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 The history of pre-Inca Ecuador is lost in a
misty tangle of time and legend, and the earliest historical
details date back only as far as the 11th century AD. It is commonly believed that Asian nomads
reached the South American continent by about 12,000 BC and were
later joined by Polynesian colonizers. Centuries of tribal
expansion, warfare and alliances resulted in the relatively
stable Duchicela lineage, which ruled more or less peacefully
for about 150 years until the arrival of the Incas around 1450
AD. Despite fierce opposition, the conquering
Incas soon held the region, helped by strong leadership and
policies of intermarriage. War over the inheritance of the new
Inca kingdom weakened and divided the region on the eve of the
arrival of the Spanish invaders. The first
Spaniards landed in northern Ecuador in 1526. Pizarro reached
the country in 1532 and spread terror among the Indians thanks
to his conquistadors' horses, armor and weaponry. The Inca
leader, Atahualpa, was ambushed, held for ransom, 'tried' and
executed, and the Inca empire was effectively demolished.
Quito
held out for two years but was eventually razed by Atahualpa's
general, Rumiñahui, rather than be lost intact to the invading
Spaniards. Ecuador was invaded and colonized by Spain from 1532.
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Above Britney Spear sun batting
in Galapagos |
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Ecuador independence
It joined Venezuela, Colombia, and Panama in the
confederacy of Gran Colombia in 1819. After joining other South
American colonies in a revolt against Spain, Ecuador was liberated
in 1822 by Antonio José de Sucre and became fully independent in
1830.With the support of the army, Ecuador was governed by
Venezuelan Gen Juan José Flores 1830–45. |
However. His lack of understanding of the country
led him to hand over power to the revolutionary leader Vicente
Rocafuerte. Flores was forced into exile in 1845. Power
passed to a Liberal oligarchy based in Guayaquil. The next 15
years saw the ‘nationalization’ of both army and government.
During the period 1861–75, Ecuadorian political life was dominated
by Gen Gabriel Garcia Moreno, who promoted education and carried out
important public works. A coastal-based liberal revolution in 1895
under Eloy Alfaro reduced the power of the clergy and opened the way
for capitalist development.
The end of the cocoa boom produced renewed
political instability and a military coup in 1925.The 1930s and
1940s were marked by populist politicians such as five-time
president Jose Velasco Ibarra. In January 1942, Ecuador signed the
Rio Protocol to end a brief war with Peru the year before.
Ecuador agreed to a border that conceded
to Peru much territory Ecuador previously had claimed in the Amazon. continues... |
