegas culture and The Inga Cultures dominated this period. The Las Vegas culture lived on

1600-793: The Junta elected to launch a military offensive against loyalist regions to the south in Peru, but the poorly trained and badly equipped troops were no match for those of the Viceroy of Peru, which finally crushed the Quiteño rebellion in December 1812. The second chapter in Ecuador's struggle for emancipation from Spanish colonial rule began in Guayaquil, where independence was proclaimed in October 1820 by

1664-597: The Pastaza and Napo rivers. Between 1637 and 1715, Samuel Fritz founded 38 missions along the length of the Amazon river, between the Napo and Negro rivers, that were called the Omagua Missions. These missions were continually attacked by the Brazilian Bandeirantes beginning in the year 1705. In 1768, the only Omagua mission that was left was San Joaquin de Omaguas, since it had been moved to

1728-534: The Quito Audiencia, the Junta called for a congress in December 1811 and declared the entire area of the audiencia to be independent of any government currently in Spain. Two months later, the Junta approved a constitution for the state of Quito that provided for democratic governing institutions but also granted recognition to the authority of Ferdinand should he return to the Spanish throne. Shortly thereafter,

1792-602: The Spanish city of Trujillo, put down the native rebellion and in 1537 reestablished this city, which a century later would become one of Spain's principal ports in South America. Between 1544 and 1563, Ecuador was a part of Spain's colonies in the New World under the Viceroyalty of Peru , having no administrative status independent of Lima. It remained a part of the Viceroyalty of Peru until 1720, when it joined

1856-485: The Spanish throne. Shortly afterward, Spanish citizens, unhappy at the usurpation of the throne by the French, began organizing local juntas loyal to Ferdinand. A group of Quito's leading citizens followed suit, and on August 10, 1809, they seized power in the name of Ferdinand from the local representatives, whom they accused of preparing to recognize Joseph Bonaparte. Thus, this early revolt against colonial rule (one of

1920-411: The affairs of Ecuador. First, the country found itself on the front lines of Gran Colombia's efforts to liberate Peru from Spanish rule between 1822 and 1825; afterward, in 1828 and 1829, Ecuador was in the middle of an armed struggle between Peru and Gran Colombia over the location of their common border. After a campaign that included the near destruction of Guayaquil, the forces of Gran Colombia, under

1984-555: The area near the Santa Elena Peninsula , they were one of the first Americans to use pottery. They navigated the seas and established a trade network with tribes in the Andes and the Amazon. Succeeding the Valdivia, the Machalilla culture was a farming culture that thrived along the coast of Ecuador between the 2nd and 1st millennia BC. These appear to be the earliest people to cultivate maize in this part of South America. Existing in

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2048-574: The area that stretches from the foothills of the Andes to the Pacific Ocean, and from Bahía de Caráquez to the south of Manabi. The Jama-Coaque culture inhabited areas between Cabo San Francisco in Esmeraldas and Bahía de Caráquez in Manabi, in an area of wooded hills and vast beaches which facilitated the gathering of resources from both the jungle and the ocean. The La Tolita developed in

2112-553: The authority of the Church , which lost the land it held. The Revolution is often seen as marking the birth of modern Ecuador, with a new power structure that favored the Liberal Party, and new infrastructure projects such as the construction of a railway line between Quito and Guayaquil . History of Ecuador The History of Ecuador covers human habitation in the region reaching back 8,000 years During that period

2176-457: The brilliant young lieutenant of Bolívar who arrived in Guayaquil in May 1821, was to become the key figure in the ensuing military struggle against the royalist forces. After a number of initial successes, Sucre's army was defeated at Ambato in the central Sierra and he appealed for assistance from San Martín, whose army was by now in Peru. With the arrival from the south of 1,400 fresh soldiers under

2240-440: The civilization existed from Bahía de Caráquez to Cerro de Hojas in the south. They were excellent weavers, produced textiles, articles of gold, silver spondylus shells and mother of pearl. The manteños mastered the seas and created an extensive trade routes as far as Chile to the south and Western Mexico to the north. The center of the culture was in the area of Manta which was named in their honor. The Huancavilcas constitute

2304-655: The climate. In the mountains Cosangua-Píllaro, the Capulí and Piartal-Tuza cultures arose, in the eastern region was the Yasuní Phase while the Milagro, Manteña and Huancavilca cultures developed on the coast. The Manteños were the last of the pre-Columbian cultures in the coastal region existing between 600 and 1534. They were the first to witness the arrival of Spanish ships sailing in the surrounding Pacific Ocean. According to archaeological evidence and Spanish chronicles

2368-518: The coastal region of Southern Colombia and Northern Ecuador between 600 BCE and 200 AD. A Number of archaeological sites have been discovered and show the highly artistic nature of this culture. Artifacts are characterized by gold jewelry, beautiful anthropomorphous masks and figurines that reflect a hierarchical society with complex ceremonies. Tribes throughout Ecuador integrated during this period. They created better housing that allowed them to improve their living conditions and no longer be subject to

