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Archaeological evidence, indicates the presence of indigenous
people in Ecuador for many thousands of years before the expansion
of the Incas from Peru in the 1400s. It is generally accepted
that the earliest inhabitants were Asian nomads who crossed what
is now known as the Bering Strait some 25,000 years ago and began
reaching the South American continent by about 12,000 BC.
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It is believed that several thousand years later,
trans-Pacific colonization by the island dwellers of Polynesia
added to the population. Although Stone Age tools found in the
Quito area have been dated to 9000 BC, the oldest signs of a more
developed culture date back to 3200 BC. These belong to the Valdivia
period and consist mainly of ceramics, especially small figurines,
found in the central coastal area of Ecuador. Examples of these
can be seen in the major museums of Quito and Guayaquil.
Early Tribes
The 11 th century AD saw two dominant tribes:
Caras in the coastal areas and Quitus in the highlands. Later
there was a peaceful expansion and these people became collectively
known as the Shyri nation and were the dominant force in the Ecuadorian
highlands until about 1300.
The Inca Empire
At the time of the Inca expansion, the Duchicela
descendants still dominated the north and the south was in the
hands of the Caftari people. The Caftari defended themselves bitterly
against the Inca invaders and it was some years before the Inca,
Tupac Yupanqui, was able to subdue them and turn his attention
to the north. The subjugation of the north took many years, and
Huayna Capac grew up in Ecuador. He succeeded his father to the
Inca throne and spent years traveling all over his empire, from
Bolivia to Ecuador, constantly putting down uprisings from all
sides.
The year 1526 is a major one in Ecuadorian history.
The Inca Huayna Capac died and left his empire not to one son,
as was traditional, but to two: Huascar of Cuzco and Atahualpa
of Quito; thus the Inca Empire was divided for the first time.
In the same year, on september 21, the first Spaniards landed
in northern Ecuador near what is now smeraldas. They were led
south by the pilot, Bartolome Ruiz de Andrade, on an exploratory
mission for Francisco Pizarro, who himself remained further north.
Pizarro returned as conqueror in 1532.
The Spanish Conquest
Pizarro's advance was rapid and dramatic. His
horse-riding, armor-wearing, cannonfiring conquistadors were believed
to be godlike and, although few in number, spread terror among
the Indians. After the death of Atahualpa, his general Rumifiahui
fought on against the Spaniards for two more years. Pizarro finally
battled his way to Quito in late 1534, only to find the city razed
to the ground by Rumifiahui, who preferred destroying the city
to leaving it in the hands of the conquistadors. Quito was refounded
on December 6, 1534, and Rumifiahui was captured, tortured and
executed in January of 1535. The only important Inca site in Ecuador
that remains even partially intact today is at Ingapirca, to the
north of Cuenca.
The Colonial Era
From 1535 onward, the colonial era proceeded
with the usual intrigues among the Spanish conquistadors, but
with no major uprisings by the Ecuadorian Indians. Francisco Pizarro
named his brother, Gonzalo, the governor of Quito in 1540. Lima,
Peru, was the seat of the political administration of Ecuador
during the first centuries of colonial
rule.
Ecuador remained a peaceful colony during these
centuries, and agriculture and the arts flourished. Various new
agricultural products were introduced from Europe, including cattle
and bananas, which still remain important in Ecuador today. There
was prolific construction of churches and monasteries, which were
decorated with unique carvings and paintings resulting from the
blend of Spanish and Indian art influences. This so-called 'Quito
school of art,' still admired by visitors today, has left an indelible
stamp on the colonial buildings of the time. Life was comfortable
for the ruling colonialists, but the Indians and mestizos were
treated abysmally under their rule. A system of forced labor was
not only tolerated but encouraged, and it is no surprise that
by the 18th century there were several uprisings of the Indians
against the Spanish ruling classes. Both poor and rich died in
violent fightings.
Independence
The first serious attempt to liberate Ecuador
from Spanish rule was by a partisan group led by Juan Pio Montufar
on August 10, 1809. The group managed to take Quito and install
a government, but this lasted only 24 days before royalist troops
(loyal to the king of Spain) were able to regain control.54
Independence was finally achieved by Simon Bolivar,
the Venezuelan liberator who marched southward from Caracas, freed
Colombia in 1819 and supported the people of Guayaquil when they
claimed independence on October 9, 1820. It took almost two years
before Ecuador was entirely liberated from Spanish rule. Venezuela,
Colombia and Ecuador were amalgamated into the independent nation
of GranColombia. This lasted only eight years, with Ecuador becoming
fully independent in 1830. |