2432-500: The command of Andrés de Santa Cruz Calahumana , the fortunes of the patriotic army were again reversed. A string of victories culminated in the decisive Battle of Pichincha . Two months later Bolívar, the liberator of northern South America, entered Quito to a hero's welcome. Later that July, he met San Martín at the Guayaquil conference and convinced the Argentine general, who wanted the port to return to Peruvian jurisdiction, and

2496-497: The conquistadors learned that the conflict and disease were destroying the empire. After receiving reinforcements in September 1532, Pizarro set out to the newly victorious Atahualpa. Arriving at Cajamarca , Pizarro sent an embassy, led by Hernando de Soto , with 15 horsemen and an interpreter; shortly thereafter he sent 20 more horsemen led by his brother Hernando Pizarro as reinforcements in case of an Inca attack. Atahualpa

2560-473: The days just before the Spanish conquerors arrived resulted in large part from the loyalty of two of Huayna Capac's best generals, who were based in Quito along with Atahualpa. The victory remains a source of national pride to Ecuadorians as a rare case when "Ecuador" bested a "neighboring country" by force. As the Inca Civil War raged, in 1530 the Spanish landed in Ecuador. Led by Francisco Pizarro ,

2624-415: The elite was reduced to poverty, selling haciendas and jewelry in order to subsist. The Native Ecuadorian population, in contrast, probably experienced an overall improvement in its situation, as the closing of the obrajes commonly led Native Ecuadorians to work under less arduous conditions on either haciendas or traditional communal lands. Ecuador's economic woes were, no doubt, compounded by the expulsion of

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2688-470: The first in Spanish America) was, paradoxically, an expression of loyalty to the Spanish king. It quickly became apparent that Quito's Criollo rebels lacked the anticipated popular support for their cause. As loyalist troops approached Quito, they peacefully turned power back to the crown authorities. Despite assurances against reprisals, the returning Spanish authorities proved to be merciless with

2752-468: The former audiencia. The latter group was to prevail following Venezuela's withdrawal from Gran Colombia at the very moment that an 1830 constitutional congress had been called in an ultimately futile effort to stem the growing separatist tendencies throughout the country. In May of that year, a group of Quito notables met to dissolve the union with Gran Colombia, and in August, a constituent assembly drew up

2816-524: The late formative period the Chorrera culture lived in the Andes and Coastal Regions of Ecuador between 1000 and 300 BC. The period of Regional Development is identified by the emergence of regional differences in territorial or political and social organization. Among the main cultures of this period were the Jambelí, Guangala, Bahia, Tejar-Daule, La Tolita , Jama Coaque on the coast, Cerro Narrío Alausí in

2880-565: The latter from tuberculosis . Juan José Flores , known as the founder of the republic, was of the foreign military variety. Born in Venezuela, he had fought in the wars for independence with Bolívar, who had appointed him governor of Ecuador during its association with Gran Colombia. As a leader, however, he appeared primarily interested in maintaining his power. Military expenditures, from the independence wars and from an unsuccessful campaign to wrest Cauca Province from Colombia in 1832, kept

2944-405: The leadership of Sucre and Venezuelan General Juan José Flores , proved victorious. The Treaty of 1829 fixed the border on the line that had divided the Quito audiencia and the Viceroyalty of Peru before independence. The population of Ecuador was divided during these years among three segments: those favoring the status quo, those supporting union with Peru, and those advocating independence for

3008-589: The local Criollo elite in both major cities of the advantage of having the former Quito Audiencia join with the liberated lands to the north. As a result, Ecuador became the District of the South within the Republic of Gran Colombia, which also included present-day Venezuela and Colombia and had Bogotá as its capital. This status was maintained for eight tumultuous years. These were years in which warfare dominated

3072-490: The most important pre-Columbian culture of Guayas. These warriors were noted for their appearance. Huancavilca of culture is the legend of Guayas and Quiles, which gives its name to the city of Guayaquil. The Inca civilization expansion northward from modern-day Peru during the late 15th century met with fierce resistance by several Ecuadorian tribes, particularly the Cañari in the region around modern-day Cuenca along with

3136-430: The most turbulent periods in Ecuador's two centuries as a nation. The marcistas fought among themselves almost ceaselessly and also had to struggle against Flores's repeated attempts from exile to overthrow the government. The most significant figure of the era, however, was General José María Urbina , who first came to power in 1851 through a coup d'état, remained in the presidency until 1856, and then continued to dominate

3200-435: The native males and married the females, and within a generation they constituted a population of zambos that resisted Spanish authority until the end of the century and afterwards managed to retain a great deal of political and cultural independence. The coastal economy revolved around shipping and trade. Guayaquil, despite being destroyed on several occasions by fire and incessantly plagued by either yellow fever or malaria,

3264-399: The newly created Viceroyalty of New Granada ; within the viceroyalty, however, Ecuador was awarded its own audiencia in 1563, allowing it to deal directly with Madrid on certain matters. The Quito Audiencia , which was both a court of justice and an advisory body to the viceroy, consisted of a president and several judges (oidores). The most common form in which the Spanish occupied the land

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3328-400: The political scene until 1860. During this decade and the one that followed, Urbina and his archrival, García Moreno, would define the dichotomy — between Liberals from Guayaquil and Conservatives from Quito — that remained the major sphere of political struggle in Ecuador until the 1980s. Santa Elena Peninsula The peninsula region is dry and contains resources such as salt mines and

3392-526: The pre-Inca period, people lived in clans, which formed great tribes, some allied with each other to form powerful confederations, as the Confederation of Quito. But none of these confederations could resist the formidable momentum of the Tawantinsuyu . The invasion of the Incas in the 16th century was very painful and bloody. However, once occupied by the Quito hosts of Huayna Capac (1523–1525),

3456-551: The president of the audiencia recognized that many Spaniards were accepting grants only to sell them and undertake urban occupations, and he stopped distributing new lands to Spaniards; however, the institution of the encomienda persisted until nearly the end of the colonial period. The coastal lowlands north of Manta were conquered, not by the Spanish, but by blacks from the Guinean coast who, as slaves, were shipwrecked en route from Panama to Peru in 1570. The blacks killed or enslaved

3520-578: The rebels and, in the process of ferreting out participants in the Quito revolt, jailed and abused many innocent citizens. Their actions, in turn, bred popular resentment among Quiteños, who, after several days of street fighting in August 1810, won an agreement to be governed by a junta composed with a majority of Criollos, although with the Peninsular president of the Royal Audience of Quito acting as its head. In spite of strong opposition from

3584-421: The ruins of the secondary Inca capital, naming it in honor of Pizarro. It was not until December 1540 that Quito received its first captain-general in the person of Francisco Pizarro's brother, Gonzalo Pizarro . Benalcázar had also founded the city of Guayaquil in 1533, but it had subsequently been retaken by the local Huancavilca tribesmen. Francisco de Orellana , yet another lieutenant of Francisco Pizarro from

3648-428: The sierras, and Tayos in the Ecuadorian Amazon jungle. La Chimba, north of Quito, is the site of the earliest ceramics found in the northern Andes and is representative of the Formative Period in its final stage. Its inhabitants were in contact with villages on the coast and the mountains, in close proximity to the Cotocollao culture located on the plateau of Quito and its surrounding valleys. The Bahia culture occupied

3712-414: The south without the crown's authorization, landed on the Ecuadorian coast, and marched inland to the Sierra. Most of Alvarado's men joined Benalcázar for the siege of Quito. In 1533, Rumiñahui burned the city to prevent the Spanish from taking it, destroying the ancient pre-Hispanic city. In 1534 Sebastián de Belalcázar along with Diego de Almagro established the city of San Francisco de Quito on top of

3776-566: The state treasury empty while other matters were left unattended. That same year, Ecuador annexed the Galapagos Islands . Discontent had become nationwide by 1845, when an insurrection in Guayaquil forced Flores from the country. Because their movement triumphed in March ( marzo ), the anti-Flores coalition members became known as marcistas . They were an extremely heterogeneous lot that included liberal intellectuals, conservative clergymen, and representatives from Guayaquil's successful business community. The next fifteen years constituted one of

3840-546: Was a center of vigorous trade among the colonies, a trade that was technically illegal under the mercantilist philosophy of the contemporary Spanish rulers. Guayaquil also became the largest shipbuilding center on the west coast of South America before the end of the colonial period. The Ecuadorian economy, like that in the mother country, suffered a severe depression throughout most of the 18th century. Textile production dropped an estimated 50 to 75 percent between 1700 and 1800. Ecuador's cities gradually fell into ruins, and by 1790

3904-442: Was captured. Atahualpa marched south to Cuzco and massacred the royal family associated with his brother. This struggle raged during the half-decade before the arrival of Francisco Pizarro 's conquering expedition in 1532. The key battle of this civil war was fought on Ecuadorian soil, near Riobamba , where Huáscar's northbound troops were met and defeated by Atahualpa's southbound troops. Atahualpa's final victory over Huáscar in

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3968-402: Was in awe of these men dressed in full clothing, with long beards and riding horses (an animal he had never seen). In town Pizarro set a trap for the Inca and the Battle of Cajamarca began. The Inca forces greatly outnumbered the Spanish; however, the Spanish superiority of weapons and tactics and the fact that the most trusted Inca generals were in Cusco led to an easy defeat and the capture of

4032-462: Was martyred in 1610. In 1637, the Jesuits of Quito, Gaspar Cugia and Lucas de la Cueva began establishing missions in Mainas (or Maynas). These missions are now known as the Mainas missions after the Maina people , many of whom lived on the banks of the Marañón river, around the Pongo de Manseriche region, in close proximity to the Spanish settlement of Borja . In 1639, the Audiencia of Quito organized an expedition to renew its exploration of

4096-458: Was the encomienda . By the early 17th century, there were some 500 encomiendas in Ecuador. Although many consisted of quite sizable haciendas, they were generally much smaller than the estates commonly found elsewhere in South America. A multitude of reforms and regulations did not prevent the encomienda from becoming a system of virtual slavery of the Native Ecuadorians, estimated at one-half the total Ecuadorian population, who lived on them. In 1589

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